By Paul Montana/Scrimmageplay.com Contributor
LOVINGSTON – For Buckingham County football coach Craig Gill, the wins haven’t come easy as he continues to try and orchestrate a reversal of the program’s fortunes. Friday night against Nelson County, the Knights found themselves on the road, undersized, and attempting to contain one of Central Virginia’s most talented running backs, and, as Gill noted, a roster that has some size.
“Look how big these kids are,” Gill marveled after the game regarding Nelson County. “They’ve got a heck of a big team. They’re huge.”
With a touchdown on their opening drive and a stout run defense throughout, however, the Knights (2-0) controlled the tempo for the game’s duration. By the fourth quarter, Buckingham had finally worn out Nelson (0-1) with a strong ground game of its own, and punched the ball in the end zone once more to seal a 14-0 victory.
Shutting out the Governors was no small feat for Buckingham, as the slippery but powerful Trey Barnett made his season debut as Nelson’s starting tailback. At the game’s outset, it appeared that Barnett would have his way, as he both rumbled and juked for 65 first-half rushing yards. As the Knights continued to frustrate Barnett by keeping him out of the end zone, however, the senior “stopped trusting his holes,” Nelson coach Mark Wells said, and Barnett was limited to 13 yards on six second-half carries.
Rather, it was speedy Buckingham tailback Maurice Taylor — also in his first season as the starter — who stole the show. The sophomore ran both inside and out for 161 yards and both of Buckingham’s touchdowns.
The Knights’ proficient running attack also came in spite of an offensive line that includes three new starters.
“We only had two [offensive lineman] coming back from last year, and last year it was our weak area,” Gill said. “We really worked on that in the off-season, and besides that, I’m the offensive line coach — so we had to get better at that.”
Taylor wasn’t fazed by the new additions up front.
“I’ve been playing with these guys since I was seven years old,” Taylor said. “It’s just about having confidence in your teammates.”
Perhaps the Knights biggest play of the evening though came in the air as they attempted to preserve their 7-0 lead. With seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and Buckingham facing third and seven on its own 45 yard-line, Gill had tight end Alvin Davis run a fly route against a Nelson secondary that was running a press coverage set. Though Wells said he had Nelson practice against that play all week, it worked to perfection, as Buckingham quarterback Tarian Ayers hit Davis for a 26-yard gain behind the secondary. The Knights ultimately scored on the drive with a 16-yard TD run from Taylor.
“They had 10 people within two yards of the line of scrimmage,” said Gill, “So we said, ‘We’ll take a shot.’”
The Governors will try to redeem themselves at home next Friday against Riverheads, while Buckingham will try to earn its third win prior to October for the first time since 2004 at home against Prince Edward.
