The first 23 minutes of Senior Night in The Jungle were pretty much business-as-usual for Jefferson District juggernaut Louisa County. Alex Washington had just cruised in from seven yards out to hang 35 on the scoreboard. Total offense tilted in favor of the Lions by a crushing margin of 348 yards to just 30 for Western Albemarle.
WIth the final whistle, Louisa (9-0, 5-0) officially claimed its third straight Jefferson District title. But as the postgame huddle formed for remarks from coaches, the mood among players was anything but sweet.
“They were pretty salty there at the end about giving up those 24 [points],” said Louisa coach Will Patrick. “But at the end of the day, three in a row is hard to do. If you look at the Jefferson District record books, how many times has that been done in 20 years? This big group of seniors is awesome.”
Evidently, the winners of 29 straight regular-season games were far from satisfied with a 42-24 final. It’s true that over the game’s final 25 minutes, Western held a 254-161 yardage edge and outscored the Lions 21-7; however, the outcome was never seriously in doubt. Louisa also had a far better evening than the other contender for the top seed in Region 4B; the home crowd let out a big cheer when Eastern View’s defeat at the hands of Spotsylvania was announced during the fourth quarter.
Something else the current roster of Lions are too young to have experienced? The last regular season loss in The Jungle way back in October 2015, which came at the hands of Western Albemarle. It may not be a natural geographic rivalry, but entering the game the schools had split their last 10 meetings (5-5) dating back to 2009.
“Our kids are going to play 48 minutes no matter what the score,” said Western coach Ed Redmond. “I was really proud of our kids. You’ve got to tip your hat to Louisa; they had a great start and they’ve got a great team, no question about it.”
After a tough outing last week, senior kicker Davis Long got Western on the board with a 38-yard field goal midway through the second quarter. Senior quarterback Carter Shifflett bookended halftime with a pair of touchdown passes: as the second quarter clock ticked under 10 seconds, he hit Garland Freeauf deep down the middle for a 51 yard catch-and-run. Then in the third quarter, after recovering a Louisa fumble at the 5, Western marched 95 yards, capped by a 21-yard reception by Garrett Livermon.
The Lions’ 35-3 lead had become 35-17, but Louisa would not be stopped on its ensuing possession. Junior Robbie Morgan broke loose for a 70-yard touchdown to alleviate any concerns with 1:23 left in the third quarter. Western rounded out the scoring when Carter Shifflett called his own number for a 1-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
“I thought we made some nice adjustments at halftime and were able to move the ball more effectively,” said Redmond as Western had two other fourth quarter drives inside the Louisa 30 that ended on downs. “We’re young; we played four freshmen and six sophomores tonight, and [Louisa] had 23 seniors.”
Before the opening kickoff, Western won the coin toss but deferred. The Lions’ future opponents might want to just take the ball first. Robbie Morgan returned the kick 51 yards to setup the offense in Western territory. After a 6-yard completion from freshman quarterback Landon Wilson to Washington, Hunter took the second down handoff 39 yards to the house.
“We wanted to get off to a fast start,” said Hunter. “If it’s a kickoff return, if it’s the first play on offense, we just wanted to get out there and let them know what kind of game it’s going to be.”
Western’s first possession ended when sophomore Jordan Smith pulled down an interception on a deflected pass. Louisa marched 61 yards with senior Gabe Cuozzo scoring on a 27-yard pass from Wilson. After a quick three-and-out, Noah Robinson jump-started the Lions’ next series with a 50-yard run. Hunter scored three plays later from a yard out to make it 20-0 before the first quarter ended.
“The o-line did a great job blocking,” Hunter said. “They left some gaps and we were able to take advantage.”
After another three-and-out, Louisa mounted a 12-play drive, overcoming a pair of 10-yard penalties. After Wilson’s night ended with an injury at the end of a 13-yard keeper, Hunter stepped in seamlessly and converted a pair of third-and-longs through the air. Then, junior Kalup Shelton took a third-and-four handoff and raced 32 yards. Morgan added the two-point conversion.
“The last couple games we’ve come out a little flat on offense, and this week came out hitting on all cylinders,” said Patrick. “I think we were 5-for-5 on drives in the first half, and that’s hard to do. It was fun and we had a lot of contributors tonight. The o-line is really starting to gel at the right time.”
Morgan led Louisa with a game-high 141 yards on just nine carries. Hunter finished with 189 all-purpose yards (98 rushing on 10 attempts, 80 passing after completing 5-of-7, and one catch for 11). Washington caught three passes for 43 yards.
Austin Shifflett led the Warriors with 74 yards on 14 carries. Carter Shifflett struggled to evade backfield pressure most of the night and finished with nine net yards on 20 rushes; however, after a slow start, he finished well, completing 12-of-20 passes for 201 yards. Breaker Mendenhall led with five catches for 43 yards, but the big gains went to Livermon (3/65) and Greeauf (2/70).
Western (4-5, 3-2) will look to rebound and solidify its Region 3C playoff position when it hosts Orange (4-5, 4-1) next week. Louisa will try to complete its third straight perfect regular season and clinch the #1 seed in Region 4B on the road at Albemarle (3-6, 3-2).
