Stories

Knights get big fourth quarter push

The players and fans on the Buckingham County sideline were itching for a spark, just one big play. Trailing Fluvanna County by a point early in the fourth quarter, Tariq Bartee gave the Knights that moment when he blocked a 37-yard field goal attempt after a bobbled snap. The ball landed right in front of Jackson Bryant. The  junior picked up the ball and ran 60 yards untouched to put his team out front. One Flyin’ Fluco fumble and an Antonn Briley rushing touchdown later, and suddenly a razor close game that was all about defense was safe in Buckingham’s hands as the Knights ground out a 19-7 win at home.

“We’ve finding ways to win these tough ones,” said Buckingham coach Craig Gill whose team has two games this year after trailing in the fourth quarter. “I told the guys tonight that I knew we were going to have to overcome adversity tonight. We knew Fluvanna had two weeks to prepare for us and that they would come in here with their ‘A’ game.”

For the first three quarters there were only a handful of significant offensive plays compared to an endless barrage of 3-and-outs and punts. Buckingham got on the board early in the second quarter when Maurice Taylor broke loose on the sidelines and shed a pair of Fluco tacklers right in front of the endzone for a 31-yard rushing touchdown.

The Buckingham defense and special teams held Fluvanna to within its own 20-yard line until the middle of the second quarter when quarterback T.J. Dudley barreled through the Knights secondary on a 56-yard run. Just a few plays later and 3-yard rushing score from Ben Markiewicz followed by a PAT and the Flucos were out in front.

From that point forward it was all defense, until Bryant’s big score after the blocked kick. Bryant had never scored a touchdown before, and initially, the play didn’t go as planned.

“Originally I was the one that was supposed to block it, but, well, it didn’t work out that way” Bryan said with a smile. “I saw the ball right there in front of me, and I just went right into the fundamentals and started running. I didn’t see anyone around me. I can’t describe it, I had never scored a touchdown before.”

Immediately after the Knights took the lead, the defense put the nail in the coffin when Caderious Bowles was able wrangle loose a fumble from Markiewicz. After the strip, the ball bounced right to a waiting Taylor who ran it back for 21 yards to set up Briley’s 4-yard end-around score.

For Buckingham, the win comes as a relief particularly on offense as both Taylor and quarterback Tarian Ayers were under constant duress in the backfield.

“Tarian and I, we were getting hit before we did anything at the line of scrimmage,” Taylor said. “Today was a wake-up game.”

In the Flucos case, the team eagerly awaits the chance to play another fourth quarter and execute as they fell to Madison in the final frame two weeks ago before going on a bye week.

“We have to play four quarter and we have to finish,” said Fluvanna coach Jason Barnett. “This is the third game in a row where we’ve had the lead in the fourth and then something bad has happened to us.”

It was a struggle for both offenses as neither could muster more than 175 yards of offense.

Dudley led all runners with 84 yards on 10 carries. For Buckingham, Tarian Ayers finished 8 for 17 with 72 yards. Taylor led the team on the ground with 20 carries for 66 yards.

The game took a scary turn in the middle of the fourth quarter when Fluvanna receiver Taylor Lintecum was on the ground and had to be carted off the field in an ambulance on a backboard with a neck brace. According to both game officials and the Fluvanna coach staff, Lintecum was able to move his extremities and was sent to University of Virginia Hospital as a precautionary measure.

Fluvanna (1-2) travels to Western Albemarle on Friday at 7:30 p.m for its first Jefferson District contest.

Buckingham (4-0) opens up James River play with Chatham at home at 7 p.m.

Comments

comments