To see a photo gallery from this game, click here.
Louisa County kept things pretty simple in their homecoming tilt with Charlottesville Friday night. The Lions relied on their traditional strengths, a powerful running game and a suffocaing defense, to easily dispatch Charlottesville, 46-6, for a critical Jefferson District win.
The Lions (5-2, 3-1 JD) overcame their share of pre-game drama as sophomore quarterback Kire’ Worley came down with the flu and saw only limited action in the contest. His illness forced Louisa Coach Mark Fischer to scrap his two-quarterback attack and hastily revise his game plan.
“We had an illness coming up to game time so we had to change some things right [before the game],” Fischer said. “We didn’t practice any of that stuff all week. We just kind of made it up, put three running backs in the backfield and said ‘let’s see what we got.’”
Despite the last minute adjustments, senior signal-caller Dillon Hollins and a host of runners didn’t miss a beat as the Lions got off to a quick start on a cold and rainy night in Mineral.
Sophomore running back Andre Mealy sparked the Lion offense on their opening possession, bursting through the Black Knight defense for a 33-yard run that set the stage for Hollins, who scampered 11 yards to pay dirt on a quarterback keeper.
Hollins found the end zone again with less than two minutes remaining in the opening quarter-this time on defense. He snared a deflected Benj Wilhelm pass and rumbled 60 yards to give the Lions a 14-0 advantage.
Charlottesville (3-4, 2-2 JD) looked determined to keep things interesting, battling back with a productive offensive possession of their own. Maurice Jackson hit Adrian Thurston with a 56-yard scoring strike on the first play of the second quarter to cap the 5-play, 66-yard march.
But that would be the Black Knights only visit to the end zone as the smothering Louisa defense held Charlottesville to only 16 rushing yards and just over 100 yards of total offense.
Charlottesville struggles on the ground coupled with some costly miscues translated into opportunities and points for the Lions. One of those mistakes came just a minute into the second half and effectively ended the Knights’ come back hopes. Trailing 20-6 and pinned deep in their own territory, Jackson attempted a lateral that was picked up by lineman Travis Johnson who ran eight yards to the end zone.
The Lions capitalized on another Black Knight turnover in the game’s final minute as senior Ernie Cross grabbed a Charlottesville fumble and took it to the house with an 85-yard return.
“Our offense gave them 21 points and we can’t do that,” Charlottesville coach Chris Fraser said, adding that his squad struggled to cope with a Louisa defense that “hasn’t given up fifty yards running in a game.”
While the Lions’ offense found the bulk of its success on the ground, Hollins added the third score of his banner night hitting Brandon Payne on a 19-yard launch in the third quarter. one of only six passes he threw all evening.
“There are a lot of emotions. It’s my final year playing here and I have put my heart and soul into this team,” Hollins said. “I love it. The guys are great, the team is great. It’s awesome just to be part of the team.”
Mealy led the Louisa rushing attack, amassing nearly 100 rushing yards including an 8-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter. Junior Anthony Hunter gave the Lions a solid one-two punch, chipping in 95 yards and an 11-yard scoring spurt to give Louisa a 20-6 advantage in the second stanza.
Louisa travels to border rival Goochland next Friday night while Charlottesville looks to rebound in a home contest with Monticello.
