Charlottesville’s last two years of football have been transformative by most any measure. The Black Knights put together their first two back-to-back winning seasons since 2002. They hosted and won a region playoff game and they resurrected what it meant to tangle with CHS on the gridiron.
While certain members of that resurrection like running back Sabias Folley are coming back next year, in a way that version of the Black Knights came to an official close Tuesday as five Black Knights, all key cogs in those two seasons, came together to celebrate their collegiate decisions. Multi-tooled athlete Rakeem Davis heads to James Madison University, road-paving linemen Larry Henderson and Trejon Bryant to Glenville State, quarterback Sam Neale to Washington and Lee and wideout Jake Poe to Hampden Sydney.
Davis’ decision has been a done deal for some time. He’ll join one of the top FCS programs in the nation in the Dukes who are coming off a second straight national title game appearance and he’ll follow in his brother Rashard’s footsteps, a former JMU kick returner and wideout who is now a member of the Philadelphia Eagles’ practice squad.
“I’m blessed to join the JMU legacy,” Davis said. “They have a good business program that helps you get out there and explore working in big jobs and big corporations.”
Folley has had the pleasure of running behind Bryant and Henderson the last three years, so he knows exactly what Glenville State’s line is getting — a pair of big-time linemen with good feet who can maul or finesse opponents like they did as seniors while the offense amassed more than 3,500 yards on the ground in just 11 games. Henderson and Bryant join a pack of Central Virginia players that have chosen Glenville the last two years, including Albemarle’s J’Quan Anderson, Nelson’s Devante Rose and Monticello’s Garrett Porterfield this year as well as Monticello’s Trevor Haislip and Orange’s Deangelo Hunt and Tre Smith in recent years.
“I feel pretty comfortable going to a college with some people I already know and that I played against,” Henderson said. “I think we’ll be able to do something special for the program.”
Neale, the player who emerged as the Black Knights’ missing piece when he stepped in as a junior at quarterback, heads to Washington and Lee a school that’s a perfect academic fit for a top-flight student.
Neale, who rushed for 1,032 yards and threw for another 966, is a perfect fit for a program like the Generals who have used a triple option attack for years, but with Central Virginia native and former W&L head coach Scott Abell now at Davidson the system could change. But no matter what happens, Neale chose not just the football program, but the school.
“The biggest thing for me always, college-wise, was academics,” Neale said. “W&L also just has a great sense of community, it’s a really, really small school, so I’ll know my teachers and most people around campus.”
Trying to find a home in a football program with a lethal passing attack like Hampden Sydney’s as a wide receiver after playing in a triple option attack is a feat.
“There obviously was not much tape when I was making a highlight tape, there wasn’t much to put on it,” said Charlottesville’s Jake Poe. “Really those last three games when our coaches opened up the playbook I was able to show my athletic ability and talent.”
Those last few games, including 92 yards on three catches against Salem in the playoffs and a huge touchdown catch against Monticello, gave Poe enough tape. It certainly didn’t hurt that he’s an excellent, proven open field blocker.
Still, playing in a system that’s a little more wide open sounds like fun to Poe, whose father played basketball for the Tigers. Former Buckingham quarterback Cam Johnson was an All-American at wideout for the Hampden Sydney this year after hauling in more than 1,200 yards and 12 touchdowns.
“I’ve heard a lot about Cam Johnson, he killed it last year,” Poe said. “When I went down there they knew we were running the triple option and they said, we’re a pass first team so you’re going to be experiencing the ball coming your way a lot more than you did in high school.”
So, sure, it’s at least the end of a special chapter in the history of Charlottesville football. But this is also the beginning of something new and something that could be just as special for those five players.
