Buckingham football’s season ended in a frustrating 27-0 loss to Brunswick Saturday afternoon in Franklin. But it wasn’t too long ago that it didn’t seem like the Knights had much of a prayer of even playing in December.
“If someone had told me at 1-2 we’d be in the state semifinals I’d have taken them to Vegas to do a little gambling,” said Buckingham coach Craig Gill.
The Knights tremendous turnaround season and dominant run through the playoffs ended at the hands of a Brunswick team with a talented defensive front that managed to nearly completely shutdown the Knights’ vaunted run game in the first half.
“They’re a mighty good football team,” Gill said. “We had a hard time blocking themup front. (Defensive linemen Xavier Burke and Jaheem McFarland) are Division I players. (Burke) is going to Virginia Tech and I see why.”
When combined with an offense that controlled the ball after the break and only allowed Buckingham to run a total of seven plays in the second half, it was too much for the Knights to overcome.
“That’s a big gamechanger — we’ve worked on that all year,” said Brunswick coach Harold Williams. “The offensive line stepped up, they asked me to run behind them and I did.”
Jakal Williams and Haywood Townes did the bulk of the damage on the ground for Brunswick, pounding out yards and forcing the Knights to load up against the ground game. When that happened, Brunswick quarterback Darren Owens made them pay, including hitting Marshall King for a 19-yard touchdown that gave Brunswick a 13-0 lead after the first drive of the second half.
“To be a sophomore (Owens) does a particularly great job,” Williams said.
Williams finished with 18 carries for 88 yards while Townes toted the rock 25 times for 87 yards. The balanced, unpredictable approach rarely fooled the Knights for big gains — just four carries by the Bulldogs went for more than 10 yards, and only one for more than 20 — but the three and five yard gains piled up and allowed Brunswick to dominate time of possession in the second half after leading just 7-0 at halftime.
When Buckingham did manage to get their hands on the ball, they couldn’t find an offensive rhythm, in part because muddy conditions on the field slowed down the Knights on the edge.
Kenneth Johnson and Leon Ragland, just a week after rushing for more than 170 yards each, combined for just 99 yards on 24 carries between them. The passing game managed just 17 yards for the Knights. It was a particularly bittersweet ending for Johnson’s career, who in four years rushed for more than 4,800 yards for the Knights, sixth best all-time in Scrimmage Play-area history. His 86 career rushing touchdowns are second all-time behind Monticello’s Takeem Hedgeman’s 88.
“(Brunswick) did a good job shutting him down,” Gill said. “He’s one of the finest young men I’ve ever worked with.”
The Knights’ started a number of sophomores in the game including Ragland, who is poised to start at quarterback for the next two seasons after a breakout 2013, so the future is bright for the Knights.
“I’m so proud of these young men,” Gill said. “I’ve coached 38 years and this is the most pleasurable group of boys ever. We’ve come a long way.”
