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Energy Boost: Western reels off 40 straight to beat Charlottesville

Photo by Emmy Franklin

For the first time in two years, high school football was played on a hot August Friday night.  For the Western Albemarle football team, the game brought a sense of normalcy that has not been experienced since before the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

“It’s invigorating, the student section really feeds us, we energize on the field and it’s really great for our team and our program,” said the Warriors’ Joey Burch who gave Western a huge spark with two critical touchdowns, one a catch, dive and score, another a long punt return.

 

It also, after a slow start brought a win for the Warriors who fed off that energy in a big way as they bounced back from a two-touchdown deficit against Charlottesville to pick up a 40-14 win with 40 unanswered points. 

 

The Charlottesville defense struck hard early.  Semaj Dennis snagged up an early fumble and raced 40 yards the other way for a big scoop and score within the first minute to put the Black Knights up 7-0. That would wind up being the first of two Warrior fumbles within the first two minutes of the game. The defense stayed strong however, and got a fumble of their own to keep the Black Knights from adding to their early lead.

 

Later in the first, with the Warrior offense struggling, the Black Knights were able put together a sustained drive that paid off in a big way. As time expired in the first quarter, quarterback Caldwell Boyles found Polo Hill for a 28-yard score to give Charlottesville a 14-0 lead.  

 

Down 14-0 after one quarter with some sloppy play, the Warriors knew they needed to turn things around.  

 

“I didn’t have much to say to them, they’re a pretty experienced group and it was their game to play,” said Warriors’ coach Ed Redmond.  “Our ball security was very poor, we didn’t execute and we shortened the field, and when you shorten the field you get behind.”

 

The Warriors fixed those ball security woes that dug them in their early hole, and in turn they started to find their way out. After the first two fumbles, Western quarterback Nathan Simon got picked off by Charlottesville’s Nikko Jackson-Hopper, who then fumbled during the return to give Western the ball back. Western seemed to flip a switch then, as the Warriors outscored the Black Knights 21-0 in the second quarter on the strength of an 18-yard score from Kaden Morrow, a 7-yard run from Bubba Shifflett, and a 12-yard pass from Simon to Burch that gave Western a 21-14 lead with just seconds to go in the first half.

 

After a scoreless third quarter, the Warriors got going again, beginning the fourth with a 65-yard punt return for a score by Burch to give his team a 27-14 lead.  

 

“There was great blocking by everyone up front, number 16 Will Ferguson, he had the best block I saw tonight, he just kicked out the DB and I took it up the sideline,” said Burch.

 

That huge play permanently put momentum on Western’s side, as they added to their lead.  They ended up scoring 40 unanswered points, adding another touchdown from Shifflett, and a 32-yard run by Kyle Keyton for their last score.  

 

Western will host Rockbridge next week while Charlottesville will look to regroup against James Monroe at home.

 

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