GAME SUMMARY

Frigid temperatures and snow flurries may have caught the visiting team by surprise in Friday’s Region 2B final contest in Strasburg. Buckingham County entered the game with the Rams outscoring opponents by nearly 30 points per game and the Knights had five shutouts and were allowing just five points per contest this season on average.

Strasburg looked loose and fresh from the opening snap and demolished the opposing Knights 54-7 to claim the region title and advance to the state semifinals next week.

After forcing Buckingham County to go 3-and-out to start the contest, Strasburg’s offense shocked everyone except the coaching staff by going to the air on their first play. Brayden Hough delivered a 40-yard strike to Brady Knight and on the next play, Hough rumbled into the endzone to start the scoring bonanza.

Lucas Martinez scored on the next Rams drive taking his third consecutive inside handoff the distance for a 20-yard rushing score. After the third Knights punt of the quarter, Strasburg quickly scored once again. This time, Takhi Coates burst down the right sideline and outraced everyone for a 61-yard rushing score.

In all five Rams players reached the endzone in the contest with Linkyn Bosworth scoring twice in the second quarter and Riley Walker finding paydirt in the fourth quarter.

Ahead 40-0 at halftime, Strasburg didn’t take their foot off the pedal when play resumed. On the opening kickoff of the second half, Coates once again scored, this time on special teams with a 93-yard kickoff return.

The 54 points scored by Strasburg were one shy of the total amount of points allowed by Buckingham County all season. The Rams accumulated nearly 400 yards of offense in the contest while keeping the Knights to a total of 147 yards. In total, Strasburg had six ball carriers rack up 309 rushing yards in the contest.

SCORING SUMMARY

Buckingham County -- 0 0 0 7--7

Strasburg -- 20 20 7 7--54

FIRST QUARTER

S—Brayden Hough 1 run (Pablo Mora Hernandez kick), 9:39

S—Lucas Martinez 20 run (kick failed), 4:51

S—Takhi Coates 61 run (Pablo Mora Hernandez kick), 0:40

SECOND QUARTER

S—Linkyn Bosworth 7 run (Pablo Mora Hernandez kick), 7:58

S—Takhi Coates 3 run (Pablo Mora Hernandez kick), 5:11

S—Linkyn Bosworth 18 run (Pablo Mora Hernandez kick), 4:05

THIRD QUARTER

S—Takhi Coates 93 kickoff return (Pablo Mora Hernandez kick), 11:44

FOURTH QUARTER

S—Riley Walker 7 run (Pablo Mora Hernandez kick), 10:04

BC—William Motley 1 run (Tanner Davis kick), 4:30

STANDOUT PLAYERS

Takhi Coates, Strasburg…The Rams senior made his presence felt in all three aspects of the game against Buckingham County. His 61-yard scamper in the opening quarter was one of two touchdowns Coates had in limited action out of the backfield. Coates also pulled down two interceptions in the first half that demoralized the Knights as they attempted to fight their way back into the ballgame. The most crushing blow, however, may have been after intermission when Coates took the kickoff to start the half 93 yards for his third touchdown of the contest.

Strasburg backfield…The offensive line may need to be included in this mention. In this contest, Strasburg amassed over 300 rushing yards, something that has become commonplace for the team this season. Six different ball carriers contributed to that total with Lucas Martinez finishing as the team's leading rusher with 71 yards and Linkyn Bosworth scoring twice. Brayden Hough carried for 68 yards and Riley Walker added 53. The Rams' identity will be tested the further they go into the state playoffs but it is firmly established by this group as exhibited in the performance against Buckingham County.

LOOKING AHEAD

Strasburg enters the Class 2 state semifinals with a 12-1 record, a mark that is identical to their opponent. The Rams will face Poquoson who handily defeated King William 40-0 in the Region 2A final on Friday. Since falling in their final regular season contest, the Islanders have won their three playoff games by a combined score of 129-8 with two shutouts. The Rams have had similar success with three wins by a total of 133-20. The contest next Saturday appears to be a tossup on paper at first glance with both teams showing some resemblance to their opponent. This will be the first time the two teams have squared off head-to-head.

KNIGHTS PERFECTION CLOSES

Although the season didn’t end the way they expected it to, Buckingham County’s 11 wins was the most for the school in a season since 2002. The Knights offense scored nearly 40 points per contest prior to Friday night with seniors Jayden Maxey and William Motley leading the way most of the year. Defensively, as mentioned earlier the Knights were a nightmare for opponents. Five of the team's 11 wins were the result of a shutout. At one point in the season, the Knights' defense only allowed 27 points total over the span of nine weeks. Buckingham County survived a scare in the opening round of the postseason, thanks to a last-minute stop by the defensive unit, and then the team handily defeated Madison County in the regional semifinals.

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.