Second-year head coach Jessie Lohr brought his squad into Friday night’s season opener after an offseason that built far more buzz around any Orange County team recent memory. The Hornets promptly delivered an emphatic affirmation with three touchdowns in both the first and second quarters, and a swarming defense that yielded negative rushing yardage and a shutout against home-standing Culpeper County in a 43-0 victory.
“Last year was about learning, but this year is about earning,” said Lohr. “Our goal is to compete for our district and make some things happen late in the postseason.”
Under sweltering conditions as the sun still baked the field at kickoff, Orange County junior Shavonn Ellis helped everyone work up a sweat as he broke a 69-yard return and setup his offense in the redzone. Senior DeAngelo Hunt needed just two carries to cover 20 yards and put the Hornets on the board 46 seconds into the season.
“I think any coach in America would tell you that the team that got out fast, especially with high school kids and conditions rough out here, was hopefully going to be able to sustain the night,” Lohr said. “We’ve spent a lot of time on special teams. Shavonn had a great return, but that was some great blocking out there on that. Our offensive line got a good push. It was great to come out and get a good start like that.”
Culpeper promptly went three-and-out. Then, the season’s first long snap sailed over the Blue Devils’ punter, and although he chased it down, Orange senior Tre’von Smith bumped him out of the back of the endzone for a safety. After the free kick, Smith found space around the right edge on his first carry for a gain of 48 yards.
“I saw that the outside was open,” Smith said. “I saw one corner out there and I thought if my receiver can hold him up, I can get out there and get it done.”
He and Hunt traded carries over the next six plays, with a couple of apparent touchdowns wiped away by penalties. On fourth and eight, sophomore quarterback Kenyon Carter rolled right to pass, but seeing no one open, outraced defenders to the pylon for a touchdown.
The Hornets’ defense delivered back-to-back sacks to start Culpeper’s next series, but on third and 29 from the 1, freshman quarterback Eric Wilson connected with senior Blake Jenkins, who had started under center, for a gain of 34.
“That’s a tough throw, and he did a good job of recognizing the defense and making a play,” said Culpeper coach Ken Wakefield. “(Switching up the quarterbacks) is something we’ve practiced all week. The freshman (Wilson) made some good plays.”
However, that would be the only Blue Devil first down in the opening quarter, en route to a first half total of two.
“Defensively, I think they set the tone,” Lohr said. “They’ve been chomping at the bit to make some things happen. I saw leading by Ryan Horton, our (middle) linebacker, and Tre and DeAngelo played well on the edges. We had some good things from Lutterodt, our defensive end, and Lewis-Nixon at safety just sets the tone back there running to the football.”
On the first play after another Jenkins punt, Ellis got his first carry of the night. He, too, found lots of green to the right side and raced 55 yards for six, giving the Hornets a 23-0 lead as the first quarter wound down.
“I’ve been telling everybody, he’s a change-of-pace guy who’s going to bring something to the table,” Lohr said of Ellis, who finished with 63 yards on three carries. “It was great for him to be able to do something on special teams, and then get out there and get some carries offensively.”
Sixty-five seconds later, early in the second, the offense was back on the field. Despite a holding penalty that setup first and 25, Orange pulled back to within one yard of the stick for fourth down. Smith then broke his second long run of the night, this time up the middle, and took it 24 yards for his first touchdown of the season. The Hornet defense next tallied sacks five and six of the half to continue field position domination and setup the offense in Blue Devil territory. Orange covered 37 yards in five plays, capped by Smith’s second touchdown from 13 yards.
After holding Culpeper on fourth and one at its own 45, the Hornets’ offense made it a perfect six-for-six on possessions capped by touchdowns, using four plays to score again. This time, Carter cashed in through the air, hitting senior Dayvon Greene from 10 yards out.
“I was proud of him,” Lohr said of Carter, who went 5-of-7 for 42 yards and ran twice for 20. “He made some plays with his feet; decided not to throw the ball in some situations. He did everything we’ve asked of him. He’s had three outings, and he’s done really well in all three.”
With a 43-0 lead at the break, the second half featured a running clock. Orange had only one possession, again positioned deep in Culpeper territory after a long punt return by sophomore Christopher Washington. A chop block penalty derailed the series and forced a 47-yard field goal attempt, which came up just short off the soccer crossbar. Culpeper then possessed the ball for the entire fourth quarter, mounting a 67-yard drive over 15 plays before the Hornet defense sacked Wilson on fourth down to preserve the shutout as the clock expired.
Smith finished with a game-high 100 yards on six carries, all in the first half. Hunt tallied 75 yards on eight first-half rushes. Orange had 300 of its 303 yards of total offense at the break.
For Culpeper, senior flanker Malik Roy led with 32 yards on three attempts, finding some room on jet sweeps to the left. Junior tailback Gabe Frye managed just 14 yards on 11 carries. Considering the volume of sacks, the Blue Devils netted -30 yards on the ground in the first half, and -3 by game’s end. Wilson led the passing game, completing 4-of-8 for 60 yards.
The Hornets will gear up for another Culpeper opponent, as Eastern View heads to Porterfield Park on Friday night. The Cyclones (1-0) also posted a 43-0 win in their opener at Spotsylvania.
