Call it whatever you want. A huge win. A signature win. A reputation-changing win.
Whatever term you want, Albemarle’s football team knew what was at stake Friday night.
“We wanted it. We wanted it so bad, and we got it,” said Albemarle linebacker Malekye Hicks.
Thanks to Hicks and the defense’s sensational goal line stand and a touchdown by Amaje Parker to open overtime, the Patriots defeated William Fleming, a Class 5 state semifinalist in spring, 30-23 in overtime.
“They’re very tough, they’re physical, they’re fast, they’re smart,” running back Ebenezer McCarthy said about his team’s defense.
The Patriots’ defense gave up a 16-point lead to William Fleming, mainly due to Albemarle’s offense stalling out after a couple of three and outs in the 3rd quarter. However, that defense stepped up when they needed them the most by bending and not breaking in the waning moments of regulation and in overtime.
“I expected them to do all of this, I really expected it,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy didn’t have too bad of an evening either. The senior running back rushed for just over 200 yards, and had two rushing touchdowns, including ripping off a 68-yarder.
Albemarle’s passing game never really got going, so it was obvious after the first quarter, the Patriots were going to have to play smashmouth football. Quarterback Amaje Parker had 123 yards rushing to go along with McCarthy’s fantastic night.
For William Fleming, they had a completely opposite kind of night. Fleming’s running back Nahshon Bonds had just 12 yards in the first half which contributed to the Colonels falling behind early. Down 23-7 at halftime, Fleming quarterback Dashawn Lewis came out firing and ended the game with 203 passing yards. With additional help from wide receivers Jailen Robinson and Kyah Jordan-Nesbit, Fleming climbed back into the game and tied it with touchdowns and two-point conversions in both the third and fourth quarter.
Going into overtime, Albemarle won the coin toss, and elected to be on offense first from the 10-yard line. After a couple of rushes from McCarthy, Parker pushed the rock into the endzone and scored a touchdown. Fleming’s first offensive play was an 8-yard rush, pushing the ball to the 2-yard line. That was as close as they’d get to scoring. The Colonels were suffocated by the Patriots’ goal line defense for three consecutive plays, and that was the ball game.
“Right now, I’m just proud of the kids and the coaches; the way we come together,” said Albemarle coach Brandon Isaiah. “We’re starting to develop trust in each other, and when you can win close games like that, against a great team, I think that gives you an opportunity to build confidence and to continue moving forward.”
With the win versus William Fleming, Albemarle improves their record to 2-0, and looks to go 3-0 next week when they travel to Roanoke to take on Patrick Henry.
