Getting everyone’s best shot is now par for the course at Louisa County. Undefeated in Jefferson District play since the start of the 2017 season, the Lions pushed that streak to 25 games with a 33-22 win over Western Albemarle.
“We’re everyone’s Super Bowl,” said Louisa County coach Will Patrick. “Tremendous effort and attitude in the second half. Just to see our kids bounce back, handle adversity, and come out and play with pure passion and enthusiasm, it was amazing.”
Back in game two of the spring, the Lions roared back from a halftime deficit and steamrolled Orange County. On Friday night in Crozet, a Warrior defense coming off back-to-back shutouts was well-prepared to battle for all four quarters. With Western holding a 7-6 lead at the break, Patrick challenged his squad: who would make a big play?
In a pivotal third quarter, sophomore quarterback Landon Wilson and junior running back Jordan Smith were among the playmakers who met that challenge. The Lions took their first lead when Wilson capped a 13-play, 59-yard drive by rolling to his right and tossing to Chase Miller in the flat, who scooted into the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown. Three key third-down conversions sustained Louisa’s drive: a pair of runs by Smith and senior Kalep Shelton, and a 10-yard pass to Armani Comfort.
“They got great field position and started converting on third down, which we were able to get off the field on in the first half,” said Western Albemarle coach Ed Redmond. “Our defense played hard and I’m proud of our whole team and their effort, but hats off to Louisa. They just started making plays.”
On Louisa’s next series, Smith converted a fourth-and-2 with a six-yard run to midfield. Then, Wilson fired a pass his way, and it turned into the quarter’s biggest play.
“They were stacking the box, so I went outside and ran a slant across the middle,” said Smith, who made the catch and blazed through the secondary for a 50-yard score.
Trailing 19-7 late in the third, the Warriors did not roll over. Freshman quarterback Nathan Simon took to the air and picked up the only first down of the quarter with a 24-yard completion to junior wideout Joseph Burch. Three plays later, on the first snap of the fourth, he rolled right and lofted a pass to junior tight end Carson Tujague, who raced down the sideline for a 35-yard touchdown.
It wouldn’t stay a one-score margin for long, however, as Louisa’s offense was ready to churn out chunks on the ground. Shelton and Troy Fischer picked up 15 yards on three plays before Smith took a sweep left for a 63-yard touchdown.
“Jordan’s an explosive kid, one of the best athletes in the area,” Patrick said of Smith, who added a late 20-yard score and finished with a game-high 148 yards on 15 carries. “He made a play on that pass down the middle and ran the ball great on some sweeps.”
The Lions’ defense sealed the deal with a redzone stand on Western’s next possession that kept the score 26-14. In the game’s final minute, both sides tacked on touchdowns that will make the final offensive stats look far better than the game’s opening 24 minutes would have foretold.
The game started with three three-and-out series before Louisa finally moved the chains with a bold fourth-and-one gamble at its own 19. The drive still stalled on Louisa’s side of midfield but senior Logan McGhee flipped the field with a 61-yard punt downed at the WA 2. Austin Shifflett then delivered a jolt for the home crowd as he broke through the line and raced 98 yards to give Western the lead 27 seconds into the second quarter.
“Honestly, we were just trying to get a first down,” Redmond said. “You see that when everybody gets geared up to try and get a safety. When the defense is up on one level and you can squirt through, there’s nobody home. When Austin hits a seam, he can take advantage, so it was a great play by him and the offensive line.”
That was really the lone highlight for Western’s ground attack. No other carry went for double-digit yardage on the night. Shifflett himself managed to tally only 21 yards on his 14 other touches. Excluding the 98-yarder, Louisa held the Warriors to 1.5 yards per rush.
Louisa did not respond immediately but, after an exchange of punts, got great field position at the Western 32 thanks to some gusty wind. Wilson put the Lions on the board with a 7-yard keeper midway through the second. A bad snap thwarted the two-point play and kept Western ahead by one. The Warriors’ ensuing 10-play series drained most of the remaining 6:22 off the first half clock, which started at their own 30 but only reached the LC 43 before ending with a punt.
After Smith, Shelton had 73 yards on 15 rushes, and Wilson ran 11 times for 46 yards. The Lions averaged 4.8 yards per carry in the first half but pushed it to 7.5 in the second. Wilson also completed 8-of-17 passes for 109 yards and two scores. Lousia had 385 yards of total offense and no turnovers.
“I knew this was going to be a trench-type game,” Patrick said. “They were doing a great job stopping some of our base plays [in the first half]. Western’s very well-coached and they’ve got strong, big kids up front. We made some adjustments at halftime. Kalep sprained his ankle pretty darn bad last week but taped it up and played hard.”
Western also had no turnovers and 296 yards of offense. Simon completed 10-of-22 passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns. Tujague caught three for 93 yards and Burch had four receptions for 66, including a 28-yard touchdown in the closing seconds.
Both squads face must-win contests as the regular-season wraps next Friday to remain in contention for berths in their respective Region playoff brackets. Western (3-2) heads to Porterfield Park to face Orange County (2-3), while Louisa (5-0) hosts Albemarle (3-2) in the Jungle.
