Amherst seeks to pick up power points at GW

By Ted Allen

Published: September 12, 2008

One week after a turnover-riddled season-opening 24-21 setback to Brookville, which ended its 26-game winning streak, two-time defending Group AA, Division 4 state champion Amherst’s football team regrouped with a 42-6 victory at Charlottesville on Aug. 29.

Amherst at GW-Danville
KICKOFF: 7:30 p.m.
RECORDS: Amherst 1-1; GW-Danville 0-1
LAST WEEK: Both teams had bye weeks after Amherst beat Charlottesville 42-6 and GW-Danville lost to Varina 35-6 the week before
LAST YEAR: Amherst beat GW-Danville 63-31. 
FACTS: This is the first of the Lancers’ three straight games against Group AAA opponents, giving them the opportunity to pick up some big power points towards qualifying for the Region III playoffs and trying to defend their Group AA, Division 4, state title. Before Brookville edged Amherst in its season-opener, GW-Danville was the last team to beat the Lancers — 26 games before in the second game of the 2006 season.

The Lancers showed how explosive their new Wing-T attack can be with a little help from the defense and special teams.

“We put a complete game together and scored in all three phases of the game,” Amherst first-year coach Cecil Phillips said, noting they opened the game with a 79-kickoff return by Mario Vaughan and later got an 18-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Kirby Anderson.

Quarterback Anthony Rose and running backs Jamal Glover, Tyrease Brown and Devonte Brown rushed for the final four scores and Amherst’s defense held the Black Knights to negative-51 yards in rushing.

“The old coaching motto is that you see the biggest difference from Week 1 to Week 2,” Phillips said. “Our execution level was high and we made some adjustments on the offensive side of the ball to allow us to move the ball more efficiently.”

Coming off a bye week, the Lancers will see if they can make similar strides from Week 2 to Week 4 tonight at 7:30 when they travel to former Western District rival GW-Danville. The Eagles, who advanced to the Northwest Region championship game last year, had a week to recover from a 35-6 season-opening home loss to Varina, which was called with four minutes to go in the third quarter when one of the stadium light transformers started emitting sparks.

“Coming off a season in which they went to the playoffs, they’re used to winning down there and I expect them to be very hungry (tonight),” Phillips said.

Though it graduated its starting quarterback and primary receiving threats, GW features David Wilson, who rushed for 1,410 yards and 15 touchdowns last season, and fellow running back Tahron Goods, who gained another 639 yards and scored nine times. Middle linebacker Nikita Logan anchors the Eagles’ defense.

“They’re extremely athletic and very dangerous,” Phillips said. “On the offensive side of the ball, they have probably one of the best if not the best running backs in the state in David Wilson. He’s got the speed to take it the distance any time he touches the ball, and he also has the strength and power to run between the tackles. We’ve got to be able to contain him.”

The Lancers counter with plenty of speed of their own, and a tenacious, hard-hitting defense that is even more potent than its offense at this stage of the season.

“They’ve been flying around (in the secondary) and they’re very fast and quick up front,” Phillips said. “These kids play with a high level of intensity and aggression and that’s what we like to see in them.”

The Eagles are the first of three consecutive non-district Group AAA opponents for Amherst, which knows how much is at stake tonight with regards to postseason power points.

“Being a AAA-level opponent, we’re going to get some solid points,” Phillips said. “GW-Danville’s going to pick up their share of wins throughout the season, so it’s a big point game.”

But he knows there’s more on the line than that.

“Even though it’s a non-conference game, the GW-Amherst game has turned into a bit of a rivalry,” Phillips said. “The games have been close in the past with the exception of last year (a 63-31 Lancers victory), and two or three years ago it’s come down to the last play of the ballgame. It’s been a competitive ballgame and we don’t expect anything different (tonight).”