Barons top Buckingham

Published 4:58 am Saturday, October 1, 2016

Friday night’s homecoming game for Buckingham County High School’s varsity football team featured heavy rains in the first half and a 33-0 Knights loss to Bluestone High School by night’s end.

Buckingham Head Coach Joshua Wallace said the theme of his team’s season continued with this game: Due to discipline issues and otherwise, the Knights have not been able to put together a full week of solid practice, and it leads to results like this one that do not reflect the team’s true ability.

The Knights committed six turnovers in the game, all of them fumbles. The Barons recovered the first fumble off a Buckingham pitch, returning it 22 yards for a touchdown early in the second quarter.

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With 3:30 remaining before halftime, Bluestone senior quarterback Tevarius Brooks ran for a 2-yard touchdown on 4th and goal.

During the first half, runners from both teams had great difficulty getting to the outside edges given the loose and muddy field.

After an extended halftime, the rain stopped. Despite continued poor field conditions, Brooks reached the outside on a play and broke through for a 62-yard touchdown run, helping make the score 20-0.

Bluestone made it 27-0 with 5:34 remaining in the third quarter following a 30-yard scoring run by senior running back Anthony Pettus.

Buckingham had opportunities, offensively, but fumbled and turned the ball over on three of its next four possessions. The third fumble set up Brooks for a 15-yard touchdown run.

In his mud-stained uniform after the game, Buckingham junior offensive/defensive lineman Brycen Newby said he had never played in a game like this with so much rain, but he refused to cite the weather as an excuse for the loss.

“Bluestone was out there, too,” he said.

Newby and Wallace both talked about the poor blocking by the Knights’ offensive line.

“They’re not applying the basic fundamentals,” Wallace said, which were taught in practice.

Injuries and discipline issues continued to plague Buckingham (1-5) in its first shutout loss of the season.

The team was without two key offensive players — senior running back Rajheem Holman and sophomore quarterback Tyrese Ayers.

The road does not get easier for the Knights on Friday when they visit Goochland High School (6-0) at 7 p.m.