The Appomattox Raiders varsity football team completed a successful scrimmage warmup for next week's regular season opener by holding off a late surge from Lynchburg Christian Academy (LCA) for a 42-40 home win.
With a 42-27 advantage in the fourth quarter, the Raiders gave up a touchdown run to the LCA Bulldogs. The extra point was missed, leaving LCA nine points behind.
On LCA's next possession beginning at their own 37-yard line, quarterback Joshua Nelson rolled out to the right under heavy pressure from the Appomattox defensive line on the first play of the drive. Nelson stopped near the sideline, sidestepped the rush and threw across his body to receiver Rynning Bohrnstedt who was wide open in the middle of the field. Bohrnsdedt sprinted down the left side and stiff-armed a Raiders defensive back to go in for the touchdown.
With the Raiders holding onto a slim 42-40 lead, they faced fourth-and-one deep in their own territory, but converted the first down. Afterward, the offense was able to control the ball and grind their way down the field to run out the clock.
The game began as a sprinting contest with each team trading touchdowns en route to a 21-14 Raiders lead.
Running back Christian Ferguson scored one of his two long-distance touchdown runs to give Appomattox an early 14-7 lead in the first quarter.
Kickoff returner Tevin Hurt followed with a touchdown on a return on the next Raiders possession after LCA evened the game at 14 apiece.
Hurt went down in the third quarter with what appeared to be a painful leg cramp while running a pass pattern on offense. He remained on the ground for several minutes as team physicians attended to him and eventually needed help to walk off the field. Hurt did not return to the game.
Appomattox tight end Brodie Williams scored on touchdown reception after a fake running play to give the Raiders a 28-14 lead in the second quarter.
Ferguson took the ball 69 yards on the ground for a Raiders touchdown on the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter to give Appomattox a 35-20 lead.
After the game, Appomattox head coach Doug Smith praised the offensive line for opening holes for the running game.
Smith also credited the linebackers for coming downhill and hitting the holes hard, but pointed out that the defense needs to do a better job of containing the opposing team's quarterback after pressuring him in the backfield.
Special team units picked up where they left off in 2017 with accurate kicking and physical coverage units.
In assessing the performance of quarterback Tre Lawing, a freshman, Smith said, "I think he did what we thought he would do. He made good reads and runs. I think Tre's going to be okay. He's getting comfortable enough to call [plays] up on the line."
Several players went off the field with cramping issues on the humid evening, so Smith said the team needs to work a little more on conditioning to play an entire 60 minutes.
"These guys are not in the shape they need to be in. That's my fault [because] we've been doing a lot of teaching," Smith said in reference to getting the inexperienced players familiar with the play schemes in practice sessions.
Appomattox kicks off the 2018 regular season Friday, Aug. 24 with a home game against rival Buckingham in the annual "Battle for the Axe" matchup.
Former Raiders line coach Seth Wilkerson takes over the Buckingham Knights squad as a first-year head coach and will face his old team on opening night.
"They're coached extremely well," Smith said in complementing his former assistant. "They have good athletes and they're strong, so we're going to see a different game than last year. They're going to know what we do. Their coach has been in [our system]. He coached with us last year. He'll do a great job getting ready for us, so we'll have to have a great game plan. Defensively, we've got to stop some talented kids. They run the ball well."
Game time against Buckingham is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Bragg Stadium, located at the Appomattox County High School.
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