Western cruises in opener

Western Albemarle started its season off with a bang on Friday night, scoring 35 first-quarter points en route to a 49-0 defeat of Waynesboro.

“I don’t think we did anything poorly tonight,” said Western head coach Ed Pierce. “Offensively, we were balanced. We moved the ball and did pretty much what we wanted to do.”

Western senior quarterback Stephen Schuler did pretty much what he wanted to do, using all his options in the first quarter. He led the Warriors down field with ease before giving ball off to senior running back Cody Davis, who plunged in from one yard out.

After a three-and-out from the Little Giants, Schuler led the offense down the field for another touchdown, hitting Dom Losco from five yards out. The pair hooked up again for a 16-yard score on the Warriors’ next possession.

The Western defense chipped in with a score on a 35-yard fumble return by Hunter Mitchell. Davis then scored his second touchdown, giving the Warriors a commanding 35-0 lead after just one quarter of play.

Schuler added a rushing touchdown in the second and a passing score in the fourth. He finished 9 of 13 for 110 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 50 yards and a score.

Waynesboro moved the ball more successfully in the second half, but the Warriors defense’ and the steep deficit proved to be too much to overcome.

“We didn’t quit all night,” Little Giants coach Steve Isaacs said. “We did not quit and we are going to be a team to be reckoned with before it is all over with.”