By Liz Keller/ Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor
PALMYRA – After all was said and done, Buckingham coach Craig Gill had no reason to be nervous.
The Knights got down to business against rival Fluvanna County on Friday night, executed their gameplan to a T and dispatched the Flucos 68-0 to improve to 3-0 on the season.
“Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought this would have been the score. Every time we’ve come over here it’s been a dogfight. I was nervous all day. (I told the kids and my coaches) I’m always worried when I go to Fluvanna, because they always play us tough,” Gill said. “We had a great week of practice and I told them ‘you work hard, you win easy.’”
And Buckingham made it look easy right from the start. On the first play of the game, quarterback Tarian Ayers hooked up with Landon Allen for a 43-yard pass play to move the ball to the 5-yard line. Kenneth Johnson later punched it in from two yards out to give the visitors the early lead.
On its first drive, Fluvanna failed to convert on fourth-and-13 and the Knights got the ball back in good field position.
Buckingham moved the ball effectively down the field, going 33 yards on eight plays on the ensuing possession. Ayers capped the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run.
The Flucos were forced to punt on their next possession and the Knights took advantage. The visitors used a five-play drive to extend their lead as Ayers found Cam Johnson on a perfect pass (42 yards) in the end zone.
Buckingham’s defense also clamped down, as Kyree Koonce intercepted Austin Foster’s pass later in the quarter to set up another score. Kenneth Johnson rumbled in from nine yards out, John Saxon converted the point after attempt, and the Knights took a commanding 28-0 lead.
Ayers accounted for five touchdowns (three passing, two rushing) and was 8 of 13 passing for 191 yards. He also led the ground attack with 45 rushing yards. But the 6-foot-2, 192-pound senior knows to give credit where credit is due.
“The line just blocked wonderful for us tonight,” said Ayers, who also had a second-quarter interception. “The receivers ran hard on their routes and everything just fell into place. [It was] just an all around good game.”
The Knights didn’t let up before the break, took a 48-0 halftime lead, including an electric punt return for a touchdown by L.A. Briley, who picked up the ball around the 40-yard line, broke to the left sideline and ran in for the score.
Buckingham tacked on three more TDs before all was said and done.
“Tonight was a rough night for us, for our program, for this school. I feel bad for the community and those kids,” Fluvanna coach Jason Barnett said. “We faced a fantastic team tonight, and at full strength we have to play one of our best games and we weren’t at full strength. Buckingham gets all the credit for being as great as they were.”
The Flucos will visit Kettle Run in a non-district contest next Friday, while Buckingham plays host to Amelia in its James River District opener.
