Schuler shines as Warriors stay unbeaten

Western Albemarle rode the arm of senior quarterback Stephen Schuler to its first Jefferson District victory on Friday.
Schuler had a hand in all five of the Warriors’ touchdowns in the 34-21 win. He passed for four touchdowns and ran for another, racking up 267 passing yards. Schuler was also Western’s leading rusher, finishing with 82 yards on the ground.
“Stephen Schuler is one of those guys that I think everyone around knows what a good athlete he is,” said Western Albemarle coach Ed Pierce. “But unless you’re around him all the time you don’t understand what a great competitor he is and because he’s such a good
competitor, he finds ways to make things happen.”
One of Schuler’s most impressive passes of the night came on the Warriors’ second possession. On the second play of the drive, he connected with Christophe Drapanas for a 60-yard TD strike.
Great start for Warriors
Western Albemarle stayed unbeaten with the win over the Flucos, improving to 4-0 overall. Western will get a major test this week as Louisa County visits. The Lions are coming off a win over William Monroe and have one loss (to Courtland) thus far.
“We knew we had some good senior leaders who were also some good athletes, so we felt really good coming in,” Pierce said. “I think if we focus better, then the sky’s the limit. We’ve got Louisa coming to Crozet and they’re a good football team. They’re going to be very
well-coached.”
Foster finds his target
Fluvanna quarterback Ryan Foster didn’t waste any time in finding his favorite target of the night on Friday.  In what was one of the prettiest plays of the night, on FCHS’s opening drive, Foster hooked up with YaYa Anderson for a 24-yard touchdown in the left corner of the end zone to give his team a 7-0 lead. The play came on 4th-and-14 and Anderson leaped up in coverage to make the catch.
Anderson led all receivers with 104 yards on seven catches and two touchdowns. He also caught an 11-yard TD in the third quarter.
“It is definitely a pleasure to see a sophomore step up and get better every week. Right now he’s become more assertive and that has been something that has been pleasing to see,” Fluvanna coach Rodney Redd said. And Foster, as he should, has gotten more confidence in knowing that he can go that way and good things are going to happen.”
Foster passed for 183 yards and rushed for 77 in the loss.
Flucos ‘D’ steps up
Despite the loss, Fluvanna’s defense came up with big plays the entire game. The Flucos blocked two Western Albemarle punts, both of which set up touchdowns. Senior lineman Chris Denby had a solid night as he blocked a point-after attempt by the Warriors, came up with a sack and was in on numerous other stops on the night.
Fluvanna also made an impressive stand as Western put together a nice second-quarter drive. With the Warriors in Fluvanna territory, on fourth and inches the Flucos held and took over on downs.
“They had a good defensive scheme and they’ve got good athletes,” Pierce said. I give it up to them — I think they did a lot of things to take us out of the things we weren’t real comfortable with tonight. But I think our offense is balanced enough and there’s enough weapons that hopefully we can find ways, even against good defensive teams, to move the football.”
Extra points…Fork Union’s defense still hasn’t given up a touchdown through its first four games. The Blue Devils came away with a 13-6 win over a good Episcopal squad on Saturday and held the team to 163 yards of total offense. … Woodberry’s Alex Hagood had two fourth-quarter touchdowns to help the Tigers prevail over McDonogh on Saturday. Hagood ran for a 5-yard TD, then on fourth-and-goal, threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Eliot Nelson as Woodberry rallied for the 23-21 win. … Monticello tied a school record with six turnovers in its lost to Orange County on Friday. The Mustangs had four lost fumbles and two interceptions, both of which were returned for touchdowns. … Monticello’s loss ended its 16-game win streak in the Jefferson District as well as a seven-game winning streak over the Hornets.