Warriors rally for win

A measure of a good team is how well it responds to adversity. Well, Western Albemarle passed its toughest test of the season — against a good Charlottesville team — with flying colors.

The Warriors, who trailed for much of the game, used a second-half rally to spoil the Black Knights’ homecoming on a warm fall evening. Behind senior leadership from quarterback Stephen Schuler and big defensive plays, Western prevailed 27-13 to remain unbeaten on the season and send CHS to its first Jefferson District loss.

“I think our kids were a little bit disappointed at the end of the game because they knew they didn’t play well throughout the game but good teams have to fight through adversity,” said Western coach Ed Pierce. “Charlottesville is just flat-out a good team. I’ve never seen a coach turn a team around in a year like [CHS coach] Chris Fraser has. It’s just an amazing job — those kids gave a great fight all night long.”

With the game tied at 13-13, the Charlottesville defense held the Warriors on fourth down with six minutes to play and seemed to have all the momentum.

That quickly changed, as two plays later, the Black Knights fumbled and Western’s Abbot Wallenborn recovered in the end zone for the score as the visitors took their first lead of the night.

The Warriors forced CHS to punt on its next series and tacked on another TD — a three-yard run by Adam Diehl — to put the game out of reach.

“We didn’t make plays when we needed to, and like I told our guys, we played really good for 44-45 minutes and we self-destructed a little bit at the end,” Fraser said. “You’ve got to give them credit — they made plays and that’s what great teams do. We’re not a great team yet, we’re good, but we’re not great, so they deserve to win and we don’t.”

Charlottesville started out strong, recovering a fumble on the Warriors’ opening drive. The Black Knights capitalized on the mistake as well as some Western penalties to score first. Steve Allen punched it in from one yard out and CHS led 7-0.

But the visitors tied the game early in the second quarter, as Schuler connected with Dom Losco for a 3-yard TD.

Charlottesville quickly responded after a great return by Josh Carson put the Black Knights deep in Western territory. CHS had to settle for a field goal, as Pedro Diez connected from 30 yards out to help his team regain the lead.

Charlottesville’s defense was able to put a lot of pressure on Schuler and the Warriors were forced to go three-and-out on their next two drives.
The Black Knights extended their lead before halftime as Ian Tewksbury converted a 27-yard field goal.

Unlike in the first half, Schuler and Diehl were able to run the ball effectively in the second half.

Schuler also picked the perfect time to make the perfect pass, as he hooked up with Tyler Ward for a 13-yard TD in the fourth quarter. The Warriors failed to convert the PAT and the game remained tied until just under five minutes to play, setting the stage for some late-game heroics.

Charlottesville visits Louisa County next week while Western Albemarle plays host to Monticello.