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Relax and Surge: Albemarle rides second half explosion to win over Western

Photo by Tom Pajewski

To be a fly on the wall for Albemarle coach Brandon Isaiah’s halftime speech of the Patriots’ 39-37 victory over Western Albemarle.

 

“He just came in the locker room laughing,” said senior quarterback J’Quan Anderson. “He knows what type of team we have and what our players are capable of.”

 

Trailing 27-13 in a rivalry game with playoff implications for both squads, the Patriots completely flipped the script after the break. It started with defense, as after having been outgained 264-136 in the first half, the defense shut down a balanced Western Albemarle offense attack.

 

“Our defense turned the heat on in the second half,” Isaiah said as the Warriors managed just 82 total yards over the last 24 minutes. “We all went in at halftime and decided to make some changes and do some things to put us in the best position to win. They switched some players around and credit goes to those guys for stepping up.”

 

Meanwhile, Albemarle’s offense doubled them up with 165 second half yards, all on the ground, and mostly from Anderson.

 

“Coach B.I. and Coach Gooch pulled me aside and told me this is what it feels like to be a dog,” Anderson said of the locker room conversation. “They told me that I’m the leader so whatever I do, my teammates are going to do. So I just went by myself, prayed about it, and just talked to myself and got the job done. It’s a big win, especially against a rival.”

 

The Patriots used a 26-3 scoring run from the start of the second half to the two-minute mark of the fourth quarter to grab a two-possession lead. Victory was secured as a last-second onside kick bounced out of bounds, and now Albemarle rides a momentum bump into the Region 5D playoffs.

 

“If you know somebody who has the formula, I’ll pay good money to figure it out,” Isaiah said on getting his squad to play four quarters of a playoff game like they did in the last two tonight. “Western has a great football program. Ed Redmond’s been doing it for a while. They have great kids; they’re tough. Records don’t matter on either side so I wasn’t surprised by the way the game went. We feel blessed to get a win.”

 

Western looked poised to expand its halftime lead when Aidan Saunders recovered a squib kickoff to start the third quarter and setup the Warrior offense on Albemarle’s half of the field. On the first play, however, a screen went awry as senior quarterback Robert Sims was pressured and overshot intended target Darren Klein. Sophomore linebacker Mahki Robinson made the interception and raced 58 yards for a defensive touchdown.

 

“We called a play that we had some success with in the first half, felt confident in it, but didn’t execute,” said Western coach Ed Redmond.

 

Western next went three-and-out, thanks in part to Robinson blowing up a jet sweep for a six-yard loss. However, the Warriors soon got another opportunity as a holding penalty deep in the backfield derailed Albemarle’s next series. The punt block team forced a low kick right into the back of a lineman, and junior receiver Wyatt Hull scooped it up and took it to the Patriots’ 10. However, Albemarle senior KaySean Allen broke up a third down pass headed for Klein in the back corner of the endzone and Western settled for a 23-yard field goal by Kendall Heon, pushing its lead to 30-20. Albemarle needed just one play to respond, as junior Daquandre Taylor went 57 yards around the edge for six.

 

“Daquandre Taylor really jump-started us with that big run,” Isaiah said. “He’s a young kid and I don’t really think I got him the ball enough tonight.”

 

It was still 30-26 when Isaiah decided to keep the offense on the field for fourth-and-3 at their own 33 on the first play of the fourth quarter. An incomplete pass seemed to give Western a prime opportunity to reclaim control, but a sack and personal foul deep in the backfield, which nullified a touchdown pass, led to third-and-38 and then a punt. Albemarle also punted on its next series, although Anderson helped flip the field with a 33-yard run. Then, the Patriots’ defense struck again as KaySean Allen recovered a fumble on Western’s next offensive play. Anderson ran five times for 25 yards before Allen took a handoff three yards for the go-ahead touchdown.

 

“I guess the football gods answered my prayers,” Isaiah said of the fourth quarter fumble that led to Albemarle grabbing a 32-30 lead. “We had the ball a couple of times with the opportunity to go get the lead, and we just didn’t execute well enough to put the ball in the endzone. They gave us another gift, and we were able to capitalize.”

 

With 4:52 still to play, Western’s offense began its most effective drive of the second half. Sims gained 16 yards on three rushes, but couldn’t connect through the air. Facing fourth-and-6 with two and a half minutes left, Sims found Hull open down the middle for a big chunk, but Anderson closed on the ball from his safety position and a huge hit dislodged it.

 

“I was playing too deep at first, so as soon as I saw the post route, I knew that I had to hit him or get a pick,” Anderson said.

 

With Hull down on the field for a few minutes, officials huddled and ruled the pass incomplete and, therefore, a turnover on downs. Arguably, the play could have gone as a catch-fumble or catch with forward progress halted, and Western drew a couple of 15-yard flags during the injury stoppage arguing the point. Instead, Albemarle’s offense took over at the Warriors’ 24, and Anderson scored three plays later on a 24-yard run. The PAT holder handled a low snap and sophomore kicker Yousof Algburi knocked it through to open a two possession lead with 2:00 on the clock, which proved important as Sims led the Warriors down the field and found Klein for a 19-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal to close out the scoring with 22.4 seconds remaining.

 

“I think it was a very good high school football game,” Redmond said. “It was a hard-fought game. It’s a two-point game and there’s not much you can say to your kids after that.”

 

Western opened the game by receiving the kickoff and driving 69 yards in nine plays. Weyher scored on a 3-yard jet sweep left. Albemarle opened with a long 11-play drive of its own, but it ended with an interception by Hull in the endzone on fourth-and-16. Western opened a 13-0 lead early in the second quarter after driving 65 yards in seven plays, capped by Klein’s 4-yard run. Anderson then delivered his first gamebreaking run, going 66 yards to the left to put Albemarle on the board.

 

“Playing in that environment, making that long run, getting everybody pumped up, the student section pumped up, it just made me turn to another gear,” said Anderson, who finished the night with 29 rushes for 217 yards and three touchdowns. “When I break out past the linebackers, Coach B.I. told me ‘not one person should tackle you.’ So as soon as I got past the linebackers it was all she wrote.”

 

The teams accelerated the back-and-forth touchdowns from there in second quarter. Western drove 62 yards in eight plays, capped by an 11-yard keeper from Sims. Stephen Yoder returned the ensuing kickoff 73 yards to the 3, and Anderson scored on a keeper from there. Western began its next drive with a 33-yard screen pass from Sims to Klein. Five plays later, Klein scored on a 2-yard run to make it 27-13 for Western. Senior defensive back Kris Anderson made an interception for Albemarle to foil a last-minute drive and keep the margin 14 heading into halftime.

 

For Western, Sims finished the game with 269 total yards (175 through the air plus 94 on a team-high 20 rushes). Klein added 60 yards on 17 carries. He also caught three passes for 55 yards. Weyher made two receptions for 75 yards.

 

Albemarle (5-5) is the No. 6-seed in the Region 5D playoffs and will travel to third-seeded Harrisonburg (7-3) next Friday. The squads have one common opponent in Charlottesville, which Albemarle defeated in October, while Harrisonburg lost in early September.

 

Western (2-8) is still in the mix for the final spot in the Region 3C playoffs, pending the outcome of Saturday afternoon’s Collegiate-St. Christopher’s tilt. A Collegiate win would put the Warriors in the bracket with a road game at top-seed Heritage-Lynchburg (9-1).

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