Football preview
Published 3:15 pm Thursday, September 6, 2018
PRINCE EDWARD (1-1) AT CUMBERLAND (0-1)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Last season: Eagles 48, Dukes 19
Coach’s game notes: The Battle of Route 45 will ensue this year with neither team at full strength, but the Dukes are refreshed after an early-season bye allowed time to heal, and the Eagles are excited coming off of a big win in their home opener last week.
Prince Edward has learned that its starting senior quarterback/defensive back Kahare Sutton is out for the year with a torn ACL. He is one of five starters the Eagles have played without so far this season, and all five of them are expected to be out Friday, along with some young special teams players.
Cumberland has lost starting senior defensive back/wide receiver Noah Bland for 4-5 weeks with a broken wrist that was sustained during the Dukes’ season opener.
The Eagles know Cumberland poses a challenge up front with its size, both on offense and defense. Six-foot-seven-inch 290-pound senior Christian Jackson will be a handful on the line. Prince Edward will aim to be ready for the Dukes’ strong backfield, including their quarterback and tailback. Speedy senior Ziahir Berry is like the Dukes’ Swiss army knife and will need to be accounted for.
Cumberland will be focused on rallying to the ball to stop Prince Edward senior running backs J’Sean Dupuy and Rahme Marshall. The Dukes will also look to put the maximum amount of pressure on Eagles freshman quarterback Nate Reed.
AMELIA (2-0) AT BUCKINGHAM (1-1)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Last season: Raiders 28, Knights 14
Coach’s game notes: In their first home game of the season, the Knights will host a Raiders team that returns many players from its 2017 squad that finished 8-4 after going two games deep into the playoffs. Many of Amelia’s returners are skill players and many are seniors.
The Raiders both pass and run, and they probably have the best receiving corps in 2A. Amelia senior quarterback Jalen Brown distributes the ball to 6-foot-2-inch senior wide receiver Howard Divens and 6-3 senior wide receiver Ziayahn Jackson. Helping power the ground game is senior running back Justin Wilson.
The Knights may still be without sophomore quarterback Gerry Toney due to injury.
BSH CATHOLIC (2-0) AT FUQUA (0-1)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Last season: Falcons 56, Knights 32
Coach’s game notes: The Knights have given Fuqua plenty of reasons to respect them entering this showdown as they have scored no fewer than 51 points in their first two games.
Blessed Sacrament Huguenot Catholic has big players on the offensive line in the 280- to 300-pound range, and they facilitate the team’s old-school single-wing attack that features a lot of misdirection and no strongly defined fullback, quarterback or tailback.
In the run-heavy scheme, sophomore Trevor Parker is the fastest player, and senior Michael Kemp also brings speed. Helping grind out drives are senior Kemper Roudabush and junior Chase Musselman.
The Falcons are healthy, aside from sidelined junior quarterback Elijah Warner.