Albemarle and Orange went toe-to-toe for an entire half of football.
But then the Patriots hit the gas in the third quarter and didn’t look back.
Albemarle reeled off 41 straight points starting with a well-executed two-minute drill near the end of the first half and rolled to a 55-14 victory over the Hornets on Tuesday night. The Patriots’ win came in a game that was rescheduled after being shelved due to weather and then declared a no contest by the VHSL.
Albemarle got big-time performances from three critical players as Noah Grevious hauled in 10 catches for 162 yards and a touchdown while also snagging two picks on defense, Polo Hill rushed for 129 yards and three touchdowns on 18 touches and Amaje Parker threw for 217 yards, the touchdown to Grevious and scored twice on the ground.
Orange tied the game at 14-14 with 2:43 left in the first half when Jeremiah Wharton hit JaePharoah Carpenter for a touchdown from 12 yards out.
Albemarle responded in kind one minute and 31 seconds later when Parker scored from a yard out after the Patriots raced down the field. The Patriots struck quickly in the third quarter too when Hill scored from a yard out to make it 28-14 with 10 minutes left in the frame. Almost eight minutes later, Parker found Grevious on a crossing pattern and Grevious raced into the end zone from 41 yards out. A couple of plays later, Grievous made it back-to-back touchdowns when he picked off a pass and took it to the house.
Albemarle then tacked on two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter with Zahir Wolfe and Hill each scoring to push the lead to 55-14. It was a welcome offensive explosion for the Patriots who had to overcome three turnovers but converted well in critical situations, going 7-for-9 on third and 1-for-2 on fourth.
Albemarle’s defense gave up the two first half scores, but held Orange to 191 yards of total offense and forced three turnovers.
Naziere Mcintosh and Kaleb Faust each had interceptions for Orange and Christian Simpson ran for 68 yards and the Hornets’ first touchdown. Brody Foran had five catches for 56 yards.
Albemarle, now sitting at 6-1 on the year, will host Goochland Friday. The Hornets will try and bounce back Friday against Monticello at home.
