For a team coming off a bye week, Albemarle certainly didn’t play like it for the better part of two quarters against visiting Patrick Henry-Roanoke on Friday night.
Following a 44-yard touchdown pass from Quishon Calfee to Spencer Garcia, Patrick Henry opened up a 21-0 lead on the Patriots two minutes before halftime and looked poised to cruise to victory. It was Calfee’s second touchdown pass of the game, and he had also scored one with his legs in the waning moments of the first quarter to help build the lead.
But with the help of speedy junior Tyquan Rose, Albemarle climbed back into the game and did just enough to walk away with a 22-21 upset victory.
Rose, who took the opening kickoff all the way back for Albemarle in its last outing against Kettle Run two weeks ago, struck again. He took Patrick Henry’s kickoff all the way back to the 11-yard line before the kicker pushed him out of bounds, setting up the Patriots deep in Patrick Henry territory for the first time all evening. Two plays later, Jamal Thompson crossed the goal line from five yards out with a minute left to play before half, and despite a blocked extra point, Albemarle went into the locker room with the momentum on its side.
“They’re young kids. It’s hard to get them to believe when things aren’t going right,” Albemarle head coach Brandon Isaiah said. “[Patrick Henry] made some big plays in the first half, and I told my guys to keep trusting each other and take what’s theirs.”
AHS received the second-half kickoff and its offense picked up where it had left off, marching all the way to the Patrick Henry 26-yard line before turning the ball over on downs with 5:04 to go in the quarter. But the Patriot defense, which to that point had been bullied by Calfee and his comrades all game, got a fourth-down stop of its own and took over at the Patrick Henry 32. Two plays later, quarterback J’Quan Anderson went in from 10 yards out and the ensuing two-point conversion made it a one-score game.
“On the offensive side, we’re really young. I think we only have three or four guys who have varsity experience,” Isaiah said. “So to watch those guys come together, watch J’Quan grow up a little bit tonight, it’s fun.”
Albemarle’s defense wasn’t done. After a penalty on the ensuing kickoff return forced Patrick Henry to start at its own two-yard line, linebacker Chris Cucchiara flattened Calfee in the end zone for a safety, bringing the Pats two points closer and inciting a near-riot in the Albemarle student section.
“I told the defense ‘we’ve been playing some good football early on,'” Isaiah said. “I felt like tonight was going to be another big test. A kid like [Calfee] isn’t going to be stopped all the time, he’s going to make plays. But when we really needed it, we were able to outlast him.”
A solid return by Rose gave AHS good field position at its own 47, but Patrick Henry’s defense got up off the mat and forced a quick three-and-out. The visitors held that five-point lead going into the final quarter, but the Patriot offense had decided to save its best for last.
Albemarle got the ball back at its own nine-yard line with 8:51 to play in the game and turned in what may have been its most impressive drive of the season, going 91 yards in 4:33 culminating in a 15-yard touchdown pass from Anderson to Ethan Blundin to put AHS on top for the first time all night. The drive was fueled by the legs of Thompson and Anderson, who ripped off runs of 13 and 22 yards, respectively. Anderson led the way for the Pats with 16 carries for 82 yards while also completing 14 of 23 passes for 136 yards.
“I was nervous, but I knew my team had my back,” Anderson said of the final drive. “We’ve got heart. [Coach Isaiah] told us to never give up.”
The Patriots failed on the two-point conversion, leaving them vulnerable to a field goal, but Nehemiah Lesesane slammed the door on Patrick Henry by sacking Calfee on fourth down with 2:12 remaining, improving Albemarle’s record to 2-1 heading into Thursday’s Jefferson District opener against Louisa County.
