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Charlottesville nabs a big one

Charlottesville picked up a monster win over Albemarle Friday night, and they did it exactly the way coach Chris Fraser wanted — with a stable of backs attacking the Patriots from different angles.

“That’s what we’ve been working on all summer,” Fraser said. “That’s our game plan. We want to run misdirection, inside-outside, hit them off tackle.”

The Black Knights seemed to have too many weapons for Albemarle to handle as Charlottesville came away with the 28-13 home win over the Patriots.

The Knights’ three-pronged rushing attack of seniors Xavier Porter, Raymond Parker and Davonte’ Taylor pushed Charlottesville (1-2) to a 21-0 halftime lead. The trio gained a combined 78 yards on the ground in the first half while Taylor also hauled in three balls for 17 yards. Taylor put the Knights up a touchdown in the closing minute of the first quarter with a 25-yard dash to the end zone.

Freshman quarterback Benj Wilhelm also had a great first half, connecting on all six of his passes for 83 yards and two scores. The first came with 1:52 left in the half following an interception by senior CHS defensive back Larry MaGruder. Wilhelm connected across the middle with senior wide receiver Adrian Thurston who shook a couple defenders and ran into the end zone for a 44-yard score. On the next Albemarle drive, Porter intercepted a Patriot pass at the Charlottesville 40-yard line and ran it all the way back to the Albemarle 16. With only eight seconds left, Wilhelm lobbed a pass to Thurston in the left side of the end zone for the pair’s second touchdown connection.

“That’s pretty special for being a 14-year old ninth grader,” Fraser said. “He put two balls on the money. He’s got a lot of poise. That’s what we’re trying to build on. Not make him win games, but just manage the game enough to help us out.”

The Patriots (0-3) climbed back into the game on the strength of 163 yards combined rushing from junior Mayn Francisco, senior Jervon Speller and sophomore Joseph Anderson. Francisco gained 89 yards on 17 carries plus a touchdown with 8:57 left in the third quarter to make it a 21-7 ball game. Albemarle also found a way to get senior speedster Jordan Hill the ball despite junior quarterback Joey Varaksa’s struggle to complete passes. Albemarle threw in some reverses for Hill, who gained 34 yards on three such plays.

“[The reverses] definitely gave us a spark,” said Albemarle coach Wendell Green. “We ran it two or three times and I feel like they started to key on it. So at one point we ran a fake reverse and that was effective as well. I think everyone knows the type of speed Jordan Hill has and they have to respect that speed. We’re trying to find creative ways to get him the ball.”

Varaksa went 5 for 20 for one touchdown but improved as the game went on, Green said. Green noted Charlottesville got good pressure on Varaksa, forcing him into some bad throws. Varaksa’s touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Andrew Frazier made it 21-13 with 8:32 left but the Charlottesville defense clamped down on the Patriots down the stretch. Then junior running back Daniel Chmil scored a touchdown on the ground with 2:07 left to wrap up the victory for the Knights.

“[The defensive players] are the ones that won the game for us,” Fraser said. “We knew Albemarle had some good skill guys and our defense played hard and made some plays so that got us going — two big stops to seal it for us [at the end].”

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