BUCKINGHAM – The early open week didn't seem to slow the Buckingham County High School football team any, as the Knights jumped out to an early commanding lead on visiting Prince Edward and eased to a 48-14 victory over their non-district rivals.

“We knew we would have to get off to a good start,” said BCHS head coach Craig Gill. “Prince Edward is explosive. They're big play people. We knew we'd have to get on them early, and the young men came to play. I was pleased with their intensity.”

The Knights took the opening kickoff and quickly marched down the field. Tailback Kenneth Johnson moved Buckingham into scoring territory. Senior quarterback Tarian Ayers completed the drive on a two-yard run into the end zone just 89 seconds into the game.

Up 7-0, Buckingham's defense gave the Knights a two score lead with 7:51 left in the first quarter. Tim Randolph intercepted a Davon Adams pass and returned it 31 yards for a touchdown to put the Knights ahead 14-0.

“They're just that good,” said Prince Edward first-year head coach James Ford. “We knew what they were going to do, but they're that good at it. They're very balanced between the run and the pass on offense and physical on defense.”

Buckingham ran just 25 plays on offense all night and did not have to punt. The Knights pushed their lead to 21-0 on a Kyree Koonce 19-yard touchdown run with 3:58 left in the first quarter, and took a 28-0 lead into intermission after Johnson scored on a 23-yard run with 5:02 left in the half.

Ayers added two third quarter scores – the first a 27-yard run at the 9:05 mark, and the second with 5:26 left. Buckingham stretched the score to 48-0 when Tariq Bartee recovered a fumble and ran it in for a five-yard touchdown with 3:26 left in the third.

Prince Edward's two scores came in the fourth quarter. Tyrek Goode scored on a five-yard touchdown run up the middle with 7:46 left in the game, and Marquis Fitzgerald scored on a 21-yard touchdown run with 2:36 left to play.

“We made some mistakes, and we still have to work on some things, but overall, I thought they executed well,” said Gill on the play of his team. “We addressed some things in our off week, like conditioning and tackling, and I thought we were much improved in both areas.”

“The scoreboard doesn't show it, but we actually accomplished our goal of controlling the clock,” said Ford. “Ask me again in October when we start our district schedule, but right now, in some ways the scoreboard doesn't matter, as long as we continue to improve.

“We've cut down on our penalties, and we're executing better. We're getting there, slowly but surely.”

Ayers was 7-10 passing for 112 yards on the evening, and rushed four times for 46 yards and three touchdowns.

Johnson rushed five times for 98 yards and a touchdown, and also had one catch for four yards. Koonce rushed twice for 22 yards and a touchdown, and also had two catches for 41 yards. Austin Seay rushed three times for 25 yards.

Jesse Hickman had two grabs for 33 yards, while Landon Allen had a 30-yard catch and Cam Johnson caught a four-yard pass.

For Prince Edward, Adams was 4-11 passing for 34 yards, and rushed ten times for 17 yards. Fitzgerald attempted one incomplete pass, he had two catches for 29 yards, and rushed three times for 21 yards and a touchdown.

Ralick Lockett led the Eagles on the ground with 14 rushes for 95 yards. Tyrek Goode rushed twice for eight yards and a touchdown.

Prince Edward will host Fluvanna this Friday at 7:30 p.m., while Buckingham travels to Fluvanna for a 7:30 p.m. contest.