The Flucos fought hard in the second half and after three quarters were within a touchdown and a two point conversion of a tie. Unfortunately, as Coach Jason Barnett noted: “We just ran out of steam.” The game was definitely closer than the final score, as Buckingham scored two unnecessary and meaningless touchdowns in the final minutes to run up the score.
The Flucos lost 26 to 56.
The Flucos started this game slowly, and the Knights used a powerful running game to jump into the lead 14-0 in the first quarter. The Flucos responded with a drive that started late in the first quarter and took the ball to the Buckingham seven yard line as the quarter ended. The two key plays in this drive were an impressive run on a faked punt by senior Cristian Franco and a long pass from senior quarterback Dashon Tibbs to junior wide-out Jesse VanDyke. On the first play of the second quarter Tibbs hit VanDyke on a slant pattern for the Fluco’s first touchdown. Franco added the extra point and the Flucos trailed 14-7.
The Flucos got the ball back right away, as their kick-off popped over the first line of Buckingham’s return team, and the Flucos beat the Knights to the ball. The Flucos started at the Buckingham 34. Another pass from Tibbs to VanDyke took the ball to the seven, and senior running back Jovan Burton drove the ball up the middle for the tying touchdown only thirty seconds into the second quarter.
The Knights were not rattled by this sudden burst by the Flucos. They took the ensuing kick-off and marched down the field. Running behind an awesomely large offensive line, the Knights drove the ball 65 yards on the ground to score, and took a 21-14 lead.
After an exchange of punts, the Flucos took over on their own 30, with 2:43 left in the half. Tibbs went right to work. He fired a long pass to his left and Harrison, who is a six foot three inch basketball player, went up high to take the ball away from the Knight defender. In one play, the Flucos were at the Buckingham 28 yard line. Burton then took the ball to the seven yard line on a draw up the middle. Tibbs ran for two yards and then hit Harrison on a slant for the potential tying touchdown. Unfortunately the point after failed and the Flucos trailed by one. With little time left in the half, Buckingham was forced into an unfamiliar passing situation. Junior Jessie Snow sacked the Buckingham quarterback for a nine yard loss, and the half came to an end.
The second half started with the Flucos going three and out. The Knights started their series from their own 48. They marched down the field on the ground, and despite a nice defensive stop on the quarterback by junior linebacker Jesse Lokits, the Knights quickly put the ball in the end zone. The Flucos now trailed 28-20. The Buckingham defense was now playing tough and the Flucos were unable to generate offense. The fourth quarter opened with another Buckingham touchdown, on a thirty five yard run.
An interception on a nice athletic play by a Knight defender gave Buckingham the ball again at the Fluvanna 34. Three running plays later the Knights had another score and a lead of 42-20. The Flucos did not fold. They came back with a drive that included two fourth down conversions, and ended in a draw play run by Tibbs for a touchdown that made the score 42-26. Unfortunately for the Flucos, there was less than three minutes left at this point. The Knights added two more touchdowns against Fluco back-up to make the final score 56-26.
After the game Coach Barnett noted that his team continues to believe in itself and continues to fight. He noted that the team’s schedule has no easy games, as Buckingham and the next opponent Kettle Run (home on Friday Sept. 21) are among the top five Division A teams in the State. After Kettle Run, the Flucos have five Jefferson District contests. Barnett felt that “Tibbs stepped up, we really call on him to do a lot” and he also praised the play of his offensive line, as it protected Tibbs well, allowing him time to get off a number of long throws.
