The season has gone as expected for the Fuqua School football team up until last Friday at Roanoke Catholic. The Falcons lost 41-0 to the Celtics, who were winless until a victory over winless Quantico two weeks ago. While a loss may not have been a surprise, the final result certainly was.

“They had a large senior class last year, much like we did,” said FS head coach Lewis “Skeeter” Fore. “And, much like we have, they have had a rough season up to this point. It sure didn't look that way on Friday night.”

Roanoke Catholic scored just before the half to take a 28-0 lead at the intermission.

“They completed a pass around the three yard line with a couple of seconds to go in the half, and that pretty much did it right there,” said Fore.

There was one decision early on that Fore would like to have back.

Early in the game, we had the ball around midfield, and had fourth and maybe a yard and a half. we went for it and didn't get the first down. That was my mistake. I knew better than to give them a short field. We gave them 45 yards to go, instead of 75-80 yards. That's not a good way to start a game. They may or may not have scored, but it was definitely a momentum changer.

“The best game we've played this season was at Isle of Wight, and one of the reasons is that we played a smart game and made them drive 80 yards to score.”

Fuqua really had difficulty getting anything consistent going on offense.

“Pooh [Antonio Gonzlez] had a tough time,” said Fore of his starting quarterback. “When we were forced to pass, he really didn't have much time to set up and get the pass off. He played a pretty good game, but they ran him ragged back there.”

The Falcons will travel to Chincoteague, a public school that plays a hybrid public/private school schedule, for a 6 p.m. contest on Friday. It will be a long trip from Farmville to the most northern town on the Virginia Eastern Shore.

“That's going to be a long trip, but a pretty neat one. We have to get back to how we played at Isle of Wight. If you talk to anybody here, they'll all agree that we haven't played all that well since that game.

“It's going to be tough, but we'll have to get back to that level and play that well if we want to finish the season with a .500 record.”