CROZET — Last week against Buckingham, the Knights blocked a Fluvanna County field goal attempt in the fourth quarter and returned the ball for the game-winning touchdown. Lesson learned.
Friday night, the Flucos used special teams to jumpstart its 27-0 win over Western Albemarle.
Senior placekicker Jose Franco opened the game with an erratic squib kick that the Flucos eventually recovered. Although the Flucos’ opening drive ended with a missed 37-yard field goal, Fluvanna coach Jason Barnett credited that opening play for the Flucos’ win.
“The [opening] kick was huge… It’s a mental thing: conditioning harder, wanting it more. We swarmed to the ball and were just excited [to play],” Barnett said.
Junior athlete Yaya Anderson was particularly enthusiastic — he recovered from an injury just in time to play against the Warriors — leading Fluvanna (2-2) to the game’s first touchdown with a 30-yard scamper eight minutes into the contest.
“I knew I was going to be hungrier than everybody else. We had to practice every single day and work hard,” Anderson said.
The 6-0 Fluvanna lead stood for the remainder of the first half as both teams struggled to get into an offensive groove. The two teams combined for only three first downs in the first quarter and 11 in the first half.
Western Albemarle, in particular, struggled on offense. Senior quarterback the center-quarterback exchange led to several dropped snaps and Abbott Wallenborn had several errant option tosses and the Warriors (1-3) never seemed to be able to overcome their mistakes.
“We struggled to get into a tempo,” said Warriors coach Ed Pierce. “We’d obviously like more diversity on offense, but we just couldn’t get going… we weren’t effective. Fundamentals are important and we didn’t have [good fundamentals].”
Fluvanna, on the other hand, rode the industrious feet of playmaking tandem Anderson and junior quarterback TJ Dudley to a 21-point second half. Dudley took eight carries in the second half for 61 yards and a touchdown, while Anderson took five carries and one reception in the second half for 52 yards and a touchdown.
Anderson said that the Flucos were successful running the ball in the second half because the team managed to wear down Western Albemarle’s defense as the half wore on.
“We conditioned hard during the week, and we wore them down. Their tackling was poor, [so Dudley and I] were able to run over the defense,” Anderson said.
Friday’s matchup between the Flucos and Warriors had a special importance to Barnett, in particular. Barnett, a Western Albemarle alumnus and former assistant for a year under Coach Pierce and several more under former head man Steve Isaacs, returned to the Warriors Stadium for the first time since he became Fluvanna’s coach.
Despite his demonstrative, exuberant, and clearly passionate nature on the sidelines, Barnett insists that the storyline did not distract his players.
“In the end the players play. Yes, it felt different standing on the other sideline at this stadium for the first time, but it also feels right. I’m at the right place trying to build a winning tradition,” Barnett said.
Dudley, whose father was a starting quarterback at Western Albemarle, echoed Barnett’s sentiments.
“I know that my father was a big player here, but we have a better team [than he had]. In the next two years, we’ll put Fluvanna on the map,” Dudley said.
Fluvanna hopes to continue its momentum next Friday when it hosts Monticello (2-2) at 7:30p.m.
Western Albemarle’s road won’t get easier next Friday when it travels to Louisa County (4-0). Game time is also set for 7:30 p.m.
