It’s been an uncharacteristically rough six months for the Eastern View football program.

The Cyclones dropped their final three games of the COVID-postponed 2020 season, which was played last spring, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2012 as a result.

Then, less than two months after the campaign ended, longtime head coach Greg Hatfield stepped down so he could accept the same position at Battlefield High in Haymarket.

Despite that series of unfortunate events, EVHS proved Friday night that any reports of its demise as an area power may be greatly exaggerated.

Caden Huseby ran for a touchdown and threw for two more, and Raq Lawson rushed for 105 yards and a score of his own, buoying the visiting Cyclones to a 38-6 shellacking of rival Culpeper County in the season opener for both squads.

The result means the Cannonball Cup trophy will remain at EVHS, which is now 14-0 all time against the Blue Devils.

“We’ve been hearing since the beginning of practice that we’re not going to be good enough, CCHS is bigger and better than us, we can’t win the Battlefield District any more,” Lawson said, referring to what he characterized as trash talk from opposing players on social media and the Cyclones’ perceived lack of inclusion as one of the Fredericksburg area’s top teams by local media outlets. “That stuff pissed us off, and we came into this game locked in.”

If EVHS entered Friday’s contest pissed off, its anger must’ve gone through the roof after CCHS struck first blood on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Bennett Sutherland to Alex Lowe on the first play of the second quarter.

The Cyclones’ response to the Blue Devils’ opening salvo was swift.

On the third play of the ensuing possession, Huseby faked a handoff to Lawson and sprinted up the middle, then outraced the CCHS defense to the sideline for a 50-yard scoring scamper that knotted things up at 6 apiece.

The score didn’t stay tied for long, either. Four plays later, DaVion Wilkerson stepped in front of a Sutherland pass and returned it 25 yards to put EVHS up 13-6.

“There’s no doubt we were amped up to start the game, so it took us a little while to settle down,” new Cyclones head coach Brian Lowery said. “Once we hit on that first touchdown, we were alright.”

Lawson rumbled 38 yards for a touchdown on EVHS’ next drive, and Huseby fired a 40-yard strike to Brett Clatterbaugh on the Cyclones’ final possession of the first half, sending them to the locker room with a commanding 26-6 advantage.

Huseby’s 62-yard hookup with Adarian Cook less than three minutes into the third quarter made it 32-6, all but slamming the door shut on any comeback hopes the Blue Devils may have had.

“Last year just wasn’t our year,” said Huseby, who completed 5 of 7 passes for 117 yards and ran for 100 yards on nine attempts. “It was important to us to come out and put that behind us right away.”

Not to be overshadowed, the EVHS defense forced four turnovers on the night. Sutherland, who started for CCHS as a freshman in the spring, threw three interceptions after tossing just two during his rookie campaign. He finished 8 of 16 for 92 yards.

"We missed some reads and we were a little out of sync once [Eastern View] started bringing pressure," Blue Devils head coach James Ford said. "Plus, they played well in the secondary."

All-region running back Malachi Terrell rushed for 90 hard-earned yards on 29 carries for CCHS.

“We heard all the talk about Malachi all offseason,” said Lawson, who collected one of the Cyclones’ interceptions from his linebacker spot. “He’s a good back, but we weren’t really worried about that. We’ve got multiple ways and several different guys that can beat you, and we showed some of that tonight.”

Eastern View (1-0 overall, 1-0 district) will welcome Liberty (Bealeton) to Cyclone Stadium for its home opener on Thursday. Culpeper County (0-1, 0-1) will stay at home, as Orange County comes to Broman Field Friday.