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Jeremiah Yates^BENT^00CA^EENT^fumbles the ball on the one-yard-line and Louisa recovered the ball, ending the Eastern View drive.
Louisa's Rayshawn Jackson scores the Lions' first rushing touchdown against visiting Eastern View last night.
Louisa County head coach Mark Fischer speaks with Zack Campi, who wore brother Josh's jersey before the game. |
BY ADAM HIMMELSBACH
Before Louisa's season-opener against Eastern View last night, the Lions made an important stop to see an important friend.
The players gathered in a hallway at the middle school, and there was their teammate, Josh Campi, who was recently diagnosed with leukemia.
Tears flowed quickly and freely.
Campi did not look as strong or talk as smoothly as his teammates remembered, but he was there, and he had one message for them.
"He said that when we play, don't feel sorry for him," senior quarterback Kire' Worley said. "He said just to play hard."
And by the time it was over, by the time the Lions had gritted out a 21-7 victory, they held their fists in the balmy night air in honor of Campi. They knew they had made him proud, and they hoped they had helped him heal.
"This one is going to mean a lot to Josh," Fischer said afterward. "He helped bring us all together again."
Louisa attended a team camp in mid-July at Hampden-Sydney College, and Fischer held Campi out of the camp's final day because he had developed bruises on his arms and chest. While Campi, a 6-foot-1, 266-pound junior, was watching his teammates practice, he developed a severe nosebleed that would not stop.
He was airlifted to the University of Virginia's hospital, and he was ultimately diagnosed with leukemia. Prior to last night, his teammates had not seen him since that day.
Before the game, Campi's family helped raise the "12th man" flag. Then Campi's younger brother Zack, wearing Josh's No. 63 jersey, trotted onto the field next to Fischer.
"It was all really emotional," Lions running back Anthony Hunter said.
"Every time I ran, I ran for Josh."
Hunter finished with 113 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries, none bigger than his score in the final minute that clinched the win and gave Louisa the identity it had been searching for.
"Up until that last drive," Fischer said, "we hadn't defined who we are."
Louisa's opening drive seemed quite definitive. The Lions marched 55 yards on seven plays and received a simple 1-yard touchdown run from Hunter.
Eastern View's powerful offense, meanwhile, was never able to get untracked. The Cyclones crushed their own momentum with penalties, turnovers and injuries. And when they did not stop themselves, the Louisa defense did.
Eastern View quarterback Simon Pendleton was shaken up by a hit in the third quarter and did not return. His status for his team's next game is unknown.
After Eastern View punted on its first two possessions, Louisa crafted another scoring drive. This one, like the first, was set up on a short field.
The Lions marched from the 50-yard line to the 15, and on first down, Worley rolled to his left and hit Rayshawn Jackson for a 15-yard touchdown. The Lions took that 14-0 lead to halftime.
Eastern View pushed well into Louisa territory on its first two drives of the second half. But the first ended when the Cyclones were stuffed on fourth down from the 19, and the second ended more painfully.
On first-and-goal from the 2, the ball popped loose on a handoff and was recovered by Louisa's Brandon Ornduff.
Eastern View immediately had another chance, however, as a poor Louisa punt gave the Cyclones possession at the Lions' 13. Three plays later Drayton Shanks, who had eight catches for 81 yards, ran for a 2-yard score with 5:20 left.
But Louisa responded with a clock-chewing, nine-play drive that ended with a 2-yard touchdown run by Hunter.
"I just had to put my head down and run through them," he said.
Fischer said Campi was scheduled to return to the hospital after meeting with his teammates last night, but he will remain in their hearts and their thoughts as they march on through this difficult season.
"This whole year is dedicated to him," Fischer said. "We've got to keep going for him."
Eastern View | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | -- | 7 |
Louisa County | 14 | 0 | 0 | 7 | -- | 21 |
First Quarter
Lo--A. Hunter 1-yard run (kick failed).
Lo--R. Jackson 55-yard pass from K. Worley (A. Hunter run).
Fourth Quarter
EV--D. Shanks 3-yard run (W. Estes kick).
Lo--A. Hunter 2-yard run (C. McDaniel kick).
TEAMSTATISTICS
EV | Lo |
First downs17 | 18 |
Rushing yardage30-131 | 41-249 |
Passing yardage79 | 46 |
Passes14-27-0 | 3-8-1 |
Punts-Avg.2-30 | 2-22 |
Fumbles-lost2-2 | 2-0 |
Penalties-yards 9-90 | 8-70 |
INDIVIDUALSTATISTICS
Rushing: Eastern View--Carl Lacy 1-39; Simon Pendleton 9-36; Alquan Newman 11-31; Jeremiah Yates 5-13; Drayton Shanks 4-12, TD. Louisa County--Anthony Hunter 20-113, 2TDs; Kire Worley 9-69; Andre Mealy 9-41; Rayshawn Jackson 3-26.Passing: Eastern View--Simon Pendleton 10-18-0 88; Drayton Shanks 0-1-0 0; Carl Lacy 4-8-0 (-9). Louisa County--Kire Worley 3-8-1 46, TD.
Receiving: Eastern View--Drayton Shanks 8-81; Carl Lacy 4-24; V.J. Ivory 2-(-26). Louisa County--Raheem Johnson 1-20; Rayshawn Jackson 1-15, TD; Anthony Hunter 1-11.
Adam Himmelsbach: 540/374-5442
Email: ahimmelsbach@freelancestar.com
EASTERN VIEW 7
