By Duncan Nixon
Correspondent
It was a thorough thrashing of the Waynesboro Little Giants. After the game, Coach Mike Morris said that he was pleased with all aspects of his team’s effort, offense, defense and special teams. The Flucos scored four touchdowns in the first quarter and three in the second quarter. Five of six extra-point kicks were good and one two-point conversion try was successful for a 49-0 lead at the half.
On their first possession, the Flucos marched down field on the ground and sophomore quarterback Kobe Edmonds ran the ball in from the eight. Senior kicker Elijah Bullock converted on the extra point for a 7-0 lead with 8:13 left in the quarter. Bullock’s kick-off went into the end zone, denying any return chance. The Little Giants went three and out and punted. The Flucos gained 19 on a pass from Edmonds to senior Cameron Holland. Freshman running back Jaden Ferguson then broke loose for a long touchdown run. Bullock converted on the extra point for a 14-0 lead with 4:06 left in the quarter.
Waynesboro fumbled on its first play and the Flucos recovered at the 18-yard line. Junior running back Keontae Hearns took the ball into the end zone on the Flucos first play and Bullock got the extra point for a 21-0 lead with 3:43 left in the quarter. After a kick-off into the end zone, Waynesboro again was unable to move the ball. Their punt was poor and the Flucos started on Waynesboro 38-yard line. Edmonds passed to senior running back Malachi Hill who fought his way to the six-yard line but fumbled as he went down. However, Ferguson was there to scoop up the ball and take it into the end zone. Senior running back Justin Sullivan ran the ball into the end zone on a two-point conversion try for a 29-0 lead.
The second quarter started with Fluco defensive tackle Walt Stribling making a tackle in the back field for a two-yard loss, contributing to another punting situation for the Little Giants. This time the punt was good, but everything was going wrong for Waynesboro. Bullock took the punt, swept to the left and following good blocking, returned the punt for a touchdown. Bullock, a 6-4, 190 lb. senior, has a quite unusual combination of roles for the Flucos. It is rare for a football player to be both the kicker and the kick return man. Junior back-up kicker Rocco Calderone booted the football through the uprights for a 36-0 lead with 9:33 left in the half.
The Fluco defense continued to dominate the Waynesboro offense. Three plays by the Little Giants netted minus five yards and they punted again. The Flucos started at the Waynesboro 39. After a first down by penalty, Edmonds found Holland near the right sideline. Holland broke a tackle and took it in for another Fluco touchdown. Calderone’s kick hit the upright and bounced out. The Flucos led 42-0. After another Waynesboro punt, the Flucos started at their own 35 with 2:20 remaining in the half. With senior Mikey Brown in at quarterback, Hearns broke off a long run to the Waynesboro six-yard line. Two plays later junior fullback Jamorris Lewis scored from the four. The kick was good and the Flucos were done with their scoring, with a 49-0 lead. The Flucos had seven touchdowns, two by the freshman Ferguson and the other five by five different offensive players.
The second half went by quickly, as the Flucos kept the ball on the ground, running down the clock. The Little Giants made a couple of big gains and managed to punch in a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. A two-point attempt was successful, resulting in a final score of 49-8.
After the game, Coach Morris noted that his defense was helped in its preparation for the game by the Fluco JV squad. The JV did not have a game of its own due to Waynesboro not having a JV team. As a result, Morris had the JV work against the varsity, running the Waynesboro offense. The Fluco defense certainly played like it knew what was coming from the Little Giants offense. The Flucos are now 3-1, while the Little Giants fall to 0-5.
On Oct.12, the Flucos will host Charlottesville and on Oct. 18 they host Western Albemarle in their Homecoming game. That will be the Flucos’ fourth home game in a row. They then go on the road for three games at Albemarle Louisa and Orange, all bigger schools than Fluvanna. The Flucos final game of the regular season is at home on Nov. 8 against Monticello, and it is Senior Night.
