Louisa County’s defense was ready to hunt Tuesday night.
“You’ve got to be hungry on defense — you’ve got to be hungry on defense no matter what,” said Louisa County’s Kalep Shelton.
The Lions unleashed 15 months of hunger on Charlottesville Tuesday night, rolling 49-0 while recovering four fumbles and posting a shutout in both teams’ first action since November of 2019.
“Defensively I thought we were flying around, no doubt about it,” said Louisa coach Will Patrick. “We’ve got so many new kids it’s unbelievable and they’re really buying into what we’re teaching, our philosophy and our culture and I think it showed.”
The Lions’ largely revamped front seven played up to preseason expectations in the opener with Lowell Johnson, Qwenton Spellman, Eli Brooks, A.J. Proffitt and Jacob Bundrick all making impact plays. Proffitt provided perhaps the most dramatic when he scooped and scored when Spellman knifed into the backfield and forced a fumble with 2:45 to play in the first half. After feeling things out early, the Lions started pinning their ears back and attacking a largely new-look Charlottesville backfield relentlessly.
“We just had to get a little warmed up,” Proffitt said. “Just reading, coming off the edges and getting back there on them worked the best. We just shut down the inside run game.”
Shelton and sophomore quarterback Landon Wilson powered an offense that made sure there were enough points on the board to cash in on that defensive effort. Shelton rushed for 91 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries almost entirely in the first half.
“At first it was kind of sloppy because it had been awhile since we’d played,” Shelton said. “But as we went through, we found a rhythm and executed very well.”
Wilson struck first with a 14-yard touchdown on the ground after Charlottesville fumbled on its first offensive play and then Wilson tacked on another with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Chase Miller on the next drive. Wilson went on to connect on a big gain with Armani Comfort for 29 yards and went 3-for-9 for 50 yards and a touchdown, but that defensive performance left the Lions working with a short field most of the night. Logan McGhee also chipped in an 14-yard touchdown run on a slick direct snap to Shelton to make it 21-0 in the second quarter.
“If we just continue to stay healthy — I’m just excited about each day I get with them to be honest with you,” Patrick said.
The Black Knights showed some promise with their own group of new players as Eddison Duolo ripped off a 49-yard run and raced 23 yards for a first down on a screen in the second quarter while Caldwell Broyles hit a couple of short passes that turned into big gains while fighting against that relentless front seven for the Lions. Defensively, Jabari Jones had an interception that was wiped out by a penalty while Lamont Bullard forced one of two fumbles the Black Knights recovered on the night.
Charlottesville will look to get back on track when the Black Knights host Fluvanna County Saturday while the Lions 31-game regular season win-streak up to 32 in their annual rivalry clash with Orange County the same day.
