For Prince Edward County High School’s varsity football team, its game against visiting Central Lunenburg High School went from being an exciting part of homecoming night to simply being the contest that happened on Friday the 13th.

Early in the second half, both teams were scoring at will, but then the Eagles offense committed multiple turnovers and their defense could not stop Central. The Chargers ran away with a historic 87-46 victory.

Prince Edward Athletic Director Rodney Kane said while the Eagles have suffered a worse margin of defeat than the one they experienced Friday against Central, he has never seen 87 points produced by a team in a Prince Edward game before.

Eagles Head Coach James Ford gave credit to the Chargers and their trademark running attack.

“They ran their stuff,” he said. “We knew what they were running. Everyone in the stands knew what they were running, and they executed. And hats off to them. They beat us up front, and those backs, they found holes, and we came up short. … They outplayed us, they took it to us, and we just had no response.”

Prince Edward is no stranger to high scoring games this season, but in the previous two instances, it came out on top. The Eagles left Charlotte Court House on Sept. 22 with a 55-40 over Randolph-Henry High School on homecoming night for the Statesmen, and the Eagles also opened the season with a 52-46 comeback win over visiting King William High School.

For part of a marathon third quarter on Friday, it looked like Prince Edward might have been recreating some of its season opening magic. It came back from being down by multiple touchdowns to make the score 44-40, aided in part by a Central turnover on special teams.

“We had momentum on our side, and we made a mistake,” Ford said, referring to a crucial fumble during a productive drive that gave the ball back to the Chargers and their potent running run game. “A team like that, they’re going to capitalize on a mistake. And it’s my fault. I take blame for this one, because we knew, and the preparation just wasn’t there.”

The Eagles offense was operating without one of its stars Friday, as junior running back J’Sean Dupuy was out with a dislocated elbow suffered the week before.

Despite the absence of Dupuy, Prince Edward’s run game remained strong thanks to good production from junior running backs Rahme Marshall and Jarrel Robinson and senior quarterback Zion Lewis. Marshall had 18 carries for 194 yards and four touchdowns, Lewis gained 90 yards on 12 carries and Robinson carried the ball five times for 61 yards and a touchdown.

Lewis also went 9-for-18 passing for 155 yards and two touchdowns. Junior wide receiver Rah’Quan Payne recorded three catches for 46 yards and a touchdown, senior wideout Khalil Smith had three catches for 40 yards, junior wide receiver Tajh White had two catches for 45 yards and senior wideout Aneal Walker had a 24-yard touchdown reception.

The absence of Dupuy, however, was felt more prominently on defense, where he has been playing as an inside linebacker.

Leading Prince Edward on that side of the ball was sophomore linebacker Bobby Monroe with 12 total tackles, including nine solo tackles and one tackle for loss.

Further putting into perspective the difficult nature of the 41-point loss with an opponent scoring 87, Ford said, “It’s rough because it’s seniors and your homecoming.”

Though the season may have soured for the moment, Prince Edward remains above .500 with a record of 4-3 heading into Friday’s game at 7 p.m. against host Nottoway High School (4-3).

“Our goals we set for our team are not unattainable,” Ford said. “We’ve just got to come in Monday ready to work. That’s the big thing.”