Coming off a pair of blowout wins at home in the past two weeks, Louisa County hit the road for what figured to be one of its toughest tests of the season and passed, albeit narrowly, in a 28-20 win over previously undefeated Powhatan.
The Indians had trimmed a 22-0 Louisa lead to 22-14 on a pair of touchdown runs from Justin DeLeon, the second one coming from 62 yards out to give the Indians the momentum after a miserable first half on offense.
Then Louisa’s Jordan Cherry came up big, making an acrobatic interception at the Powhatan 43-yard line with under a minute to go in the third. Louisa (6-0) failed to capitalize on that drive, but Whalen’s seven-yard run with four minutes to go gave them some breathing room.
“That was a great recovery by Jordan,” Louisa head coach Mark Fischer said. “It wasn’t great coverage but it was a great recovery. He didn’t give up on the ball, and that’s something we’ve been hammering home. Never give up, never quit.”
They needed it. Powhatan (5-1) drove 67 yards in seven plays resulting in DeLeon’s third touchdown of the game. Then the Indians recovered the ensuing onside kick and took possession at midfield, but the Lions’ defense held strong and Louisa celebrated when Jacob Moss’ pass downfield on fourth down was broken up by two defenders with a minute to play.
As is standard for the Lions, the rushing game led the way on offense with Job Whalen carrying 25 times for 150 yards, shouldering much of the rushing load when Malik Bell went down with an apparent ankle injury in the fourth quarter. He also registered three touchdowns and the Lions’ defense forced four Powhatan turnovers.
“The linemen did what they had to do from the beginning, and that opened up our offense in a hard-fought battle.” Whalen said.
The first quarter was largely uneventful, ending scoreless, with the Lions fumbling away their best chance of the quarter to score on the Indians’ 28-yard line. But Louisa’s defense came up big as Malik Minor intercepted a Jacob Moss pass three plays later and took it back to the Powhatan 20. Job Whalen then put the Lions in front with a two-yard dive into the end zone after a seven-play drive.
Louisa’s second score also came off of a turnover, a fumble recovery at its own 45. But this score came much quicker than the first. After a holding penalty pushed the Lions back 10 yards, Ra’Quan Jones took an inside handoff and rumbled 65 yards for a 14-0 lead that Louisa took into the break.
Louisa quickly extended that lead on the first drive after halftime as Whalen broke off runs of 12, 19 and finally 28 yards into the end zone to make it 22-0. The Indians got off the mat on the ensuing drive as DeLeon went in from 10 yards out after breaking off a 46-yard run two plays earlier, but missed the PAT and trailed 22-6.
“I told my guys if we could punch them in the mouth and get a couple scores early, we would have them where we wanted them,” Fischer said. “Not a Jimmy Woodson-coached team. I should’ve known better. Hats off to Powhatan.”
DeLeon woke up after a slow first half to register 155 yards on 25 carries, largely bolstered by his long touchdown. All of Powhatan’s points came via the legs of its star running back. However, the rest of the Indians offense struggled, and its inability to compliment DeLeon with a steady passing game proved to be its downfall.
The Lions look to keep their perfect record intact when they travel to Western Albemarle. Powhatan will also hit the road for a district matchup against Charlottesville.
