Louisa County came into this week’s matchup with Fluvanna County unbeaten in Jefferson District play. Traveling to play a 5-2 Fluvanna squad, they knew they were going to be in for more than just the usual rivalry battle.
“They had a lot of momentum, we had some kids in their feelings a little bit and emotions were up and down, regaining our composure at halftime and going through our process and systems of what we do,” said Louisa head coach Will Patrick. “During halftime getting the defense right and getting the offense right, came out in the second half with a brand new attitude, 0-0 on the scoreboard and executed our gameplan.”
That’s exactly what it took for the Lions to emerge victorious, as after a slow start, they used a second half where they outscored the Flucos 25-6 and took home the win 38-27.
After forcing a punt on the first Fluco drive, the Lions struck first after marching down the field for 91 yards. Jayden Seaberry finished off the drive with a 14-yard touchdown run, to give Louisa the early 7-0 lead with 4:08 left in the first quarter. Seaberry had a massive night for Lions, tallying up 287 yards on 32 carries with two rushing touchdowns.
The Flucos struck back however, and they struck back quickly. With 2:48 left in the quarter, William Lambert threw it deep and found Chazz Barksdale-White down the sideline on a 57 yard score to tie the game at 7-7. Lambert finished the game going 9-17 for 149 yards, three passing touchdowns and one interception. Barksdale-White caught four passes for 83 yards and two scores.
The score stayed tied at 7-7 going to the second quarter, and after a defensive stop the Flucos marched down the field to put another score on the board. This time it was Lambert finding Benny Denby on the 14 yard touchdown pass with 6:58 to play before halftime, and the two points from Marcus Dickerson gave the Flucos a 15-7 lead.
But where the Flucos followed up quickly with a score in the first quarter, this time it was the Lions giving them a taste of their own medicine with Jahiem Jackson finding Donovan Nelson on the 32 yard touchdown pass to trim the Fluco lead to 15-13 with 5:34 left in the half. Jackson ended the night going 7-for-10 through the air for 51 yards and a score, and had 12 carries for 63 yards and two scores on the ground.
After a couple of stops, the Flucos got the ball at their own 42 with about 30 seconds left. And after two incomplete passes, things got creative. After Lambert threw a backwards pass to Logan Wade, Wade lobbed it up to a wide open Denby down the field who found the endzone from 58 yards out, giving the Flucos a 21-13 lead going to the break.
The Flucos had all the momentum in the world going to the break, and Lions knew things had to change if they wanted to stay unbeaten in District play.
“I mean, there wasn’t a message, it was nothing but grit and determination, we knew it was going to be a fight during the game but my team went to the locker room, it was quiet, I told them I didn’t want to hear no talking because we know how we play,” said Isaiah Haywood, who had 5 carries for 45 yards and the game-sealing interception late in the game. “We have nothing but determination on our side, and we played Louisa football.”
Things did change, and the Louisa offense came out rolling in the second half. The first drive went 10 plays and 60 yards, ending with a Jackson touchdown keeper to trim the Fluco lead to 21-19. Then after forcing a quick three and out, the Lion offense got back on the field and capped off a nine play, 92 yard drive on a Lavartell Creasy score to give the Lions a 25-21 lead with 1:10 left in the third.
The Lion defense stepped up once again to start the fourth, forcing a big turnover on downs after stopping the fake punt pass. The offense responded with a Seaberry touchdown a few plays later, giving the Lions a 32-21 lead early in the fourth.
The Flucos fought back however with another quick touchdown, taking advantage of a short field after a good kickoff return. This time Lambert found Barksdale-White again from 11 yards out and trimmed the deficit to 32-27 with 9:40 left.
The Lion offense proved to be too much for the Flucos to stop after that, as the Lions took nearly five and a half minutes off the clock before Jackson scored on another keeper to put the Lions in front 38-27 with 4:14 to play.
A couple of plays later, Haywood picked off a Lambert pass that all but sealed the win for the Lions, as that helped finish off the 38-27 win.
“It’s a program, it’s a community, the kids buy in and we work hard,” said Patrick. “I challenge them every day to be the best version of themselves, sometimes it’s like life, sometimes we come short and when the sun comes up we have another opportunity just like in football season, every week you have an opportunity to go 1-0.”
The Lions will look to clinch the Jefferson District regular season title next week against Albemarle at home, while the Flucos will look to bounce back when they host Goochland.
