By Drew Goodman / Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor
Living for the moment and not worrying about tomorrow are two things that Orange coach Jesse Lohr preaches to his team prior to every workout, practice, and game.
With an uncertain postseason future ahead of the Hornets following Friday night’s clash with Western Albemarle, Lohr’s sentiments proved to be more appropriate than ever.
Not sure if there would be a tomorrow for his team, Lohr’s OCHS squad made a bevy of key plays on both sides of the ball to pick up a hard-fought 20-12 win over the Warriors in Crozet, controlling what they could control.
The victory gives Orange (5-5) a second place finish in the Jefferson District, but nothing is certain after that. A victory by King George over Spotsylvania appears to have edged the Hornets out of the playoff picture in unofficial projections. The Hornets are in their first season as members of the vaunted Region 4B, and needed several dominoes to fall their way in order to finish in the top eight.
With more questions than answers about what lies next for OCHS, Lohr echoed the same message that he had been preaching for the past five years.
“Take care of today,” Lohr said of his pregame message. “There is no tomorrow-there’s only right now, so we do everything we can for the moment, live for the moment, and when the good lord blesses us to have the sun come up tomorrow, we’ll worry about tomorrow.”
If Friday was the Hornets’ final game of the season, it was an impressive farewell for record-breaking running back Jaylen Alexander.
Alexander grinded out 135 yards while averaging an impressive 5.9 yards per carry, and scored one touchdown. The area’s second-all-time leading rusher capped off an eight-play drive with a six-yard TD on the game’s first series, which set the tone for how the rest of the game would go.
“Ball control” was the theme of the night, as the Hornets outgained Western 326-215, thanks in large part to big gains from Alexander.
“It’s great feeling when you have a D-1 running back right behind you,” said Orange County quarterback Walker Johnson. “It’s a great feeling. It’s like a security blanket and you can get a lot of things done back there.”
Alexander had a productive night running the ball, but his biggest contribution of the night came on defense. Trailing by eight late in the fourth quarter, the Warriors (4-6) marched all the way to the OCHS 32-yardline, and were in position to tie the game.
Facing a third-and-long, Alexander came unblocked from the left side and drilled Western Albemarle quarterback Carter Shifflett for a sack. The big loss put an end to Shifflett’s night, and forced the Warriors into an untimely punting situation. The Hornets were able to salt away the last five minutes and change once they regained possession.
Alexander and the Hornet defense made a number of big stops on their side of the field on Friday night. After Alexander put Orange ahead 7-0 early, the Warriors marched right down the field, thanks in-large part to a 36-yard run from Carter Shifflett.
A 13-yard run by Austin Shifflett gave WAHS a first-and-goal at the six yard-line, before the Hornets came up with four consecutive stops, and turned the Warriors over on downs at the three. That heads-up-play in the first quarter was not the last time that the Hornets had to make a stop down by the goal line.
Western opened the second half with a methodical, eight-play drive that culminated with Carter Shifflett’s pinpoint 23-yard strike to Breaker Mendenhall in the end-zone.
Trailing 14-12 at that point, WAHS head coach Ed Redmond elected to try for two points, but the visitors again came up with a timely stop.
“[Western] moved the ball, and we happened to make a few plays when we needed to make plays,” Lohr said. “It was a big sack by Jaylen here at the end of the game. I didn’t want to see the Shifflett get hurt… Hopefully he’s ok. Bend but don’t break, I guess, but they made some plays, and we ultimately had to make plays when it mattered.”
Carter Shifflett led Western Albemarle with 101 yards on the ground, and 51 through the air. James Buetow scored the Warriors’ lone rushing touchdown of the night in the second quarter.
Johnson went 6-for-8 passing for Orange, including a 20-yard strike to Douglas Newsome just before halftime. Orange converted 75-percent of their third down tries, and made good on two fourth down attempts on the final drive of the game, to effectively slam the door on the Warriors. Orange power back Noah Carey rushed 11 times for 53 yards, highlighted by a three-yard scoring run that lifted the Hornets to a 20-12 lead in the fourth quarter.
Friday’s came capped a remarkable turnaround for an OCHS team that began its campaign losing four straight contests. The Hornets closed the 2019 regular season winning five of their last six games, with the only loss coming at undefeated Louisa. Whether the Western game was the conclusion or not, Lohr was proud of the way his team fought through adversity this fall.
“We got off to a slow start to our season but we finished off strong… Kids are playing their best football right now, and hopefully we find a way to get into the playoffs,” Lohr said. “I don’t know how the points are going to add-up- things are going to really have to go our way. We’ll find out, pray, and hopefully it works out for us.”
Like the Hornets, Western Albemarle will eagerly await its playoff fate following Friday’s setback.
