Nelson bounces back with win

BUCKINGHAM — Nelson County head coach Tim Crawford admitted that his team got dominated in its opener last week against Madison County. On Friday night, his troops traveled to Buckingham County and came away with a decisive 28-7 victory, their first of the young season.

Sophomore running back Trevor Martin got things started early for Nelson on a 30-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter. His backfield mate, Trey Barnett, added a two-point conversion to give the Governors an 8-0 lead. The two combined for over 200 yards rushing on the night.

“It took us a little while to find our identity,” said Crawford. “This week we got back to basics. Trey and Trevor ran the ball great tonight.”

Buckingham was moving the ball well on the ensuing possession when Ja’Rodd Wade coughed up the ball right into the hands of a Governors defender at the Nelson 10-yard line. It was the first of four Knights turnovers on the evening.

The Governors (1-1) capitalized on a 75-yard drive that ended with a 3-yard Barnett run to put the visitors up 14-0 early in the second quarter.

Buckingham (0-2) responded on their next possession, as quarterback Taylor Boyers scored from two yards out to cut Nelson’s lead to seven at halftime.

Quincy Murphy scored on a 5-yard run, followed by quarterback M.J. Wells’ two-point conversion, to put the Governors up 22-7 less than a minute into the fourth. The Knights had to score quickly to have a chance, but fumbled on the very next play. Wells then threw a touchdown pass on a fourth and 11 from the 16-yard line to seal the deal.

“We knew we had to rebound from last week and we just couldn’t do it,” Buckingham coach Craig Gill said. “They stuck it to us and we never answered.”