Flucos handle Knights

Entering the game on a two-game skid, Fluvanna County was eager to get back to their winning ways. Thanks to a potent running attack and a gritty performance from quarterback Ryan Foster, the Flying Flucos did just that Friday night in front of the Charlottesville home crowd, defeating the Black Knights 33-22.

After the teams traded punts on their first possessions, Charlottesville’s offense came alive. Facing a third and long from their own 30-yard line, tailback Raymond Parker took the handoff off the right side of the line, got jammed up, then reversed fields for an impressive 25-yard gain. Two plays later, Parker once again took a pitch to the left side of the field and went untouched for a 37-yard touchdown to give the Black Knights a 7-0 advantage.

After Charlottesville held Fluvanna’s offense to a three-and-out, the Knights led a methodical drive that included two fourth-down conversions for another touchdown, this time quarterback Benj Wilhelm found Xavier Porter on a screen pass, and Porter took it the distance to give CHS an early 14-0 lead.

“I don’t think there was ever a time when we didn’t think we could come back in this game,” said Fluvanna coach Rodney Redd. “We knew that if we just executed some of the plays better, we would be fine.”

Fortune finally struck for the Flucos when their special teams came up with a blocked punt late in the first half. Fluvanna recovered the block at the CHS 30-yard line and capitalized on the good field position as quarterback Ryan Foster calmly engineered a last-minute halftime drive, connecting with receiver D.J. Burton for a 10-yard touchdown pass with just 17 seconds remaining in the half.

Fluvanna would find the end zone again in the third quarter following a key defensive stop in their red zone. The Flucos took the ball 95 yards on just seven plays and narrowed the gap to 14-12 with just 2:50 remaining in the third quarter. Foster was instrumental on the long drive, accounting for a number of big plays through the air and with his feet.

“In the first half, we weren’t playing well, so we went through at halftime and tried to focus on the things that were working and we came out and executed in the second half,” Foster said.

After another Charlottesville three-and-out, Foster came back on the field looking for a quick strike and found Cameron Coles streaking down the middle for a 67-yard touchdown to give the Flucos their first lead at 19-14. In total, Coles would account for 193 yards of total offense and four touchdowns. 

“Well, it’s not all about the offensive line, but you can see that it makes a difference in our offense when Ryan has time to throw,” Redd said.

The Flucos would put the proverbial nail in the coffin on their next possession when Foster evaded several CHS tacklers and found Coles in the end zone for a 24-yard touchdown toss, giving Fluvanna an insurmountable 26-14 advantage with just under three minutes to play in the game.

The teams would trade scores in the final minutes to make the final tally 33-22. Fluvanna (3-6, 2-5 JD) travels to Louisa County next Friday for their final regular season game. Charlottesville (3-6, 2-4) looks to rebound next Friday on the road against Orange County.