PALMYRA — Culpeper got down to business early and never looked back as it picked up its second win to spoil Fluvanna County’s homecoming on Friday night.
The Blue Devils got a stellar performance from quarterback Hunter Crim, who threw for four touchdowns, including one in the first minute of the game, en route to the 33-6 win.
The visitors also got a boost from Tristen Mullen on the ground. The 5-10 shifty running back didn’t reach the end zone, but kept the Flucos off balance much of the night.
“We made some good reads and our kids made a couple of good plays. They did a nice job of establishing the run early so I think we were able to mix it up a little bit more,” Culpeper coach Ken Wakefield said. “Everybody thinks we can just throw the ball so I think we got their attention with the run and it opened up a couple of passes for us.”
Crim connected with his favorite target, Eli Marks, for the opening score — a 43-yard pass play. Culpeper was able to move the ball effectively later in the quarter as Mullen found some room to run, tallying 19 yards on the drive before the Blue Devils took to the air again. Crim found a wide open Blake Jenkins in the end zone for a 36-yard strike to extend the lead to 13-0.
Fluvanna wasted little time in answering, as Gavin Patrick hooked up with Jay Amos, who did a nice job of escaping defenders, for an 83-yard TD jaunt.
A turnover on downs by the Flucos later in the quarter set up another Culpeper score. Crim threw a perfectly placed ball to Marks again from 39 yards out and the Blue Devils held a 20-6 lead at halftime.
Fluvanna was forced to punt on its opening drive of the second half, and continued to struggle on offense despite strong running by junior fullback Mark Grooms.
“We got the kickoff and slipped and fell on the 10 so that was a tough play for us because it put us in a hole,” Fluvanna first-year coach Steve Szarmach said. “But that kind of pushed the momentum back in the second half.”
The Flucos (0-3) appeared to catch a break later in the quarter after a personal foul call on a punt resulted in an automatic first down. However, the drive stalled and Fluvanna never got back on track.
Culpeper took advantage of the opportunity and put the game out of reach with another TD strike, as Crim hooked up with Marks, this time for a 74-yard pass play.
The Blue Devils added a late score on a two-yard TD run by Eric Ford.
“In order to be efficient, we have to be able to run the football,” Wakefield said. “We’re not going to always be able to throw it, but luckily tonight we were able to run the ball and get something established early in the game and that helped us out late.”
Fluvanna has a short week to prepare for a Jefferson District rival, as it travels to Charlottesville on Thursday in search of its first win.
“You have to learn from it,” Szarmach said of the loss. “You have to try and grow and you have to figure out a way to attack the next game.”
