Warriors stay on pace

Western Albemarle bounced back from an early deficit against Orange County to cruise to a Jefferson District win on Friday, keeping its perfect record intact.

The Warriors (9-0, 6-0 JD), who were impressive on both sides of the ball, scored 35 unanswered points en route to a 35-14 victory on senior night.

Orange broke to a quick start, scoring a pair of touchdowns before fans could even get settled in their seats.

On their opening possession, the visitors used an eight-play drive to score, as quarterback Cameron Hughes connected with Jamal Hunter for a 32-yard touchdown strike.

The Hornets quickly got the ball back, as Troy Johnson intercepted Stephen Schuler’s first pass of the night. Orange (5-4, 4-2) capitalized as Dominique Walker ran into the end zone from 11 yards out. Hunter Ferguson connected on the point after attempt to make it 14-0.

The deficit didn’t seem to faze Western.

The Warriors answered later in the first quarter as lineman Adam Frazier picked off a Hughes pass and ran it back 28 yards for the score. Frazier was able to get a lot of pressure on Hughes all night, recording a pair of sacks as well.

Western got a boost from one of its senior leaders, Schuler, as he ran for a touchdown and threw to Dom Losco for another as the Warriors took a 21-14 halftime lead.

“It’s just a testament to what a special bunch of kids they are,” Western Albemarle coach Ed Pierce said of his team’s resiliency.

The district leaders picked up where they left off, scoring on their opening possession of the second half as Schuler hooked up with Losco again for a 55-yard TD pass.

The Warriors added a late touchdown on a run by Cody Davis to complete the scoring.

“We made too many mistakes against a good football team, and it cost us,” Orange coach John Kayajanian said.

Orange plays host to Charlottesville next week, while Western travels to Goochland for its regular-season finale.