Warriors stomp Pats to stay unbeaten

Football teams that turn the ball over seven times obviously tend to come out on the losing end of games, even against less talented teams. See: UVa against William & Mary last Saturday.

What teams that commit seven turnovers tend not to do is win by 35 points.

With a dominant defense that forced five turnovers of their own and an offense that picked up large chunks of yardage at timely moments, estern Albemarle never led Albemarle by fewer than two s touchdowns after the first quarter. Despite committing seven turnovers of their own, the Warriors took home a 42-7 victory on the road.

“I think I could live to be 200 and [this type of game] could never happen again,” Western coach Ed Pierce said.

Western quarterback Stephen Schuler defined his team’s night offensively. Schuler threw two interceptions and fumbled once, but also completed 15 of 24 passes for 196 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for 35 yards. Five of those completions went to wide receiver Dom Losco for 79 yards and a score.

Defensively, the Warriors had Albemarle almost entirely shut down, holding Albemarle running back Jervon Speller to two yards rushing and quarterback Joshua Sites to 35 yards in the air on 4-for-14 passing.

Pierce credited an experienced secondary for the outstanding defensive game; five of the six Albemarle turnovers came on interceptions.

“We work all the time on drops, and we work all the time on pattern recognition,” Pierce said. “All the things that really you don’t find an awful lot in high school coaching.”

Senior defensive back Tyler Ward had a huge night for Western, picking off two balls, recovering a fumble, and recording six tackles. He also had a three-yard rushing touchdown.

“The last few years, our defense has been the strongest part [of the team],” Ward said. “This year, our offense is catching up.”

Albemarle coach Wendell Green tried anything and everything to get his team going offensively. To start the game, he tried to establish the run with Speller - no luck. He subbed his quarterback, putting Sites in for starter Joey Varaksa, and putting Albemarle in a four-wide receiver set – that worked, but only briefly.

“The quad formation – which is primarily a passing formation – was the only thing we felt was working for us tonight,” Green said. “We tried to ride it as long as we could, but our lack of throwing ability came back to bite us in the end.”

On the Warriors’ side, the offense was certainly productive at times, but also struggled with taking care of the ball; in addition to the seven turnovers, the Warriors also had three other fumbles that they recovered themselves.

Other than Schuler’s giveaways, the Warriors’ other turnovers included three more fumbles and a muffed punt. Albemarle sophomore Zachary Payne recovered three Western fumbles and recorded one interception.

“Both teams were pretty sloppy,” Ward said. “I’m just glad we got out with the win.”

Western committed no turnovers in the first quarter, when it put up three scores on their first three possessions to open up a 21-0 lead.

Losco put the Warriors on the board first with a 35-yard reception and a dive to the pylon. Ward took a three-yard carry for their second TD, and fellow tailback Cody Davis took a pitch from the five-yard line untouched for Western’s third score at the 2:55 mark of the first.

Albemarle scored its lone touchdown on an 8-yard pass to Andrew Frazier midway through the second quarter. The Patriots had numerous chances to get back into the game for the rest of the second quarter and in the third – including immediately after their touchdown drive, when they pinned the Warriors inside the two yard-line – but untimely turnovers on the part of the Patriots seemed to kill any momentum they might have established.

Western then opened up on Albemarle in the fourth, mirroring the first quarter with three more touchdowns en route to the win.“We looked good [in the first and fourth quarters],” Pierce said, “And then you’ve got two quarters when it’s just really sloppy football.”

Last night was the second time the Patriots scored just once in a 30-point plus blowout to open the season. In their opener at Monticello Sept. 4, they fell 38-7. Green, though, said that the attitude on the sideline, at least, showed improvement from a week ago.

“Last week, there definitely was a lot of bickering on the sideline, a lot of stuff that we just don’t want to hear when we get down in the game. “The one thing I was pleased about is, they kept fighting.”

Albemarle next takes on Charlottesville on the road, while the Warriors have a bye week before they go to Fluvanna County.