By Allen Kha / Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor
It took 10 long and arduous weeks, but Friday evening against Powhatan, the Charlottesville football team finally played a true home game.
With the construction of the Black Knights’ new turf field going on through the majority of the season, a rebuilding Charlottesville program had played its first nine games of the season– including its “home” games — on the road, and struggled to a 1-8 record.
Record notwithstanding, the Black Knights — hosting Senior Night and Homecoming on the same evening — played valiantly in a 54-26 loss to the high-powered Indians in front of a large, excited crowd eager to observe the “culture change” the Charlottesville staff has undertaken.
“It feels great finally playing at home,” Charlottesville coach Eric Sherry said. “We played our hearts out tonight and put forth a great performance against the [to-be Jefferson] District champions. We showed have much we’ve grown and changed the perception of this program tonight.”
After Powhatan scored the only points of the first quarter with a nine-yard touchdown run from quarterback Thomas Mitchel, both teams exploded offensively in the second quarter.
Charlottesville opened the second quarter with touchdown pass from quarterback Mason Sherry to Diamante Scott, who eluded four tacklers on his slant route to go a 64 yards for the score. Powhatan immediately responded when Norris Goode fielded a short kickoff — kicked short because the Black Knights wanted to keep the ball away from playmaker Ray Brown — and returned it 70 yards for the first of his two touchdowns off kickoff returns.
Charlottesville’s Chris Thurston responded to Goode’s first touchdown return with a 59-yard touchdown run; and responded to Goode’s next touchdown return with a nine-yard touchdown run to close the Indians’ lead to 27-20 at halftime.
“Before we tired them out, they were playing at a high-level, and we had to match that intensity,” Brown said.
Charlottesville was driving and in a position to tie the game early in the second half after converting on a fake punt and crossing midfield, but fumbled the football in what would be the turning point of the game.
The Black Knights could not keep up with Powhatan’s powerful rushing attack — led by Brown and fellow playmaker Alex Higuchi — in the second half, and were ultimately outscored 27-7 in the game’s final two stanzas.
Powhatan finished for a combined 486 yards on the evening, with Brown capping off his dazzling regular season with a 230-yard, two-touchdown evening. Higuchi added 141 yards and two touchdowns for the Indians.
For Powhatan, the newly-minted Jefferson District champions look now to the Group AA, Division 4, Region II playoff bracket.
“I think [our team] answered the challenge [of moving up to the Jefferson District] and put some Powhatan pride in it. The seniors left their legacy by capping off another undefeated District season, and now that legacy moves onto the underclassman,” Woodson said.
“But we still have football to play. We might not be the first seed for Regions– and that does make a difference– but we still have a home game and we have unfinished business.”
Higuchi added that his team was relieved to finally clinch the Jefferson District, especially after last week’s thrilling overtime victory over Monticello.
For Charlottesville, meanwhile, Coach Sherry and his program move onto next season after finishing the year with a 1-9 record.
More importantly, the Black Knights have seemingly established the culture change needed to bring Charlottesville football back to prominence. Although standout quarterback Mason Sherry leaves as a graduating senior, Thurston and many other young players will return next season.
Everything considered, Coach Sherry is looking forward to the offseason and next season.
“I truly believe that we’ve finally established the culture change this program really needed. Charlottesville football is finally not just ‘that waiting sport’ before basketball,” Sherry said.
“In the second half of this game, the problems that have plagued us all season — fundamentals like tackling — affected us and let the game slip away. And as a coach, I take responsibility for that. But now that the foundation and the passion for Charlottesville football has been reestablished again, we’ll be back.”
His son agreed.
“I love this team and the players, and I’m so sad that that game was my final high school football game,” Mason Sherry said. “It’s such a tough way to go out. But I take solace in the fact that this year will be marked as the year things changed here with Charlottesville football.”
