Throughout the offseason and particularly in fall camp, Western Albemarle’s players have been proactive about making sure they don’t rest on their laurels in the wake of last year’s trip to the state semifinals. Senior quarterback Sam Hearn said as much on the first day of practice.
So far, so good.
The Warriors hammered Broadway Friday night on the road, building a big halftime lead before closing the game out with a shutout second half as Western won 55-14 in their season opener.
Oliver Herndon exploded for 305 yards and five touchdowns on 21 touches, ripping off an average of 14.5 yards per carry. He also had a 40-yard catch. Sam Hearn complemented Herndon’s ground game with a 117-yard, two-touchdown outing of his own on just 11 carries. Hearn also threw in 95 yards through the air and a touchdown pass to Michael Vale for good measure.
The Warriors piled up 538 yards of total offense and held Broadway to just 157 total yards. Western churned out 443 yards on the ground.
Western led 20-0 with 1:47 left in the first quarter when Herndon scored his first touchdown of the night, following both of Hearn’s scores that came early on. Western kept the pedal down from there and led 41-14 at the break.
Herndon’s monster night included scores from 60 and 64 yards out.
Defensively, Matthew Mullin and Osiris Crutchfield each posted sacks while Luke Tenuta had an interception.
The Warriors will take on Brookville Friday as they look to move to 2-0.
