By Logan Riddick / Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor
Charlottesville senior quarterback Rashard Davis’ return to action after last Friday’s second half injury sent him to the hospital could not have gone much better. Davis and the Black Knights offense ran away from Culpeper County 47-28 for their first win of the season, and first victory since topping the Blue Devils last fall.
“It felt great, coming back on the field fully healthy,” said Davis, who accounted for 317 total yards and six touchdowns. “I came back Monday at practice healthy, and the team was doing well the whole week. I knew we were going to come out here and get that W.”
Davis opened the scoring with a 36-yard touchdown run on Charlottesville’s first possession, which covered 80 yards on six running plays following a holding penalty. Culpeper drove into Black Knights’ territory on their next series, but Charlottesville sophomore Troy Hughes pounced on a fumbled backfield exchange. However, Charlottesville’s possession ended when it opted not to punt on 4th and 12 from its own 25. Davis pitched to Chris Thurston, who was tackled 3 yards short of the line to gain.
“Rashard’s our punter, so we just use him back there,” said Charlottesville coach Eric Sherry.
That would likely be considered Davis’ only poor read of the evening. Still leading 6-0 in the second quarter, Charlottesville senior cornerback Wynter Warren intercepted Blue Devils quarterback Zackary Crim’s long pass attempt to give the offense a shot with 4:09 left before halftime. Just two plays later, Davis raced 91 yards for his second touchdown, and then completed his first pass to Darius Watson for the two-point conversion and a 14-0 lead.
Culpeper responded with a 64-yard completion from Crim to Nikolas Stewart to start its next drive. William Hogan scored from 7 yards out to cut the lead to 14-7; however, the Blue Devils never got closer. After a good kickoff return, Charlottesville covered 41 yards on two plays, with Davis hitting freshman Rashod Brock with a 29-yard pass to send the Black Knights into halftime up 21-7.
“We wanted to keep focused. The last couple of games, we weren’t focused coming out of the locker room in the second half,” said Davis. “We were going to come out focused, act like the score was 0-0, and keep on adding to that score.”
Charlottesville did just that, dominating the third. On the first play after the break, Davis hit senior Laquarius Warfield crossing left to right over the middle, and the receiver took it all the way for an 80-yard touchdown. After Culpeper fumbled on the ensuing kickoff and added a personal foul penalty, Davis rushed 8 yards for another score; two Charlottesville touchdowns in the half’s first two offensive plays. The Blue Devils’ next series ended with another fumble deep in their own end, recovered by sophomore linebacker Alley Jenson. Davis cashed in two plays later from 21 yards out for his fourth rushing touchdown, and less than three and a half minutes into the half, the Black Knights led 40-7. Ultimately, Charlottesville outscored Culpeper 26-7 in the third quarter.
“[Rashard] did a great job,” said Sherry. “He managed the game really well. He took what was given to him, and he capitalized on it.”
Despite the lopsided score, Culpeper focused on its ground game as time wound down. Daekwon Fisher scored from 29 yards out late in the third quarter, and Marcellus Greene ran it in early in the fourth quarter as part of a 72-yard night. William Hogan led the Blue Devils with 107 yards on 19 carries.
“What we still need to work on is we’re a horrible tackling team,” said Sherry. “Until we get that figured out, we’re going to tread water.”
Charlottesville’s final scoring drive late in the third quarter covered 51 yards on four runs by Chris Thurston, who finished with 105 yards on 16 carries. Culpeper closed out the night’s scoring with an 18-yard touchdown pass from Crim to Marcellus Greene. Crim finished 6 of 13 for 124 yards, while Rashard Davis finished 5 of 8 for 122 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Davis’ other 195 yards came on nine rushes.
Charlottesville (1-3) will face Liberty-Bealeton (2-2) at home next Friday night. Davis hopes for another energetic showing by Charlottesville students and fans.
“We’ve got to prepare like we did for Culpeper this week, and get that Black Knight Pride grandstand out here, and just go to work,” said Davis.
