The Senior Night crowd in Crozet had just been reenergized. After falling behind by two scores, their Warriors had just completed a third quarter rally to grab a one-point lead. That’s when Rakeem Davis got the call for his first carry of the second half.
“Had to grind,” Davis said. “I told them, that one point lead is not going to stop me.”
Davis took the handoff, headed left, rounded the end, and kept going. 67 yards later, Charlottesville was back on top. Propelled by this momentum-stealer, the Black Knights scored the game’s final 22 points to keep themselves squarely in the 4A West playoff hunt with a 56-35 victory.
“They did a great job of remaining calm and doing what was working,” said Charlottesville coach Eric Sherry. “We’re starting to get a little bit healthier, and it just came together where our kids were clicking on the offensive side. Defensive side, 35 points is a lot of points. I know Coach Johnson ain’t going to be happy about it, but we’ll certainly take the victory. It’s been a long time since we beat Western.”
It has been 12 years, to be exact. In 2004 the Black Knights 46-45 against the Warriors. Since then? Twelve losses, 11 in the regular season.
From the beginning, this one had the makings of a back-and-forth shootout. Western received the opening kickoff and drove 81 yards in seven plays. Junior quarterback Derek Domecq found top receiver Jack Weyher three times, the last one going for a 20-yard touchdown. Charlottesville responded on their first possession, aided by freshman Isaiah Washington’s 39-yard kickoff return into Warrior territory. Two plays after quarterback Sam Neale converted on fourth-and-1 with a keeper, Davis cruised 18 yards for six. Western came back with an eight-play drive, this one relying more on the ground attack aside from Domecq’s completion to senior Noah Yourkavitch for 29 yards on third-and-10. Junior Darren Klein scored from six yards out to put the Warriors up 13-6. However, Charlottesville made it four touchdowns in four series as the first quarter wound down with an 80-yard drive, capped by sophomore Sabias Folley winning a race to the right pylon from three yards out. The Knights grabbed a one-point lead when senior Lorenzo Louderback ran in for a two-point conversion.
The second quarter seemed to start with each side’s first defensive stops. Western turned it over on downs just outside the redzone, and Charlottesville’s offense failed to move the chains after three runs. However, a week after special teams gamebreakers doomed the Knights at Orange County, the coaching staff dialed up a gutsy fake punt at their own 26. Sophomore Noah Skeen paused after receiving the snap and then tossed it ahead to senior Lorenzo Louderback. With a convoy of blockers, Louderback picked up the first down and then sped down the left sideline. It ended up as a 74-yard touchdown.
With Western still down 20-13 later in the quarter, Weyher turned the tide with an interception. Klein and Domecq covered 42 yards in eight plays, and then Domecq’s keeper on the conversion gave the Warriors a 21-20 halftime lead.
“When our offense gets going and gets rhythm and some flow, I think we’re pretty good,” said Western coach Ed Redmond. “They had some big stops there, too.”
Charlottesville recaptured its offensive efficiency when play resumed in the third quarter. Neale, Louderback, and Folley covered all of the ground on the first drive, capped by Neale’s 2-yard keeper. After a Western punt, Folley took a second down handoff and busted through the middle, going 65 yards to put the Knights up 34-21. Western bounced back in 61 seconds and five plays, the last being a 13-yard touchdown reception by Yourkavitch. CHS went three-and-out, and Western took advantage of good field position after just four plays. Domecq found fullback Aidan Saunders for a 14-yard score, and the home side was back on top 35-34—at least until the next play from scrimmage.
Davis’s ensuing 67-yard scamper was the fourth touchdown in a 4:19 span late in the third quarter. After Western’s next series was derailed by a 12-yard loss on the first play of the fourth quarter and ended with a punt, Charlottesville managed to slow the pace and drain clock. Starting at their own 9, the Knights marched downfield over 11 plays. Folley picked up double-digit yardage three times: 35 on third-and-2, a 20-yard reception on fourth-and-10, and then a 12-yard touchdown.
“That [drive] was huge,” Sherry said, as Charlottesville opened a 49-35 lead with 5:29 remaining. “When you can impose your will and run the football, it’s a good feeling. That put them into a more one-dynamic type deal. The counter game they had working, the lead game, [that drive] kind of made that null-and-void, and that made it easier on us defensively.”
Cam Brown pulled down the Knights’ first interception to halt Western’s next possession. Moments later, Davis put an exclamation point on his night when he reversed direction in the backfield, headed for the CHS sideline, and then out-sprinted the field for a 47-yard touchdown.
“Keem’s a blessed kid — God touched that young fellow,” Sherry said of Davis, who finished the night with 141 yards on just seven rushes. “He did the wrong motion, but he turned it into something special.”
Folley led Charlottesville with a game-high 164 yards on 14 carries. He and Davis each scored three times. Louderback added 89 yards on 12 attempts, plus his 74-yard catch-and-run on the fake punt.
“For some reason, we just have those lulls where we give up big plays and don’t defend well,” Redmond said. “All of a sudden, the steamroller starts. We’ve had moments like that this year, and we’ve just got to keep improving and hopefully get those things fixed.”
For Western (4-5, 3-3), Klein carried 23 times for 107 yards. Domecq ran 15 times for 70 yards, and completed 17 of 27 passes for 223 yards. Weyher caught six for 74 yards, while Yourkavitch hauled in five for 80. The Warriors will have a final chance to distinguish itself in the middle of the 3A West pack when it visits Albemarle (7-2, 5-1).
Charlottesville (5-4, 3-3) finishes the regular season at home next Friday against Louisa County (8-1, 5-1).
