Senior quarterback Mark Grooms was a sophomore when Fluvanna County won its home opener over Spotsylvania in week two of the 2014 season. On Friday night, when the scoreboard clock hit all zeros with the Flucos on top 26-13, it created a perfect Spotsy sandwich around 19 straight losses.
“It’s been a long, long time for Fluvanna to actually feel a real win, and I just love it,” said Grooms, the team’s undisputed workhorse who accounted for 330 yards of offense (265 rushing on 25 carries, plus 65 passing). “I love this county. I bleed blue and yellow and always will.”
With Grooms taking off for a 77-yard touchdown on the game’s first offensive snap, Fluvanna never trailed.
“It gave our athletes confidence that they could do it, that we could get over this hump,” said second-year Fluvanna coach Steve Szarmach, who was presented the game ball for his first victory by the team after the game.
Spotsylvania answered via junior running back Reece Racabo’s 49-yard touchdown run. Fluvanna then mounted a nine-play, 75-yard scoring drive, capped by a 15-yard run where Grooms spun out of a pile around the first down marker at the 7-yard line. In a battle of squads committed to their ground attacks, the Flucos’ 304 yards rushing yielded three touchdowns, while the Knights finished with 300 yards and found the endzone twice. The key play securing Fluvanna’s comfortable margin came early in the second quarter, and it was courtesy of Grooms going to the air.
“We were looking at the defense and they were rotating up to stop our running game,” Szarmach said. “Coach Pace, our offensive coordinator, saw the opening, and we took it.”
The play, as the Flucos had practiced, involved play action up the middle while tight end Joey Van Dyke slipped uncovered off the left end. Grooms arced his pass to Van Dyke 15 yards downfield, and the sophomore turned and covered the last 48 yards to the left pylon ahead of the Knights’ secondary.
“That was awesome,” said Grooms, as the home crowd saw their Flucos open a two-score lead. “I got cracked, but that was an awesome play. He was gone for six, and thank God.”
Spotsylvania mounted a 10-play, 75-yard drive to answer, but then the score remained 20-13 from the 6:45 mark in the second quarter until a last-minute touchdown in the fourth. Fluvanna had a prime opportunity right before halftime, but a holding penalty nullified what would have been Grooms’ second touchdown pass, and then the Knights intercepted a third-and-20 pass at the 1 yard line.
Spotsy received the second half kickoff and drove to the brink of the red zone in seven plays, but then a holding penalty disrupted the series. An attempted double-reverse on third and 15 went awry with a bad exchange, and senior Jordan Melton recovered the fumble for Fluvanna.
“Their offense runs it extremely well, and that’s a tough battle,” said Szarmarch. “They run that outside power, and the pitch sweep. Our kids performed really well.”
Grooms looked fresh on the first offensive play after the break as he scooted around the right side for 17 yards, but a late hit well out of bounds in the Fluco team box sent him through a bench and down on the track. With junior Ethan Graves forced into action, the backfield exchanges became an adventure. Although Fluvanna benefitted from an additional unsportsmanlike penalty and defensive pass interference on fourth and eight, Graves was engulfed by pressure on a subsequent third down and flagged for grounding trying to avoid a sack.
After trading punts, Grooms garnered another roar from the crowd when he returned for the next series. He promptly took the first snap and picked up 17 yards.
“I mean, in life there’s an obstacle, and in football there are obstacles,” Grooms said. “We had to fight through the second half. I love my team so much, and we’re going to continue this.”
Punts continued through the rest of the third quarter and into the fourth until Grooms was picked a second time on a deep pass, setting up what would be Spotsy’s last chance to drive for a tying touchdown with 10:40 remaining. Recabo, who led the Knights for the game with 136 yards on 21 carries, picked up a first down and carried the Knights near the Flucos’ 40, but sophomore Trevor Croson’s fourth down pass attempt fell incomplete.
Grooms and senior Craig Russo then led a clock-draining 12-play, 61-yard drive to ice the game. Grooms converted three fourth downs, going 19 yards on the last one for his third rushing touchdown with 31 seconds remaining. Russo carried twice to keep the Knights honest; he finished the night with 35 yards on 11 rushes.
“I’ll tell you, closing the game out was our offensive line,” Szarmach said. “Our line and our tailbacks made the holes for Mark, and he did an excellent job following their blocks.”
Fluvanna (1-1) now has a bye week before hitting the road to wrap up out-of-district play at Culpeper County (0-1).
