The last time Fluvanna County played high school football, in the fall of 2019 in the first round of the Region 3C Tournament. After nearly a year and a half of waiting and wondering whether or not there would even be a season, the Flucos opened up Jefferson District play with a win at Charlottesville 17-14 Saturday.
“I mean, it feels great, I know there are kids all over the United States that don’t have the opportunity to play football, so it just feels great to be out here with my teammates no matter if it’s spring, fall, or winter,” said Fluvanna’s Kobe Edmonds.
The Flucos began with the football and immediately went to work establishing the ground game, marching down the field with five players getting carries on the first drive. The drive ended with Lance Gowans diving into the endzone at the goaline, getting the Flucos on the board, up 7-0. Gowans finished the afternoon with 42 rushing yards and a touchdown on 12 carries.
Then the defense got to work, and they practically shut down the Black Knight offense for the entirety of the first half, forcing two turnovers along the way including a pick from Edmonds. Add a field goal from Will Davis and the Flucos went to the half in total control up 10-0.
But a monster kick return to open the second half set up the Black Knights’ offense at the Fluvanna 19-yard line. Then on the first play Caldwell Boyles found Sebastian Bernardini in the endzone, making it a 10-6 ballgame after a blocked extra point by Fluvanna’s Xavier Copeland. Boyles finished the day going five for six with 103 yards and two touchdowns and an interception.
The Flucos’ defense dug deep and bounced back, forcing two straight turnovers to help set the offense up to score, and after the second turnover they did. It was Edmonds this time through the air, finding Tristan Chisholm for the 25-yard score, giving the Flucos a 17-6 lead. Edmonds finished with 100 passing yards and 47 on the ground as well as a pick on defense, while Chisholm had 100 total yards from scrimmage.
But Charlottesville didn’t go away easy. In fact, they struck hard and fast yet again, after forcing a late turnover on downs, on their first play Boyles found Quincy Edwards for a huge 72-yard touchdown, and following a Polo Hill two-point conversion the Black Knights trailed the Flucos just 17-14.
“After that, I told them that we’ve got to finish the game, there’s a lot of guys with no experience on the varsity level, and we’ve got to learn how to be consistent and play all four quarters,” said Fluvanna coach Mike Morris.
The Flucos did finish the job as they were able to get a few first downs and run out the clock, opening the season with a road win.
After today’s game, both of these teams will be hitting the road on Friday night, with the Flucos facing Western Albemarle and the Black Knights heading to Orange to take on the Hornets.
