Western Albemarle’s Christophe Drapanas battled a trio of stress fractures in his back all year — pain that kept him out of last Friday’s regular season finale, a loss to Goochland that ended the Warriors’ unbeaten run.
Drapanas got back on the field this week, and he wasn’t shy about getting involved in Western’s Division 3, Region II quarterfinal battle with Skyline.
“He actually came up to me and told me he could beat some guys deep so I told him ‘If you see that chance, go ahead and do it,” said Western quarterback Stephen Schuler. “And he did it a lot.”
Drapanas followed through with a six-catch, 166-yard, two-touchdown performance that sparked Western to a 46-20 victory over Skyline.
The senior wideout became Schuler’s key target after wideout Dom Losco was sidelined by an apparent shoulder injury. Losco had a solid first half and helped give Western a 27-7 halftime lead, but he spent the second half on the bench. That left Nick Kuzjak, Tyler Ward and Drapanas to carry the load in the passing game, and Drapanas and Ward had the biggest days, with Ward hauling in a 43-yard touchdown catch.
Schuler finished with 319 yards on 15-for-22 passing and five touchdowns. Four of the five scoring tosses came from 40 or more yards out. The senior also had an 11-yard rushing touchdown.
Cody Davis had a 37-yard sprint for a touchdown to give Western a 40-20 lead.
The tipping point in the contest came after a Michael Perry interception for Skyline early in the second half led to a Cliff Woodard touchdown and cut the Warriors’ lead to 27-14. That put Western’s back against the wall, and the Warriors refused to back down. They quickly and efficiently moved down field with four runs that included nine and 24-yard sprints by Drapanas before Schuler unleashed a 40-yard touchdown to Drapanas.
“To give a performance like that is just truly amazing in my mind,” said Western coach Ed Pierce. “Our offense is just totally different when he’s out on the field because you’ve got to respect his speed and athleticism. He was a big difference-maker today.”
That score gave Western control of the contest and a dose of confidence with Losco on the bench.
A banged up Western defense — Hunter Mitchell and Losco’s absences had an impact at linebacker — struggled to stop Skyline’s Woodard, but managed to come up with enough big plays for Western to hold off the Hawks. Abbot Wallenborn and Turner Whitworth both came up with interceptions in the secondary for the Warriors.
Western is slated to take on Park View in the regional semifinals next week.
