From the Daily News Record
From start to finish, Albemarle outclassed Harrisonburg on both sides of the ball Thursday night.
The Patriots dominated in every facet of the game in Thursday night’s lopsided 47-0 win over the Blue Streaks to open the area high school football season at Dr. Walter F. Green III Field at HHS.
“Just getting a win is a good feeling,” Albemarle head coach Brandon Isaiah, Sr. said. “We got new guys on the team so just getting those guys to come out and bond together in this process. For me, that was the main point of tonight.”
Albemarle quarterback Amaje Parker took it to Harrisonburg’s defense early and led the Patriots to a 26-0 lead at halftime.
AHS receiver Christian Humes was on the receiving end of two touchdown passes from Parker in the first half.
“Whenever you can have great things happen early, no matter whether you’re on the road or at home, it’s a great thing for younger kids,” Isaiah, Sr. said. “For us, it’s just continuing to do the things we need to do right.”
Parker took matters into his own hands early and ran for a 38-yard touchdown in the first quarter. The Patriots followed up on their next drive when Parker found wide receiver Christian Humes for six more points and the quarterback fired it to Noah Grevious late in the first for a 22-yard TD pass. The second quarter opened up with Parker passing to Humes for another touchdown.
Harrisonburg’s offensive woes continued in the third when quarterback JJ Engle fumbled at his own 10 and allowed Owen Tighe to scoop it up for the score. Nathan Carter later grabbed his second interception of the game — this time returned for a score.
The Patriots never let up as Da’Quanvion Hill rushed for a 19-yard touchdown with 10:14 to go in the fourth.
“We’ve got to go back to work,” Harrisonburg coach Kyle Gillenwater said. “We had a lot of good plays, but you can’t turn it over.”
Gillenwater was most disappointed in the turnovers Harrisonburg gave up Thursday but their defense showed some light by forcing three of their own.
The second-year Blue Streaks coach said he was proud that his team didn’t give up and fought until the end.
“We didn’t tackle well early, there was some things we gave up,” Gillenwater said. “I’m proud of all of them that they didn’t quit. Some people played some really good football, so we found out some positive things tonight, too. We’ll build on that as we go forward tomorrow.”
The last score of the game came with 6:49 remaining in the fourth after a bad snap from Harrisonburg sent the ball beyond their own end zone for a safety.
Isaiah, Sr. respects Harrisonburg’s team and has no doubt Gillenwater will get the team going in the right direction.
“They have a great coach [and] they’re in the process of building,” Isaiah said. “I had to go through it, so just watch them get better every week.”
Moving forward, Isaiah said he wants his team to continue to play consistently and never allow their opponents to get back in the game if they get out to a big lead, citing some of the turnovers they gave up Thursday could be costly in other games.
“You can get up 20 points but if you can’t take care of the ball and can’t tackle and make plays, then the game gets tight,” Isaiah said. “We just want to continue to try to play good football and just try to be consistent.”
