A pair of traditional powerhouse teams navigating the unfamiliar territory of losing records. A pair of quarterbacks who had been struggling to find their rhythm all season. A pair of highly-regarded coaches going through some retooling on the fly.
Only one of those sides got back on track Friday night, and that team was Powhatan as the Indians used a strong early rushing attack and got four interceptions on defense to knock off home standing Western Albemarle 24-14 in the Jefferson District opener for both teams Friday night.
Jacob Taylor scored twice for Powhatan (1-3, 1-0 Jefferson District) and racked up over 100 yards before halftime and the Indians got a two-yard dive from senior quarterback Noah Dowdy late in the fourth to put the game away after Western threatened a comeback.
“It’s a big relief,” Powhatan head coach Jim Woodson said. “We’ve been working hard since August, and it’s been a long process. We’re learning positions, the fundamentals of those positions, the keys, and then finally once we get all that straight we can actually start playing.”
Powhatan, which lost 18 seniors from last season including eight defensive starters, led 14-0 at halftime on the strength of Taylor’s two touchdowns, one from 18 yards out and the other from one yard.
The Warriors offense, which had been out of sync in the first half, rose off the mat on its opening drive of the third quarter. Senior quarterback Derek Domecq engineered a 10-play, 65-yard drive and running back Darren Klein finished with a one-yard touchdown to cut Powhatan’s lead in half midway through the third quarter.
Powhatan answered with a 33-yard field goal from Jacob Moss, but Domecq led yet another brilliant drive, this time going in from two yards out himself to make it 17-14 late in the third.
The teams exchanged turnovers on downs to open the fourth, and then Western (1-3, 0-1) took possession at its own 35, hoping to replicate the drive that got them on the board.
Enter Gabe Satterwhite.
Satterwhite, who primarily contributes as a wide receiver, was forced into action on the defensive side of the ball in place of Dowdy, who was limited to his quarterback duties due to a tender ankle. On Domecq’s first pass of the drive, Satterwhite made a shoestring interception–Powhatan’s third of four–to swing momentum back to his team’s side.
“Gabe came in and played better defense than I have all season,” Dowdy said.
The Indians followed with an 11-play drive covering over four minutes and Dowdy put the game on ice with his two-yard touchdown run for the final margin.
“I told my teammates in the huddle toward the end, ‘we’ve put in too much work,'” Dowdy said. “‘There’s no other option here besides us finishing it out.'”
Fittingly, the game ended on another Satterwhite interception. Desperately trying to get back into the game with under two minutes left, the Warriors attempted a halfback pass, but Satterwhite picked off Jack Weyher’s pass at the Powhatan 45 to slam the door.
“Gabe’s had a pulled muscle that’s been hampering him the entire season,” Woodson said. “We’d been letting him go one way as a receiver, but tonight we knew Western was going to throw the ball and we needed someone big in there.”
Powhatan returns home next Friday night when it hosts Charlottesville. Western Albemarle will host district favorite Louisa County.
