A win is a win. And when you haven’t walked off the field with one since the 2018 season, you’ll take it with all of the red zone turnovers and special teams mishaps that seemed likely to derail you along the way.
“They’ve been through a lot, seventeen straight games,” said Charlottesville coach Eric Sherry, whose squad battled for 48 minutes and then some to knock off James Monroe 13-7 in overtime. “Our kids were trying to learn how to win. They really played for those that came before them. Those kids fought just as hard but it just didn’t work out their way.”
On this night it did, thanks in no small part to junior defensive back, running back, and wildcat quarterback Polo Hill. Look no further than the last two plays of the night. First, Hill made an endzone interception to end JM’s overtime possession with no points. With the Black Knights up next, Sherry dialed up a new-look formation.
“We talked about going to overtime and just direct-snapping it to try and get some of our size to lean on them,” said Sherry.
Hill took the first snap and raced around the left edge. As two JM defenders converged on him inside the 5, he dove toward the goal line and got the victory-clinching touchdown signal.
“I knew my o-line was going to hold it down and block for me and put me in the endzone,” said Hill, who finished with 98 combined yards rushing and receiving. CHS’s offense as a whole had 119 yards in the game.
“Polo’s a very special kid,” Sherry said. “Blessed athletically, good kid, and you put him in those positions to make plays and he does.”
In a home opener that had to be played in Palmyra due to infrastructure issues in and around Theodose Stadium, the Black Knights’ defense got things started with a pair of first-quarter defensive stands. JM received the opening kickoff and picked up a couple of first downs before junior quarterback Tyson Taylor was stopped on a fourth-down keeper inches shy of the line to gain. The Yellow Jackets’ second series started in CHS territory, but the Knights allowed only one first down before holding for another turnover on downs.
Charlottesville’s ensuing series brought Hill’s first highlight of the night. On third-and-8, senior quarterback Caldwell Boyles found Hill open on the left side, where he made the catch and raced downfield for a pickup of 56. Two plays later, CHS got on the board when Boyles connected with Eddison Duolo for a 6-yard touchdown.
JM answered with an impressive 16-play drive that covered 75 yards. Aside from one incomplete pass attempt, it was eight-plus minutes featuring the Jackets’ ground attack. Junior running back Ke’Shaun Wallace, who had a huge first half with 16 carries for 76 yards, and senior Devin Parker took turns pounding it before Taylor cruised in for a 3-yard touchdown to tie the game 7-7 with 2:55 left in the half.
“That’s our plan going into every game, we want to run the ball,” said JM coach George Coghill, as 132 of his offense’s 135 first-half yards came on the ground. “That’s the staple of our offense right now.”
When CHS fumbled the ensuing kickoff return, the Jackets looked poised to grab the lead as the offense came right back out deep in Black Knights’ territory. After three runs and an offsides penalty had JM at the 9, Parker carried outside and launched toward the left pylon. However, CHS defenders jarred the ball loose, and it bounced into the endzone and out of bounds for a touchback.
“They went to that power set and that gave us fits,” said Sherry. “[At halftime] we had to change a couple things, check ourselves to make sure we were in the right alignment. Once we figured it out, I felt really good.”
While the rush defense improved after the break, the Black Knights’ offense would probably prefer to fast-forward through much of the tape. CHS opened the third quarter with a quick three-and-out. After an errant snap on a Yellow Jacket punt resulted in a 24-yard loss and turnover on downs, CHS took over at the JM 3. But just two plays later, the Knights’ backfield never controlled the snap and Chase Wormley fell on the loose ball for the Jackets.
Three plays later, the defense thought it had done its job again. JM got their punt away this time, but it glanced off a CHS blocker and the Jackets recovered to extend their possession. It lasted another 13 plays, stretching inside the 10 minute mark of the fourth quarter before Hill came up big in the secondary. He picked off a third-and-8 pass and returned it 55 yards to flip the field.
The Knights’ offense was knocking on the door of the red zone after a pass interference penalty, but two runs netted only one yard and a third down pass fell incomplete. A 37-yard field goal attempt came up short and wide, leaving the score 7-7 with 7:50 to play.
The defense forced a quick three-and-out, giving the offense one more shot in regulation. Starting at their own 38, CHS advanced to the JM17, propelled by a 19-yard completion from Boyles to Hill and another pass interference penalty that moved the chains on a fourth-and-8. However, flags for offensive holding and delay of game derailed things, and with just over a minute left, CHS faced fourth-and-11 at the 18. A 35-yard field goal attempt was on line but fell short in the endzone.
Taylor led a last-minute drive for the Jackets, picking up 33 yards on three scrambles plus an extra 15 for a helmet-to-helmet hit by a Black Knight tackler. On the last play of regulation, a 39-yard field goal attempt from the left hash had the leg, but stayed just wide of the left upright.
For JM (1-1), Wallace led the way with 87 yards on 18 rushes. Parker carried 15 times for 52 yards, while Jasiah Smith added 29 on nine second-half runs. Taylor added 47 yards on the ground and completed 5-of-14 passes for 19 yards.
“Until we get the passing game up to par, we have to run the ball,” said Coghill. “Hats off to their defense, they played us tough. We thought we would wear them down, but that didn’t happen.”
For the Black Knights, Boyles completed 4-of-5 passes for 84 yards. Hill was his top target with three receptions for 78 yards.
CHS (1-1, 0-1) tallied its first out-of-district win since 2017, which was also the last time it defeated its city-school compatriots from Fredericksburg. The Knights are scheduled to host Orange County (2-0, 0-0) next Friday.
