weather conditions this weekend. Originally slated for Friday night, the contest was moved up a day to account for Hurricane Helene, which was expected to bring large amounts of rain and unsafe conditions. Then the game location was changed to Albemarle High School because of field conditions at Martin Mooney Field causing concern and the turf field of the Patriots provided a better playing surface.

Neither of those alterations seemed to slow Spotswood, however, as the Trailblazers scored three touchdowns in each of the first two quarters of their contest with the Greene Dragons breezing to a 46-0 victory to take the district opener for both squads.

Spotswood set the tone quickly marching 60 yards for a score on six plays after receiving the opening kickoff to start the game. The Trailblazers led the game off with a pass and then rushed four times during the drive with sophomore Camden Kraft capping off the drive when he reached the endzone on a 29-yard run off the right side of his offensive line.

The defensive unit wasted little time returning their ball to the offense when Jackson Graves picked off a pass from William Monroe quarterback Cale Hamblin on third down. Spotswood went to the air, passing four consecutive times before Kraft carried the ball the remaining 20 yards in three carries to give the Trailblazers a 12-0 lead.

The Trailblazers' offense continued to mix the run and the pass when they had the ball and moved the pigskin effectively with both methods. Jaylyn Reese scored the first of his two rushing touchdowns in the game prior to the end of the first quarter and Brown recorded two passing touchdowns in the second.

His first passing score went to Rayne Dean on a 9-yard toss and the second came with just over three minutes remaining in the first half. The Class of 2025 prospect found Ja’Corey Shelton in the right flat and the senior wide receiver did the rest to take it into the endzone. First, he cut back into the field of play after looking like he was going out of bounds making a defender miss. Then Shelton physically maneuvered into the endzone for the 10-yard touchdown reception.

Leading by 39 points at intermission, the second half began with a running clock. After stopping the William Monroe offense on their first possession of the second half, Spotswood struck again on the scoreboard. Brown found a wide-open Justin Barnes on a fourth and 18 attempt for 36 yards and a score. It was Brown’s third passing touchdown of the game.

From there, the Trailblazers began mass substitutions allowing some of their non-starters to play in the game. The Greene Dragons defense held Spotswood to that single touchdown in the second half but were unable to find the endzone themselves, leading to the outcome as Spotswood improved to 3-2 while William Monroe fell to 1-4 on the season.

SCORING SUMMARY

Spotswood 18 21 6 0—46

William Monroe 0 0 0 0—0

FIRST QUARTER

S—Camden Kraft 29 run (kick failed), 9:01

S—Camden Kraft 1 run (conversion failed), 4:27

S—Jalylyn Reese 7 run (kick failed), 1:02

SECOND QUARTER

S—Rayne Dean 9 pass from Elliott Brown (Elton Shabani kick), 8:43

S—Ja’Corey Shelton 10 pass from Elliott Brown (Elton Shabani kick), 3:27

S—Jaylyn Reese 3 run (Elton Shabani kick), 1:31

THIRD QUARTER

S—Justin Barnes 36 pass from Elliott Brown (Elton Shabani kick), 4:37

STANDOUT PLAYERS

Elliott Brown, Spotswood…The senior led his offense to seven touchdowns in this week's contest as the Trailblazers managed to reach the endzone on all seven of their possessions with Brown under center. The quarterback was efficient in his passing this week and racked up 169 passing yards and three touchdowns in the game. For the season, Brown has 755 yards and 11 touchdowns through the air.

Camden Kraft, Spotswood…The sophomore scored two touchdowns early to give his team a two score advantage early and set the tone of the contest. Kraft was the leading rusher for the Trailblazers coming into this game and remains there with 337 total rushing yards after a 69-yard performance in a contest he only played two full quarters. Along with his counterpart standout in the Spotswood backfield, the duo packs a dynamic 1-2 punch.

Jaylyn Reese, Spotswood…Reese reaped the rewards of his efforts against William Monroe with 54 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the first half. If one can entertain the thought of a game being put away early, the seven-yard rushing score by the junior as the first quarter was winding down helped ensure just that. In the contest alongside Kraft in the backfield, Reese kept the opposing defense from focusing on a sole rusher, something that will likely bode well for the Trailblazers for the remainder of this season and in 2025.

TAKEAWAYS

The Trailblazers Have Dominated the Last Two Weeks

After falling to a Rustburg team that went 4-0 to start 2024 in their season opener and then narrowly falling to Wilson Memorial in week three, the Trailblazers have now shutout their last two opponents. On Thursday, the starting defensive unit only allowed a single first down to William Monroe. Simultaneously, the offense has now poured in 98 points over the last two games. The unit scored 52 points last week and had 46 this week behind the three passing scores from Elliott Brown along with the pair of rushing scores from Camden Kraft and Jaylyn Reese.

Spotswood Is Heading In The Right Direction

Despite having two losses early, Spotswood has outscored opponents 164-64 through the first half of the season. The defense now has two shutouts and is only allowing 12 points per game. The display on Thursday proved that Spotswood can effectively move the ball through the air and on the ground. Five different players scored in the contest including three different receivers. With momentum and confidence building, it’s conceivable that the Trailblazers could run the table in their next four outings setting up a showdown with Turner Ashby in the season finale, a game that will be played in Penn Laird.

WHAT’S NEXT

The Trailblazers face their county rival Broadway. The Gobblers also shutout their opponent this week, overpowering Rockbridge County 41-0. Spotswood has won the last two games in the series with Broadway including a 21-7 victory last season. The Trailblazers will be at home for the contest and lead the all-time series 25-19.

William Monroe takes on Turner Ashby on the road next week. The Black Knights had an extra week to recover and prepare for the contest with the Greene Dragons after being off this week. Turner Ashby is currently 4-0 and has only allowed 27 points to opponents so far this season. The two squads have only played twice in their history, with the Black Knights winning both games. Most recently, Turner Ashby defeated William Monroe 61-14 on the road last fall.

Robert Edmonds has been contributing to Virginiapreps.com, part of the Rivals.com network, since 2013. Follow him on X (formerly known as Twitter) @bigrob2523 and subscribe to his YouTube channel
for sports-related content. You can read his work in the Daily Progress
and occasionally in other journalism publications. He began working in the sports sector in 2006 and covers public and private schools throughout the state with a focus in the Central Virginia area. He currently lives in Keswick with his wife and has seven children and two grandchildren. To contact Robert, please email him at bigrob2523@gmail.com.