Saints are ready to run

Feel that chill in the air? Some people may think of hot chocolate or a warm fire at home when cold weather sets in, but apparently St. Anne’s coach John Blake thinks a lot more about his rushing attack when the temperature drops.

“I coached with Billy Haun out at Western and when Billy and I were together we always talked about when it comes November you’ve got to be able to run the football,” Blake said. “If we can run the football the way we did today we’ll have a long November.”

Blake’s Saints ran the football near-perfectly against Covenant Friday in a 27-14 victory, and anyone that’s watched Blake coach during his years in the area knows that’s exactly what he wants to do, be it October or August — particularly in the second half. That’s when the Saints exploded out of the gate, unleashing a smashmouth style that they haven’t necessarily relied on all season.

What’s really surprising though is that the Saints got it done in the fourth quarter without junior starter Aaron Clark, a transfer from North Carolina who has already established himself as one of the area’s best running backs. Clark went down with a re-aggravated turned ankle during the second half, giving way to Will McGhee.

The junior tailback rushed for 67 yards on 12 carries including his explosive 20-yard touchdown that put the game out of reach. Blake had said all season that he had backs behind Clark that were awfully good, and McGhee proved him right with an explosive effort off the bench.

“Willie is a great back, before Aaron got here, Willie was going to be our man,” Blake said. “He can play for anybody. I’m so happy that when he got his chance he took it and ran with it.”

The key to McGhee’s success may be the Saints’ offensive line that controlled the game up front most of the afternoon. Several two-way linemen also spearheaded the Saints’ monster defensive effort against the Eagles.

Clark himself finished with 126 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries on the rainy, muddy surface at Covenant, contributing a big chunk of the Saints’ 245 rushing yards as a team on 51 carries.

Those 51 rushing plays represent a run to pass ratio of more than three to one. Looks like Blake’s getting ready for November.

Offense’s struggles sink Fork Union

Fork Union’s defense needs some help from its offense — anything would be a positive.

The Blue Devils defense locked up a talented Collegiate squad, limiting quarterback Jake McGee and Collegiate’s high-powered offense to just 13 points. But FUMA’s offense just couldn’t get it going.

“We had a chance but we just couldn’t put any offense together,” said FUMA coach Micky Sullivan.

The Blue Devils have been depleted by injuries, particularly on offense where lineman Mark Shuman and running back Andy Tembon are among a number of players that have missed time due to getting banged up.

The road won’t get much easier for FUMA either — a rumble with Benedictine is scheduled for Saturday. 

Hunter torches CHS

Orange County’s Quintin Hunter has made it clear that the Hornets aren’t letting this season slip away without a fight. Hunter threw four passing touchdowns and scored another three times on the ground during Orange’s 56-point first half against Charlottesville.

The Hornets wrapped up the 62-6 victory early against a decimated Black Knights squad, leaving Hunter resting on the sidelines after the break. Hunter threw for 134 yards on 8-for-9 passing and rushed for another 71 yards on nine carries.

If Hunter is really going to put more of an exclamation mark on a senior season that got slightly derailed by a loss to Monticello though, he’ll need to help spark the Hornets to a victory over Louisa County this week. He’ll have to solve Louisa’s defense to make that happen though — and the Lions have had a week to scheme against Hunter and the Hornets.

Moving on up

Brud Bicknell reached a milestone with the win over Western Albemarle Friday night. The Monticello coach secured his 75th win with the program as the Mustangs beat the Warriors 46-6.

Bicknell, the only football coach the school’s ever had, has compiled a 75-41 record through 11 seasons. His teams have gone 41-21 the Jefferson District and 7-3 in the postseason, and have two Division 3 state championship game appearances. In 2003, Monticello lost to Gretna (48-18). Last year the Mustangs won their first state title after defeating Richlands, 36-22.

With Friday’s win, the Mustangs also clinched their seventh consecutive winning season.

Mullaney makes his mark

With Hines Banks sitting out for the first half of Friday’s game, several other ball carriers shouldered the load for Monticello. Most notably, senior Ryan Mullaney. The 5-foot-7, 135-pound back did something no other rusher has done for the Mustangs this year — run for over 100 yards.

Mullaney reached the 100-yard mark and then some, finishing with a game-high 141 yards. He also scored twice to help propel Monticello past Western. In the second half, Richard Aguilar came in and rushed eight times for 54 yards. The senior, who had not carried the ball before Friday, capped the Mustangs’ final drive with a 47-yard touchdown run.

Quarterback Michael Graham was Monticello’s other leading rusher, with 40 yards on five carries. Graham finished 9 of 14 for 108 yards and two touchdowns — a 15-yard pass to Sam Roller in the first quarter, and a

27-yard pass to Jake Pelton in the third.

“We’re at our best when we can mix it and do a little bit of both,” said Bicknell of the offensive production. “We were able to do a little more play-action than we have in some of the other games so that was nice to see that come around.”

The defense rests

Just as impressive as the offensive display was Monticello’s defense. The Mustangs put together a goal-line stand to stop the Warriors on their only productive drive in the second half.

“[The win] was a great testament to our defense. They did a great job all night long,” Bicknell said. “They were on the field the entire second quarter, so they played a lot of snaps and they rose to the challenge.”

Monticello got big plays from Chris Coiner, who recovered a fumble in the first quarter, and was in on a number of tackles, as well as Marvin Mills, who hauled in a fourth-quarter interception. Jace Brady blocked Western’s only extra-point attempt and Jake Pelton had a number of tackles and a pass deflection.

Bowman airs it out

One of the few bright spots for Western Albemarle Friday was the play of quarterback Seth Bowman, who completed 8 of 27 passes while splitting time with Stephen Schuler. Bowman threw for 151 yards in the loss, his favorite target being Christophe Drapanas. Drapanas caught three passes for 74 yards, including a 55-yard reception in the fourth quarter to get the Warriors into the red zone. Unfortunately, that drive stalled as the Mustangs stopped Western on the 1-yard line.

Gaskins keeps it up

K.G. Gaskins did a little bit of everything for Woodberry Forest in its 37-7 win over St. Albans (DC) this past weekend.

Gaskins reached the 100-yard rushing mark again this week, with a team-high 100 yards on 14 carries. He also caught two passes for 23 yards and a touchdown. Gaskins also helped the Tigers out on the defensive end, with a fumble recovery and six tackles. He leads the team in scoring (eight TDs) and rushing yards (474) this season.

Woodberry (5-1) visits St. Christopher’s this Saturday.