It may have been Brandon Isaiah’s first win as a head coach, but it was junior playmaker Rooney Turay who had the actual coming out party in Albemarle’s 42-21 victory over Fluvanna County
“I just kept thinking about how I could explode the team, just get everything started,” Turay said.
Clearly his 94-yard catch and run for a touchdown in the first quarter did the trick as did his 74-yard sprint for a touchdown and his long kick return down to the 13-yard line that set the stage for a Kevin McCarthy touchdown in the third quarter that reversed a surge in momentum by the Flucos.
“Kevin has really established himself as a workhorse but I made a commitment two weeks ago that I was going to get Rooney involved, no matter what the cost was,” Isaiah said. “We’ve got a kid like Kevin and now you add Rooney in that mix and I think that gives us a pretty explosive combination.”
For his part, Isaiah made it clear he was thrilled that the Patriots picked up a win and that he’d re-learned an old football lesson — the road isn’t easy.
“It’s hard to get a win,” Isaiah said. “It’s hard to get a win.”
It wasn’t easy Friday night either, as Fluvanna County’s defense and a switch to a ball-control single-wing package that they were running for the first time all year, limited the success of the Albemarle offense through most of the first half. Only Turay’s 94-yard catch and run from D.G. Archer prevented Fluvanna from holding onto a lead when Vaughn Bodie sprinted in for the Flucos from 20 yards out late in the first half.
“We figured they didn’t have any film on us running that and we knew that we had to control the clock,” said Fluvanna coach Jason Barnett. “And we did, they’re just such a big play team. I’m really proud of the way we played though because we went toe-to-toe with them.”
The only problem after Bodie’s touchdown is that the Flucos had to give the ball back to Albemarle, and two plays later, McCarthy, who rushed for 168 yards on the night, was sprinting down field for a 56-yard touchdown and a 14-7 lead. McCarthy has settled into his new role as a running back nicely this season for the Patriots after playing defense and tight end exclusively the last couple of seasons.
“I’m pretty used to it now, I love running the ball,” McCarthy said. “I could be on the other side of the ball too, but whatever is going to help us win.”
After a quick three and out, the Patriots got the ball again and after an incompletion they put the ball in Turay’s hands again. A few seconds and 78 yards down the left sideline later and the Patriots were headed to the locker room up 21-7.
“That’s as fast of an Albemarle team as I’ve seen since I’ve been coaching here, I think that’s 14 years now,” Barnett said. “That’s a pretty fast Albemarle team and (McCarthy) is as good a running back as there is in this area.”
In the second half, the Flucos got a big break by recovering the muffed opening kickoff and Bodie streaked in for a 13-yard touchdown to pull Fluvanna within a touchdown. Bodie and sophomore Mark Grooms (who played quarterback in the set) were solid all night in the single wing package, with Grooms picking up yards in big chunks particularly in the first half.
Albemarle answered Bodie’s touchdown however when Turay took the return deep into Fluvanna territory and McCarthy punched it in from six yards out to push the AHS lead to 28-14. After a stalled Fluvanna drive, Albemarle struck again when Archer hit Ethan Blundin on a rainbow of a fade in the end zone from 22 yards out. Albemarle was suddenly in complete control up 35-14.
“Kevin is just hitting it like bam, bam, bam and the defense is just focusing on him and they forget about everybody else,” Turay said. “And then we have a chance to make plays off of his plays.”
Albemarle jumps into rivalry week as the Patriots head to Crozet to face Western Albemarle while Fluvanna County will host Orange County in a game that’s critical for the Flucos if they want to preserve a shot at the postseason.
