Jesse Lohr isn't known to crack a smile very often, but the businesslike Orange County head football coach couldn't help himself.

Wearing a big grin from ear to ear, Lohr lauded the effort of his team after a hard-fought 20-7 nondistrict road victory over Culpeper County on Friday night that improved the Hornets' record to 2-0 on the young season.

"This is big," Lohr said of Orange's 2-0 start, a feat it hasn't accomplished since 2006. "When you've got playoff aspirations like these kids do, it's a lot better to start the year off 2-0 than it is 0-2 or even 1-1. [Culpeper] really pushed us, but I'm extremely happy with how we responded with some huge plays in critical situations."

The Blue Devils (0-2) made sure the Hornets couldn't let their foot off the gas pedal until the game's final seconds, but OCHS proved to be up to the task thanks to big plays from Paul Poirier and Bryant Chiles.

Poirier helped the Hornets overcome a sluggish start by breaking free for a 70-yard touchdown run down the right sideline that gave them a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter. Then, with OCHS clinging to a 13-7 advantage and facing a fourth-and-3 with less than 40 seconds left in the contest, the senior quarterback eluded a host of Culpeper defenders and dumped a 4-yard scoring pass off to Sheldon Robinson that sealed the Hornets' win.

"It was actually the same play I scored the 70-yard touchdown on, only we ran it to the left," Poirier said of the final scoring play. "[Culpeper] was able to get some penetration, so I rolled back to my right and saw Sheldon standing wide open in the end zone."