Buckingham battles past Madison County

Will Motley scores on a 2-yard run to put Buckingham up 13-7 in the second quarter. Photo by Logan Riddick

By Logan Riddick / Scrimmage Play Senior Contributor

A week ago, Buckingham County began the postseason with a long touchdown run on the second play from scrimmage. Friday night in the Region 2B semifinals, Madison County flipped the script as senior running back Jeremiah Brown raced 67 yards to claim a quick lead for the visitors. Could the Mountaineers follow up their takedown of top-seed Clarke County with another road shocker?

“I tell these guys each week, we’ve gotta play through adversity,” said Buckingham coach Seth Wilkerson. “When you start getting along in the playoffs and the stakes get higher, they’re starting to understand.”

The Knights quieted such thoughts with touchdowns on their first three possessions, while the defense allowed just 60 yards over the remainder of the first half.

“They got us on that second [play], I’ll give it to them,” said junior defensive lineman Emerson Edwards. “We got in the huddle, came together, and shut them out.”

Although Madison hung tough in a scoreless third quarter, Buckingham senior Will Motley put the game on ice with his third touchdown run midway through the fourth, and the Knights punched their ticket to the region final with a 27-7 win.

“I trust my line, I trust my fullback,” said Motley, who finished with a game-high 190 yards on 19 rushes. “I just follow Zack (Edmondston), wherever he goes I go, and I got in.”

The Knights’ other senior leader in the ground game, Jayden Maxey, carried 25 times for 174 yards. He burst through the middle from nine yards to cap Buckingham’s 65-yard opening drive and even the score 7-7 at the 8:13 mark of the first quarter.

“My pulling guards, they told me follow them, and I followed them,” Maxey said.

The Knights’ defense kept the momentum building for the home side by forcing three-and-outs on the Mountaineers’ next two series.

“[Madison] did some different things than what we’d seen, but the guys were able to make the adjustments and it worked out in our favor,” Wilkerson said.

On offense, Buckingham’s second possession covered 80 yards with 13 runs, taking more than seven minutes of game time before Motley cruised through the left side from two yards out with 10:41 left in the second quarter. On the season’s coldest night to date, the ball popped loose twice during the drive, but the ball carriers recovered both.

For the Knights’ third series, it was penalties that emerged as the obstacle to overcome. After Maxey reached the two yard line on three straight runs covering 33 yards, a personal foul backed them up 15. Holding on the next play setup second and goal from the 25. Motley then took a direct snap, rolled around the left end, and cruised in standing up to make it 19-7.

The score remained fixed at that margin until well into the fourth quarter. Senior Robert Wingate began Madison’s next drive with a 37-yard keeper and Elijah Myeres moved the chains with a two-yard run on fourth down just across midfield. But three plays later, the Knights’ Trenton Ragland recovered a fumbled snap to end the threat before halftime.

Down two scores with Buckingham set to receive the second half kickoff, the Mountaineers did not roll over. After penalties backed the Knights up to third-and-23, junior defensive back Aiden Foster intercepted Motley’s pass and set up Madison on the plus side of midfield. But on that and two other third-quarter drives in Buckingham territory, the Mountaineers could not break through on the scoreboard.

“We had to capitalize on opportunities and we really didn’t tonight,” said Madison County coach Larry Helmick. “We got three stops in the third and we’ve got to turn those into points.”

After Madison’s second series ended on downs at the 45, junior Aaron Fincham recovered a fumble on Buckingham’s first running play to bring the offense right back out. The Mountaineers reached the 10 yard line behind runs by Brown and Wingate, but after a delay of game penalty pushed them back on fourth down, a toss over the middle fell incomplete. Madison’s quarterbacks were a combined 0-for-10 on pass attempts on the night.

Taking over with 10:51 left in the fourth quarter, the Knights marched 85 yards in eight plays, with Motley picking up a 48 yard chunk to convert on third-and-8. He bowled through the middle from five yards out and Maxey added the two-point run to round out the scoring.

Brown led Madison County (5-7) with 160 yards on 22 carries. Wingate added 66 on five rushes.

“I thought we fought hard,” said Helmick. “I tell these guys, first day, leave this program better than you found it, and I thought this senior class has really done that.”

Even as 12 penalties cost them 115 yards, the Knights piled up 394 yards of total offense, with all but one coming on the ground.

“Offensive line’s been blocking well,” said Wilkerson. “Just like they’ve been doing all year, [Maxey and Motley] have been carrying this team.”

Buckingham (12-0) next hits the road to Strasburg (11-1) for the Region 2B championship. The teams last met in the first round of the 2021 regional playoffs, when the Rams rallied from a 16-point second-half deficit to claim a 22-19 victory.