So what else was there left to fire up Andre Mealy further? The senior was already chomping at the bit to get back on the field after missing almost the entirety of Louisa County’s 2010 Jefferson District championship run. With the week one game against Eastern View postponed because of the Earthquake last week in Mineral, the anxiety cranked up even further. And the last straw? A football field vandalized with spray paint for the home opener.
With Mealy setting an example and his offensive linemen pancaking defenders left and right, the Lions played with purpose on Friday as they ran through Orange County’s defense to the tune 430 yards to pave the way for a 48-21 season opening win.
“Nothing feels better than winning in the Jungle,” said first-year Louisa coach John Meeks. “They pack the house for us and go crazy. The fact that we were at home made it special after all we’ve gone through lately.”
Mealy’s first carry wasn’t his longest, but it certainly sent a message as he carried three defenders on his back for a 10-yard gain. It’s been a long road back.
“I’ve been waiting for a year to get back to this,” Mealy said. “It felt great, I don’t even know how to describe it.”
Over his next 17 carries, he kept that 10-yard average almost precisely. The senior put the Lions in the redzone on their first possession, opening for the door for a Zach Jackson 6-yard touchdown scamper to kick off the scoring.
“We went out there trying not to get our emotions in the way,” said Louisa lineman JD Dennis. “We didn’t want anything to get in the way. We wanted to get our here and get to work.”
Moments later, Mealy and Jackson barreled down the field again after an Orange fumble, this time setting the table for Lorenzo Henson and a 6-yard scoring run. After Louisa’s defense continue to muzzle the Hornets, Mealy picked up the first of his two touchdowns, this one coming on a 30-yard rumble to make 21-0 with just over two minutes left in the first quarter.
“The holes were huge,” Mealy said. “I was fortunate enough to get the ball in those situations. I was just running hard, trying to find those holes and follow my big men.”
After running the ball the entire first quarter, Meeks decided to open up the playbook in the second quarter, giving the nod to Jackson to put the ball the in air. The junior’s first pass of the season was a perfect strike to Peanut Johnson in the back of the endzone for a 26-yard touchdown reception.
“Zach’s a special kid — a lot of people asked me if we had a dual threat quarterback and when I said yes, I don’t think many believed me,” Meeks said. “There are going to be games where he throws a lot more too, just going off my gut.”
Five minutes later, Mealy put the game essentially out of reach with a 12-yard run, The senior average 9.8 yards per touch, finishing with 176 yards on 18 carries.
“We didn’t tackle,” said Orange coach John Kayajanian. “Give them credit, they’re a hard running team and they blocked. It’s a simple game really — block and tackle. Tonight we didn’t tackle.”
The Hornets’ offense picked up its first first down late in the second quarter on a 29-yard run from Isaiah Ferguson. That run set up Orange’s first and only score of the first half as quarterback Eric Washington hit Brandon Sellers for an 8-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 27 points at the break.
Orange came out of the half, forced a turnover and quickly struck again. This time Washington hurled the ball down field to Cameron Rickett for a 63-yard score to make it a 20-point game.
But the one thing the Hornets couldn’t get control of was Louisa’s offense. The Lions had three turnovers in the game, but never punted. Ninety seconds after Orange looked like they were ready to get back into the game, Louisa marched down the field again and Jackson collected his second rushing touchdown of the night on a 15-yard run.
The two teams traded scores in the fourth with Louisa sophomore running back Quincy Brock punching in a 6-yard run and Orange answering with a 15-yard scoring pass to Johnny Adamson.
Orange (0-1) hosts Culpeper on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in its final out-of-district game of the year before heading into its first Commonwealth District campaign with Stafford.
Louisa (1-0) plays at home again on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Courtland.
