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Just Get In: Charlottesville punches playoff ticket with upset win over Louisa

Photo by Ashley Thornton

In desperate need of a victory to stay in the playoff picture and facing a Louisa team that was coming in at 8-1, Charlottesville needed someone to step up and vault them into the playoffs.

 

On a chilly Friday night at Tommy Theodose Stadium, that someone turned out to be Sabias Folley.

 

The Black Knights’ seniors were honored on the field before kickoff, but it was the bruising sophomore running back totaled 145 yards on 23 carries and found the end zone an astounding in a 54-42 over visiting Louisa County, a win in which the Black Knights’ defense completely turned its game around in the second half.

 

The Lions had already clinched the Jefferson District crown with a win over archrival Orange County last week.

 

The score was knotted at 36 after a wild first half that saw each team score early and often. After fumbling on its opening possession, Charlottesville forced a fumble of its own and Rakeem Davis scooped it up and scored barely a minute into the game.

 

“The kids definitely prepared to win all week,” CHS coach Eric Sherry said. “It was a good practice week, I thought were going to do well tonight, and we showed up.”

 

Bell answered on Louisa’s first ensuing play with a 68-yard touchdown run and the shootout was on. Bell was involved in every Louisa touchdown of the half running for three while throwing a pair of touchdown passes. His first came to Ra’Quan Jones from 40 yards out to give the Lions a 16-14 lead with 6:06 to go in the first quarter after Folley’s 11-yard dash gave the Knights the lead back.

 

Folley scored again, this time from 53 yards out, not even a minute after Jones’ catch, and after Bell needed just two plays to find David Sharp from 33 yards out, Davis found his way back into the end zone on a 73-yard run to make it 28-24, a lead the Black Knights took to the end of the first quarter.

 

Perhaps it was appropriate that Bell put the Lions back in front on the first play of the second quarter, and then the Louisa defense finally registered a stop on the Knights’ next possession, and Bell scored again, going in from four yards out. He finished with 166 yards on 19 carries to lead the Lions’ offense, but Folley answered with his third score of the game from 17-yards out to tie it just before halftime.

 

It was a different story in the second half, however, as the Black Knights took advantage of a botched snap on a punt to set up at the Louisa 18 and Folley finished the drive with a two-yard score to put CHS ahead once again, this time to stay. After a Louisa punt, he added some insurance with a 23-yard rumble to make it 48-36 with 3:37 to go in the third.

 

“I always tell my offensive line that I’m nothing without them,” Folley said. “I look up to them. They put me in the position to be the best that I can be.”

 

Then the Charlottesville defense came up big again, forcing a huge turnover on downs deep in its own territory at the end of the third quarter after Louisa looked certain to cut into the lead.

 

“We set the defensive bar back a couple years in the first half,” Sherry said. “But in the second we cleaned things up and stuck to playing assignment football and I’m very proud.”

 

The Lions finally did so with 6:09 remaining in the fourth when Job Whalen scored from four yards out to make it 48-42. But the Knights didn’t allow Louisa to touch the ball again until it was back up two possessions. Quarterback Sam Neale capped off a five-minute drive with a nine-yard keeper to seal the victory. On the drive, CHS got three huge third down conversions, two by Folley and one by Lorenzo Louderback to hand Louisa its second loss of the season.

 

“Louisa is a great team, and we know it,” Folley said. “But we wanted this one. Everyone worked hard at practice all week. Hard work pays off.”

 

Louisa will play in the Region 4A East playoffs next, while Charlottesville will hit the road in Region 4A West.

 

“We don’t care who we’re playing,” Sherry said. “We’re in. That was our goal tonight.”

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