Albemarle’s offense took the opening kickoff Friday night at Fluvanna and promptly suffered a three-and-out on its first drive.
But the Patriot defense forced the Flying Flucos into the same situation, and on the first play of the ensuing AHS drive, Tyquan Rose took a swing pass from J’Quan Anderson and raced 71 yards past everybody for the game’s first score.
That sequence was a microcosm of the entire game, as Albemarle used a complete team effort to cruise past the Flucos 42-0 and improve its record to 5-2 on the season.
Anderson completed just five of nine passes on the night for 142 yards, but four of those completions were for touchdowns to three different receivers. Rose bagged his second score of the game with 8:12 remaining in the second quarter to double the Patriots lead. After AHS forced Fluvanna into another three-and-out deep in Fluco territory, Sean Scott took a punt 32 yards to paydirt to make it 21-0. Scott also registered an interception in the first quarter.
“I would’ve been glad if we had won 3-0,” Albemarle head coach Brandon Isaiah said. “A win’s a win, I’m glad these kids came out and played the way they have all year. Some of these juniors and sophomores are growing up. We’ve been playing some tough games, so to come out here and get a shutout is good for them and their confidence.”
Albemarle wasn’t done for the half. On Fluvanna’s first play from scrimmage on the next drive, the snap went awry and Nemo Lesesane pounced on the football to set the Patriots up at the Fluco five-yard line. After a holding penalty pushed Albemarle back to the 13, Rooney Turay ran twice for six yards and Anderson found Jerry Hawk on third down to make it 28-0. The AHS defense then made yet another big play, recovering a Fluco fumble and this time Ethan Blundin found himself on the receiving end of another touchdown strike from Anderson, this one from 20 yards out for a 35-0 halftime lead.
“We have a lot of talent on offense, but we also have a lot of youth and inexperience,” Isaiah said. “It’s a process for them to come out every day and be consistent, and you try to figure out who’s gonna come out and get you started.”
The Flucos rotated between Mark Grooms and Gavin Patrick at the quarterback position, but never got any traction against the stout Albemarle defense, which forced three turnovers and five punts on the evening. The Patriot defense only allowed the Flucos to move across midfield once, on the last drive of the game. The only other Fluvanna plays run in Albemarle territory came after Anderson’s lone mistake of the game, a throw on the run that was intercepted by Antonio Washington in the first quarter.
“It’s a struggle when you’re building a program,” Fluvanna head coach Steve Szarmach said. “It just takes time. Football is not an easy sport.”
With a safe lead, the Patriots slowed things down in the second half and gave many of its first-string players the rest of the night off. They added to their lead with 7:44 remaining in the game when TeShawn Massie scored on a 10-yard run for the final margin.
Albemarle returns home next Friday to meet Powhatan on its Senior Night. Fluvanna travels to Western Albemarle for its next game.
