Some high school kickers wait a career for a moment like the chance Yousof Algburi got Friday night.
For Algburi, it’s becoming pretty standard.
For the third time in his career, Algubri booted a game-winning kick in the Patriots’ homecoming game. This time he knocked through a 27-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Patriots to a 24-21 victory over Fluvanna County.
“That’s the biggest moment for kickers, it’s the opportunity to finish a game that your guys worked hard for,” Algburi said. “The last two times were routine but this one I was nervous for some reason, I don’t know why.”
The Patriots raced down field to get Algburi in position to kick after Fluvanna County turned the ball over on downs near midfield in the closing minutes. First Albemarle receiver Aquon Sims hit Torry Green for a 14-yard pickup on a reverse pass and then Ebenezer McCarthy ripped off a 30-yard run to put the ball on the Fluvanna 10. Albemarle then milked the rest of the clock to give Algburi a chance to kick and win it with two seconds left. He delivered.
“It’s a hard life for Yousof, in practice if he doesn’t kick it exactly the way I want it I’m on him on the sidelines,” said Albemarle coach Brandon Isaiah. “But moments like that where he puts the ball through the uprights to win the game for us, I’m just extremely proud of them.”
McCarthy finished with 131 yards on the ground, with most of it coming in big chunks including a 62-yard sprint down the sideline that put the Patriots up 21-14 late in the third quarter.
“I saw the biggest holes in the world, my receivers blocked for me, the line blocked for me, I just ran through the hole that they set up for me,” McCarthy said.
The Patriots got a major lift from a pair of Jake King touchdown passes, one to Green and another to Nolan Pitsenberger. King threw for 131 yards, primarily targeting Robert Jones, Green and Pitsenberger. King has made huge strides this season, and is starting to come into his own as a first year starter as just a sophomore.
“People who don’t know anything are like, oh, he’s small, he doesn’t have a big arm,” Isaiah said. “But there’s something about that kid — he’s a winner. That’s a trait that’s assumed sometimes but when I’m around him he makes me a better coach and that’s a great thing to see in a sophomore.”
King and McCarthy’s efforts helped offset a big-time performance by Fluvanna County’s Kobe Edmonds, who rushed for 162 yards and three touchdowns. Edmonds was explosive on the ground, jump starting the Fluvanna offense with a 46-yard touchdown sprint on the game’s opening drive.
“It’s always that double edged sword, when you have a running quarterback, the other team doesn’t usually have someone for him but if he gets hurt,” said Fluvanna coach Mike Morris. “We know he can move the ball for us like that and we’ve just got to play around and tinker with how much each week.”
On that drive and a lot of the early action, Fluvanna’s offensive line got going and was moving the Patriots’ defensive front and opening up huge creases all night. With that kind of effort up front, Fluvanna appeared on the brink of taking control of the game, but Albemarle battled back to keep it even. It was a solid bounce back despite the loss after a frustrating performance for the Flucos in a loss to Western during their own homecoming last week.
“Other than taking the L, I thought we played pretty well,” Morris said. “We had a chance to win another homecoming tonight but we couldn’t pull it off. They played hard, they played tough.”
Albemarle eventually answered with King’s touchdown toss to Pitsenberger tying up the game at 7-7 with 7:46 left in the second quarter. Then with 17.9 seconds left in the second quarter, King’s connection with Green in the back corner of the end zone gave Albemarle the 14-7 lead and a big momentum spark going into the break.
Fluvanna tied it up at 14-14 when Edmonds picked his way through the defense for a nine-yard gain, but Albemarle immediately answered with McCarthy’s 62-yard sprint which set the stage for an exciting fourth quarter.
Edmonds tied the game with his third score with 6:58 left. Fluvanna got the ball back on its own nine after a solid Algburi punt and moved the ball to midfield before stalling out. Albemarle’s offense then caught fire with the two huge plays to move it into range for another Algburi game-winner.
“We love Yousof, we watch him every day in practice, we knew he was going to make it for us,” McCarthy said.
Sure enough, Algburi delivered. Again.
Albemarle is now 2-5 after starting the year with a brutal schedule and a rash of injuries. They’ll get into the eight team Region 5D playoffs no matter what, but a strong finish could drastically improve their seeding.
“We want the best for these boys and they have so much potential,” Isaiah said. “It’s good watching them go through these learning experiences, even if it doesn’t make you feel good. Those first three or four weeks, with who we were playing nine starters out, there was just a lot going on. To come out of the Monticello game and have a great game then to come out of the bye and win a tough game, I think it just says a lot about these kids and this coaching staff.”
The Patriots face Western next week in a rivalry game while Fluvanna travels to take on Louisa County.
