The Flucos opened the game with an on-side kick try, but it failed as the kick went out of bounds. Western started at its own 42 and took advantage of the short field to score quickly and take a 7-0 lead. The Flucos bounced right back with a 76 yard touchdown play. Tibbs took the snap and threw a backward pass (i.e. a lateral) to Harrison who was split wide and backed up to catch the pass. Harrison then quickly launched a wide receiver pass to junior Jesse Van Dyke, who was wide open behind the Warriors secondary. Van Dyke caught the ball in stride and took it in for the touchdown. Cristian Franco added the extra point and it was 7-7 with 9:13 left in the first quarter.
On Western’s next possession the Flucos defense forced a fourth and two on the first series, but the Warriors ran for a first down on a fake punt. A long pass took the ball to the Fluco one, and the Warrior quarterback scored to make it 14-7 with 6:40 left in the first quarter.
In the second quarter senior Fluco defensive back Javon Burton made the defensive play of the game when he came up with a one handed interception while running at full speed. The Flucos’ chance to tie the game failed when Tibbs and Harrison just missed on connecting on a long pass to the end zone. The Warriors took over on an interception and two plays later a short pass to the flat and a couple broken tackles resulted in a long catch and run play for a 41 yard touchdown. The Warriors were now in the lead 20-7 with 3:47 left in the half.
The Flucos took the ensuing kick-off and their wide open offense ran three consecutive plays for first downs. Western Albemarle called time out to try to regroup. It did not work. Burton took a swing pass for eight yards to the Western 33. Tibbs then faked a pass to the wing and ran a quarterback draw up the middle all the way to the end zone for a 33 yard score. Franco added the point after to make it 21-14. Unfortunately, Western bounced right back. After a good kick return, they again started with a short field. They covered 50 yards in three plays to make the score 26-14 with 4:42 left in the half.
After an incredible series of penalties moving the ball back and forth, the Flucos had to punt and Western quickly struck again to make the score 33-14. The Flucos took over with only 28 seconds left in the half. Incredibly, the Flucos managed to move the ball down field and score. The touchdown came on a long pass play. Tibbs scrambled away from pressure and launched a long pass to the end zone. Harrison went up against two Warriors defenders and wrestled the ball away from them for a touchdown with 0:00 on the clock. Tibbs ran in the 2-point conversion and the halftime score was 33-22. The Warriors and their fans were a little shocked.
In the second half, both teams got their defenses in gear and the scoring fell off precipitously. The Flucos took the opening kick-off and moved down field on a steady march. With the ball at the Warriors 21, Tibbs threw a quick out to Burton and he cut back across the field to take it in for a touchdown. A two-point conversion failed and the score was 33-28. An upset looked very possible. Unfortunately, the Flucos were unable to generate any more sustained drives, as Albemarle started blitzing relentlessly. In the fourth quarter the Flucos were bottled up deep in their own territory and a punt that may have been deflected went only five yards. Western took advantage to score again, and the final score was 40-28.
After the game Coach Barnett noted that the season had its highs and lows. A high was the win at Louisa a low was the game against Kettle Run. Barnett noted that was the only game all year that his team was not in. Barnett noted that he believes he had a great group of young men this season who are a credit to the county. He believes that this team had an attitude toward their play that represents real progress for the football program. With a new field and new traditions, the way forward is up.
