An already strong Louisa County defense got Derrick Barbour back at defensive end Friday night against Orange County after he healed up from a hamstring injury and it didn’t take him long to make an impact. He wisely stayed at home on a third down screen in the second quarter, dragging the Fluvanna pass catcher down for minimal gain to force Fluvanna to kick a field goal in the second quarter of a 41-11 victory over the Flucos.
“It is amazing to be back, I’ve been missing it,” Barbour said. “Watching from the sidelines, I’m just aggravated. I want to be out there.”
It was exactly the kind of smart, heady play that Louisa County needs and Barbour’s return is just one more piece of the puzzle for a team that’s trying to reach top form with two games left in the regular season.
“We’re definitely starting to click,” said Louisa coach Will Patrick. “The key is to get this thing peaking at the right time, that’s our main goal.”
Louisa overcame a shaky start against the Flucos thanks in large part to a momentum-shifting pick six by Jarett Hunter with just under a minute left to play in the first half. The Flucos were down just 7-3 and Devan Glasgow had just snagged an interception to give Fluvanna’s offense a short field and about 60 seconds to try and score. The Flucos took to the air and that’s when Hunter went to work.
“I was watching the quarterback and saw he was under duress because our d-line got to him,” Hunter said. “I let go of my man, I read his eyes and he put it right in my hands.”
Hunter raced down the Louisa sideline, shaking off a couple of would be tacklers and tightroping the sideline on the way to a 75-yard return for a touchdown.
“We stalled out on a few drives there and they were doing some good things on defense, we had to make some adjustments,” Patrick said. “Jarett’s pick six was awesome, I don’t know how he stayed in bounds, but that was a big momentum lift right before halftime.”
The huge reversal flipped the game and Fluvanna struggled to recover from Hunter’s play. Louisa came out in the second half and extended the lead to 21-3 on a screen pass from Landon Wilson to Jarett Hunter and while the Flucos managed to answer and cut the lead to 21-11 after a 16-play drive capped by Kobe Edmonds’ 15-yard touchdown, Louisa’s depth took over down the stretch.
“It’s the same thing as last year — we played well for a half,” said Fluvanna coach Mike Morris. “(Hunter’s pick six) that was the gamechanger. They wore us down — they’ve got a good team but we held our own for a half.”
Louisa got touchdowns from Kalup Shelton, Noah Robinson and Robbie Morgan in the fourth quarter to put the game away. The Lions had 338 yards of total offense and it came from all over the lineup, with Jarett Hunter’s 11 carries for 65 yards leading the way. Wilson threw for 91 yards on 5-for-10 passing while Hunter tossed in another 59 yards at quarterback. Robinson led the receivers with three catches for 54 yards. Alex Washington needed only two carries to pick up 41 yards and also had two catches for 40 yards.
It’s the kind of balanced, dynamic attack that makes life particularly tough on Louisa’s opponents.
“We’re feeling it, we just keep practicing every day, doing the same stuff we’ve been doing,” said Louisa’s Buck Hunter. “We have major threats, we can put it in the air or we can run it, so it’s good — it’s a lot.”
Sophomore quarterback Kobe Edmonds led Fluvanna with seven carries for 60 yards and threw for another 52 yards.
Fluvanna’s third-straight loss puts the Flucos backs against the wall in the Region 3C playoff race. They’ll face Orange County on the road next week before hosting Monticello in the regular season finale.
Louisa closes with Western Albemarle at home and then Albemarle on the road as they continue to try and cement the top seed in Region 4B. They currently lead second place Eastern View, who was on a bye.
