Grind it Out: Fluvanna controls the ball, clock in win over Western Albemarle

Fluvanna's Chris Johnson powers in for a touchdown.

By Logan Riddick | Scrimmage Play Senior Contributor

Fluvanna County and Western Albemarle entered Friday night’s contest after polar-opposite experiences in their Jefferson District openers. The Flucos endured a 41-point defeat in The Jungle to heavy title favorite Louisa, while the Warriors rolled at home with a 40-3 drubbing of Monticello. Facing off in Palmyra, the home side controlled the line of scrimmage and time of possession and largely cruised to a 35-14 victory, a performance serving notice to the rest of the district that Fluvanna (2-3, 1-1) aims to build momentum at the regular season’s midway mark.

“Our o-line really dug in and got us some yards,” said junior receiver Brody Shields. “I think we’re sitting pretty good, and there’s going to be a lot of battles.”

After last fall’s mid-October meeting in Crozet saw the winless Warriors stun the Flucos with a breakout performance by quarterback Gray Heilman (three passing touchdowns) and a pair of field goals from John Van Yperen, the tables were turned this time. Fluvanna built a 21-0 lead over the first 23 minutes of action while Western’s offense barely saw the field; to that point, the Flucos had run 25 plays for 197 yards compared to the visitors’ 12 for 55 yards.

“We knew they had some very dynamic players, so the game plan was to try to keep those guys on the sideline by grinding out long drives,” said Fluvanna coach Mitchell Pace. “Our offensive line stepped up and had a heck of a performance. We just rode them all night.”

Fluvanna received the opening kickoff and marched 69 yards in 15 plays, all runs, eating up more than nine minutes. Western assisted by jumping offsides on an early fourth-and-2. Senior Matthew Rea converted another fourth down before senior Christopher Johnson rumbled in from four yards. It marked the start of a big night for Johnson, who on the defensive side proved to be a frequent disruptor in the Warriors’ backfield.

“That’s what he does, he gets off the ball real well,” said Pace. “We knew we had to get to 10 (Heilman) because he was going to make plays. Chris got home multiple times to help us and put them in long situations.”

After Western’s opening drive reached the Fluvanna 7, a sack thwarted the momentum. With Van Yperen summoned to attempt a 34-yard field goal, Johnson and Kyle Harris applied heavy pressure from the left side and at least one got a hand on the ball for the block. That set up Fluvanna’s second drive, covering 76 yards over nearly five and a half minutes. Rea picked up chunks through the middle before junior Kevin Jordan swept around the left edge for a four-yard touchdown.

After a quick three-and-out for the Warriors, it was time for some Fluco trickeration. Senior quarterback Will Lambert lateraled out wide to Harris, who aired it out to Shields streaking down the right side behind the secondary for a 62-yard score.

“It’s kind of become a staple; I think we’ve scored on it three times this year,” Pace said.

However, a celebration penalty and long kickoff return set up Western in plus territory in the final minute of the first half. Heilman hit Drew Azzato and RJ Corbey for big chunks and overcame a Johnson sack. As the clock ticked under 10 seconds, Heilman found Corbey for a 5-yard touchdown.

Western made things even more interesting by driving 53 yards to open the third quarter as Corbey and Jalen Sims each had a pair of receptions before Heilman cruised in on an 11-yard keeper.

“They did a heck of a job with their gameplan coming out of the locker room, hitting us in the holes we had created,” said Pace. “We knew we were taking some risks by our defensive alignment.”

Fluvanna’s next drive stalled near midfield, but Johnson came up with another sack to force a three-and-out and prevent the Warriors from getting rolling again. From there, the Fluco offense surged back to life thanks to Shields.

“I took a chance at throwing out to quick little number 17,” said Pace, as Lambert tossed a swing pass out to Shields. “He made one person miss and made me look good as a playcaller.”

The 47-yard score made it 28-14 with 2:23 left in the third. Western picked up a first down just across midfield on its next series but had to punt after three straight incompletions. Fluvanna took over at its own 2 yardline, but that just set the stage for a game-clinching methodical march.

“Kind of the way we had at the beginning of the game, we just had to settle back down and grind it out,” Pace said.

Rea, Jordan, and Lambert took turns for a dozen rushes, picking up four first downs and crossing midfield as the clock ticked under five minutes. Facing third-and-7, Lambert then found Shields for yet another 47-yard catch-and-run touchdown to round out the scoring. Special teams added one more highlight by recovering the ensuing squib kickoff so the Flucos could run out the clock.

Rea led Fluvanna with 135 yards on 22 carries. Jordan added 51 on nine rushes. Lambert completed 3-of-4 passes. Including the option play, Shields had four catches for a staggering 170 yards and three touchdowns.

For Western, Heilman completed 13-of-18 for 158 yards. Azzato caught three for 66 yards while Corbey led with six receptions for 51. The Warriors’ ground game managed just 12 yards on the night. Western (3-2, 1-1) will look to rebound at home next Friday hosting Charlottesville (1-4, 0-2). Fluvanna will look to reach .500 as it heads to Monticello (2-3, 0-2) for the annual Route 53 Showdown.