After two tough road games, the Fluvanna football team went into their home opener on Friday night looking for their first win of the year. After preparing for Brookeville, they had to cancel in the middle of the week and the Flucos instead were able to renew the Battle of the Bridge and host Buckingham for the Knights’ first action since the 2019 postseason.
In front of a large crowd and honoring the second ever Fluco Hall of Fame class, the Flucos were able to rely on their ground game and secure their first win of the year 24-18 over the Knights.
“It was great, it was great to play under normal circumstances and have a crowd here for a home game I mean, that hasn’t happened in a while,” said Fluvanna coach Mike Morris. “Hats off to Buckingham too, they brought a pretty good crowd over here and their fans were just as hungry as ours were for a win.”
The first drive didn’t get off to the kind of start the Flucos wanted as it ended with Buckingham’s Kenneth Williams intercepting a Kobe Edmonds pass. The Fluco defense stepped up though and shut down the Knights’ ground and pound offense on their first drive.
Right after that, the Flucos went back to what they do best on offense: running the football. Taking advantage of a short field, the Flucos found the endzone with Edmonds running it in from four yards out to give his team a 7-0 lead in the first. Edmonds finished the game with 13 carries for 130 yards and two scores.
The Fluco defense also stayed strong, and Fluvanna extended their lead to 10-0 on an Addison Patchett field goal before the Knights got something going. Playing with a short field after a big kickoff return, KorDonte Williams got the Knights on the board with a 10-yard score, cutting the deficit to 10-6 after a failed two-point conversion.
On the next drive, the Flucos found the endzone once again inside of a minute left in the half, this time on a run from Eisryell Johnson to give them a 17-6 halftime lead. Johnson ended the game with 10 carries for 45 yards and a touchdown.
“Definitely executing in practice and paying attention to film, plus getting one of our linemen back, getting Grant back was huge for us and the offense as a whole we just clicked this week,” said Edmonds.
Shortly after the break, the Knights cut into the Fluvanna lead with a Rocco Raynor 6-yard score, but still trailed 17-12 after another failed two-point try.
Both defenses stepped up to the challenge, holding each other scoreless until there was 2:52 left in the game when Edmonds found the endzone for the Flucos one more time, extending their lead to 24-12.
The Knights would not go down quietly after that score. With 1:32 left, Kenneth Williams broke away for a 42-yard score to make it a 24-18 game. Williams ended the game with seven carries for 90 yards and a score, along with an interception. Dalante Woodson also had seven carries for 77 yards.
After the score however, the Flucos recovered the Knights’ onside kick attempt and ran the clock out from there to secure the win.
Next week, the Knights will use their bye week to regroup, while the Flucos will travel to the Jungle to face Louisa.
