Page County and Nelson County both know what it’s like to try and dig out of a frustrating hole, trying to turn around programs that have gone long stretches without even picking up a single win.
The Panthers are just a little ahead of the Governors in that process as Friday night’s 52-18 victory by Page showed. The Panthers, who lost 31 games over a four year stretch from 2010 to 2013, used a multi-faceted backfield and an option attack to jump out to a 34-0 lead. Quarterback William Hart as well as running backs Jerry Cubbage, L.J. Kline and Trey Knight all scored on the ground in the first half, with Kline putting up the final tally in that run late in the second quarter.
“Our kids did a great job of reading it and our linemen did a great job of getting guys in the position they needed to,” said Page head coach Joey Soltis. “Believe it or not, this is our third game in this offense, we were a multiple I-formation team in the past.”
Right around the time Kline crossed the goal line though is when the Governors got going themselves. Nelson rushed downfield and with a couple of throws from Brice Wilson and Felix Rodriguez bursting up the middle for big yardage got into the redzone. Wilson, on a rollout to his left, then found Fletcher Bowles for a touchdown with under a minute left in the first half. That got Nelson on the board and gave the Governors momentum heading into the locker room.
“We fought hard and battled all night,” said Nelson coach Matt Hicks. “One of the things I talked with them about was how different tonight looked than last year. The score was very similar but the difference in the players, the teamwork, the effort, all of those things was night and day.”
Nelson kept it rolling in the second half, scoring back-to-back touchdowns, the first in spectacular fashion when Wilson dropped a ball over a Page safety to Devante Rose, who raced 76 yards for the touchdown. Wilson then found Bowles again after the defense forced a fumble and suddenly the Governors were within striking distance down just 34-18 midway through the third quarter.
“We were looking for other people to step up and a lot of our younger guys stepped up and made big plays today,” Rose said. “Fletcher stepped up and that was his first game starting so it had a big impact on the team.”
Page answered though, ripping off a quick scoring drive to push ahead 40-18. Nelson couldn’t counterpunch and by the end of the third Parge was back up big, leading 52-18.
The Governors had several bright spots outside of the strong stretch in the middle of game, including a fumble recovery by James Johnson. Right now it’s just about stringing together some more of those moments and playing a complete game each week like Nelson did against Bath County in its opener.
Nelson squares off with Craig County next week at home.
