By Logan Riddick / Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor
Trey Cherry and his fellow Louisa seniors hope they’ll play in the Jungle again come mid-November. But if not, Cherry’s gamebreaking plays on both sides of the ball highlighted a memorable Senior Night performance.
“I just came out here and tried to give the community all that I had,” said Cherry, who rushed 28 times for 266 yards, both game-highs.
In a second half that started with the score tied at 14 and would feature ties at 21 and 28-all, Cherry intercepted a fourth down pass as Albemarle looked to even the score again midway through the fourth quarter. That rare defensive stop proved to be the difference, as Louisa went on to win 42-35.
“That was fourth down and I told him, ‘you don’t want to catch that one,’ but he goes, ‘Coach, it just fell in my stomach, I didn’t know what to do,’” said Louisa coach Mark Fischer. “Believe it or not, we had come in with the intention of loosening it up a little bit to throw the ball, but it was one of those nights. It was Trey’s night, and I’m thankful it was.”
The highlights started immediately as Cherry took the game’s first snap and raced 52 yards to setup first and goal. Two plays later, freshman RaQuan Jones took it in from three yards out. Albemarle came back with an 11-play, 53-yard opening drive. Senior quarterback DG Archer found junior wideout Ethan Blundin for 21 yards to convert a fourth and 18, and then hit junior Charles Hooper for a nine-yard score. The Lions added one more touchdown in the first quarter as Cherry capped a nine-play, 66-yard drive with a one yard run after he broke a 32-yard run down to the redzone.
Defenses had their moments in the second quarter. Albemarle drove into Louisa territory on its next possession, but after a completion inside the 30, the ball popped free and the Lions recovered. The offense mounted an 11-play drive lasting nearly six minutes, but on fourth and 8 at the Patriots’ 14, Fischer called his second and final passing play on the night, which fell incomplete for a turnover on downs. Albemarle then drove and tied the game at 14 on Archer’s 21-yard touchdown pass to senior Cameron Green 97 seconds before halftime.
“He’s the best quarterback we’ve faced all year,” Cherry said. “He’s way faster than he looks. His dual threat was killing us. The secondary had their man, but then he would scramble and the wide receivers would just go wherever, and that’s hard to cover.”
The Patriot offense took the field first after the break, and Archer’s 12-yard scramble to convert on fourth down at midfield put Albemarle in position to grab its first lead of the game. However, with first and goal at the 4, a sack and holding penalty on back-to-back plays derailed the drive. Facing fourth down at the 24, rather than a long field goal attempt, Archer’s pass fell incomplete for a turnover on downs. The Louisa offense took over and broke the tie with Jones’ second 3-yard touchdown of the night after Cherry flipped the field with a 54-yard gain on third and 3.
The offensive track meet was on as the teams traded scores most of the way. With Louisa squibbing on every kickoff, Albemarle consistently started near midfield, slightly worse than Fischer intended.
“There’s no secret there, Fischer doesn’t kick it deep,” said Fischer. “I’m not going to kick it to your best player and give him a chance to run 60 yards. Now, unfortunately, we had some poor kicks that never made it four yards. Trust me, those were not by design; we don’t onside and we don’t kick it deep. We just try to kick it where you ain’t.”
Albemarle had kickoff troubles, too. After senior running back Kevin McCarthy capped the Patriots’ 51-yard drive with a 10-yard run, Louisa senior Marcus Jackson returned Albemarle’s kickoff 46 yards to the 39. The Lions scored four plays later on Jones’ 18-yard run to go up 28-21 as the third quarter ended.
On Albemarle’s next five-play drive, McCarthy broke a 37-yard run on third and three. Archer hit junior Arun Turay for an 18-yard score to even the score at 28. Jackson returned the ensuing kickoff 60 yards, allowing Louisa to retake the lead in just two plays on freshman Job Whalen’s 24-yard run. Albemarle started at the Louisa 39 after a good return on another short squib. However, a holding flag put the offense behind the chains, and Cherry made the big play on Archer’s deep pass on fourth and 14 for the Lions’ second defensive stand of the half.
“As an offensive guy, to me those are the two series that were the difference in the game,” said Albemarle coach Brandon Isaiah. “Last week was the same thing, a series here or there, a play here or there. We’re as close as anybody to breaking down the door and winning some tough games against some really good teams.”
Four Louisa runners picked up big chunks on the ensuing series, capped by sophomore Deion Jackson’s 8-yard touchdown to open a 42-28 lead with 5:05 remaining. The ensuing squib kickoff was much more to Fischer’s liking, as the ball evaded several Patriot upmen before Turay scooped it up running backward all the way to his own 1. Archer led a 99-yard drive that took 13 plays, capped by Hooper’s 14-yard touchdown reception with 2:29 left. The ensuing onside kick bounced out of bounds. After exhausting their final two timeouts, Louisa faced third and six at midfield. After Cherry carried for four yards, the offense stayed on the field without calling timeout. Cherry got the call again and picked up the game-clinching first down with a gain of eight.
“Coach looked at me and said, ‘go get it,’” said Cherry. “We were a little late getting to the line because I was preaching to my big guys [in the huddle], and that got them a little angry. I felt hands on me right when I got to the sticks, and I just kept running. I looked up and it was a first down.”
The Lions’ ground attack finished with 419 yards. After Cherry, Whalen posted 72 yards on 13 carries. Jones added 57 yards on five rushes, three of which went for touchdowns. For Albemarle, McCarthy went for 164 yards on 23 carries. Archer completed 16 of 26 for 242 yards, with four touchdowns and one pick.
Albemarle (2-7) hosts Orange (1-8) next Friday, while Louisa (7-2) travels to Monticello (7-2) in a showdown with lots of Power Points on the line that could help the winner secure a first-round playoff home game.
