By Luke Nadkarni / Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor
Early in the fourth quarter of Friday night’s game against King George, Louisa County’s do-everything senior Trey Cherry, who had run for three touchdowns, went down clutching his leg after a long King George pass had moved the Foxes into Lions territory.
Cherry was helped off the field and when King George running back Jecolby White scored two plays later, the Foxes took a two-point lead with just under 11 minutes remaining in what had been a back-and-forth contest.
Cherry, however, missed just one offensive play and returned to the field to direct the game-winning drive in a 34-28 victory, keeping the Lions undefeated at home. Josh Grady set up the drive by returning the King George kickoff all the way to the Foxes’ 38-yard line.
“I was just cramping a little,” Cherry said. “I swear I drank half a bottle of mustard on the sideline.”
The Lions nearly self-destructed with three false start penalties, the last of which set up a third-and-20 at the King George 30. Cherry gained 18 yards, making fourth down manageable, and ReQuan Jones followed by gaining just enough to move the sticks. Two plays later, Cherry took it in from five yards out to put his team on top.
The first half featured each team throwing haymakers on their first drives, with White’s one-yard touchdown dive capping off a 10-play, 67-yard drive to put the visitors up 7-0. Louisa answered by going 80 yards in seven plays, with Cherry getting his first touchdown of the night on a 34-yard run on fourth down. The extra point failed, however, and the Lions still trailed.
Cooper Yancey changed that just before the first-quarter gun, going in from 12 yards out and the ensuing two-point conversion made it 14-7. King George quarterback Will Clift sandwiched a 12-yard touchdown run and a 16-yard touchdown pass to Willie Calloway around Cherry’s second score, which also featured a missed extra point, giving the Foxes a 21-20 lead at the break.
“This was a good win for us because it was a game between two evenly matched teams,” Louisa head coach Mark Fischer said. “You’ve gotta give King George credit.”
Cherry scored again on Louisa’s first drive of the third quarter to make it 26-21, then the Lions’ defense came up big in the second half, recovering an Aley Jordan fumble on its own 42. It was one of two fumbles forced by the Lions in the second half, allowing its rushing attack to control the clock and keep the Foxes’ offense off the field and setting the stage for Cherry’s late heroics.
“It’s all about the kids who made plays,” Fischer said. “They had their backs against the wall and came up big.”
Cherry carried the ball 31 times for 195 yards to go along with his four touchdowns. He also got loads of help from Jones, who gained 140 yards on 17 carries.
“Coach preaches ‘three yards, three yards, three yards,’“ Cherry said. “Our goal is to keep the ball and drain the clock. That’s Louisa football.”
The Lions return to the field next Friday when they host Jefferson District foe Charlottesville in their league opener. Kickoff is set for 7:30 pm
