Western Albemarle wasn’t particularly in trouble — the Warriors were still up by three touchdowns — but the momentum had shifted toward Charlottesville after a long touchdown toss from Mason Sherry to Chris Thurston.
Nic Drapanas, the Warriors’ versatile sophomore, made sure it didn’t last.
Drapanas corralled the ensuing kickoff and sprinted 70 yards down to the Charlottesville 10-yardline. Two plays later, Kent Henry plunged in from a yard out and Western was back on its way to what became a 42-7 victory over Charlottesville.
“The kid’s ridiculous,” said Western coach Ed Pierce. “He’s 145 pounds and he’s a great slot receiver, he’s a running back, he’s a kick returner, he’s our holder — he can do anything. He’s a really talented kid.”
The kickoff return was far from Drapanas’ only contribution on the night. He hauled in a 28-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter that put the Warriors up by 14. He also played cornerback during the strong effort by the Warriors and stepped in at running back in the second half and rushed for 42 yards on four carries. It was his first action at running back this year for the Warriors.
“I started (working out at running back) last week,” Drapanas said. “They just wanted me to try it out and I love it.”
Western built a 28-0 halftime lead mostly after a long lightning delay occurred late in the first quarter. Just before the delay, Tanner Knight rushed in from 11 yards out to put the Warriors up 6-0 but the Warriors kicked into high gear after the return to the field. Drapanas scored on the 28-yard toss from Kent Henry and Isaiah Cowan capped a 92-yard drive by the Warriors with a 17-yard touchdown catch with 31 seconds left in the half. On Charlottesville’s possession just two plays later, Daniel Kuzjak struck with an interception and the junior raced 50 yards for a touchdown off the pick.
Henry finished 11 for 20 for 167 yards and three passing touchdowns on the night to go with his rushing score, with wideout Austin Ellis hauling in 90 yards and a late touchdown. He was particularly efficient in the first half, going 8 for 12 for 132 yards.
It was Knight’s running though that opened up that air attack. Knight toted the ball seven times for 46 yards on the Warriors’ first drive.
“Obviously we are a little more pass heavy,” Pierce said. “We’d like to be more balanced and for sure, once we got in the situation early on where they were pressing, we ran some options and got outside a little bit.”
Charlottesville managed several sustained second half drives, but turnovers hurt any shot at a comeback by the Knights. Quarterback Mason Sherry threw for 192 yards and Chris Thurston totaled 73 yards from scrimmage while scoring the Knights’ lone touchdown.
“We struggled to get in rhythm and we did have a couple of drives there where we just couldn’t finish the drive,” said Charlottesville coach Eric Sherry. “And a lot of it’s self-inflicted wounds.”
The kickoff return by Drapanas almost certainly would have been a touchdown if not for an incredible effort by Charlottesville wideout Diamonte Scott, who ran down Drapanas from behind.
“I was surprised Diamonte was able to get him,” Sherry said. “That was an impressive tackle.”
