The Flucos were overwhelmed, losing 56-0. Fluco Coach Jason Barnett noted that he has a very young team taking on a very difficult schedule this season. He praised senior linebacker/fullback Devon Goode for being a leader who doesn’t quit and doesn’t let his teammates either. He noted that “when our program is turned around it will be Devon Goode and leaders like him who will deserve the credit.” Unfortunately, there was little that Goode could do to save the Flucos in this game.
The Cougars, who were big, strong and athletic, proved to be too much for the Flucos on both sides of the ball. The game started with the Flucos receiving. They gained nine yard in three plays and punted. Kettle Run took over and scored on two running plays. The Flucos were three and out again. And this time, Kettle Run scored in four plays to make the score 14-0, after only five minutes.
On their third possession the Flucos generated some offense as senior quarterback Dashon Tibbs hit sophomore wide receiver Jalen Harrison for 13 yards and Tibbs scrambled for a first down. However, the Flucos were again forced to punt. Kettle Run took over and made a mistake as a snap was mishandled, and junior Jesse Snow tackled the Cougar quarterback for a big loss. Kettle Run was forced to punt, but a roughing the kicker penalty gave them a first down. Kettle Run took advantage of this miscue and staged a long, time consuming, drive to score a third touchdown with 8:53 left in the half.
The Flucos got a nice kick return from junior Taquan Lewis to start at the 31 yard line. Tibbs again hit Harrison, this time for nine yards. Goode than carried for a first down. Again the Flucos were forced to punt. A penalty on the Cougars on the return backed them up to the eight yard line. Good defensive plays by junior defensive back Joey Shaheen, and senior linebacker Jed Harris forced Kettle Run to punt. A weak punt gave the Flucos their best field position of the night. They started at the Kettle Run 36. After three plays netted minus one yard, Tibbs clicked on a 25 yard fourth down pass, to senior wide receiver Cristian Franco, to take the ball to the Kettle Run 12 yard line. Unfortunately the Flucos stalled at this point. A field goal attempt was wide right. And, the half ended with the Cougars comfortably in command 21-0.
In the third quarter things quickly fell apart for the Flucos. The Cougars took the opening kick-off and quickly drove for a fourth touchdown. On their next two possessions the Flucos threw an interception that gave Kettle Run the ball on the Fluco 13, and had a bad snap on a punt that gave the Cougars the ball on the Fluco 15. Kettle Run converted both of these opportunities into touchdowns. Two more Kettle Run touchdowns upped the final score to 56-0.
In this game, the Flucos could never generate a running game against a very strong Kettle Run defensive line. Tibbs did complete some down field passes, and his line prevented sacks pretty well. A couple of passes that could have resulted in big gains just missed, and the Cougars made a couple of very athletic interceptions.
After playing an extraordinarily difficult non-conference schedule, Flucos now move into Jefferson District play. Their first three Jefferson District games are on the road. On Friday (Sept. 28) they travel to Charlottesville. They then play at Louisa and Powhatan. Their only two home Jefferson District games are Oct. 19 against Monticello High School and Oct. 26 against Western Albemarle.
