One step forward, two steps back for Culpeper

Few words can describe the feeling in the locker room after a 40-point loss like the one the Blue Devils suffered Friday in their home opener.

In fact, CCHS coach Mike Williams didn’t need any words at all, just a hand gesture that carried more weight than any phrase ever could.

With his thumb cocked in the air as part of an imaginary pistol, Williams pointed at his right temple while talking about the Blue Devils’ 48-8 loss to Orange.

“We just shot ourselves in the foot time after time,” he said. “We made mental error after mental error and had kids out of position and kids missing assignments.”

Usually, when people hear a coach talking about mental mistakes they automatically assume he’s talking about committing too many penalties, but that wasn’t the case Friday.

The Blue Devils were only flagged for one penalty, but it was a big one. For the first time in the game, Culpeper had halted the Hornets’ explosive offense and forced a punt, but a running into the kicker penalty gave Orange new life and eventually led to a third-quarter touchdown.

“Ninety percent of this game is mental,” Mike Williams said. “You can line a monkey up and if he can think straight he can make a play, but if a kid doesn’t think he can do it he won’t.”

Culpeper may not have been penalized very often, but after the Blue Devils turned the ball over twice deep in Orange territory, you can bet Williams was ready to head for the nearest zoo.

Cortez Rollins and running back Larry Williams looked like they were getting pretty comfortable with the option offense while leading the Blue Devils to the Hornets’ 25-yard line in the second quarter, but then everything went horribly wrong.

Rollins threw a pass in the direction of Duane Wilkins near the goal line, but Wilkins turned in every direction except toward the ball and allowed Orange cornerback Brandon Vann to step in front of the ball and take it 94 yards the other way for a touchdown.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, it all came tumbling down again later in the quarter. The Blue Devils drove down to the Hornets’ 26 with a little over three minutes left in the first half, but Larry Williams fumbled and the offense was forced to leave points on the field once again.

“Those types of missed opportunities are tough,” Mike Williams said. “And tonight, they were about 40 points tough.”

The players don’t deserve all the blame. The coaching staff deserves some for not putting the ball in the hands of the Blue Devils’ playmakers.

A week after nabbing five passes for 185 yards and three touchdowns against Fauquier, wide receiver John Lezcano only touched the ball once Friday night. He gained 12 yards on an end around in the first half, but never got to put his speed on display again.

And when you’re talking about speed, the names Duane Wilkins and Josh Majors have to be part of the conversation.

Wilkins has been one of the Blue Devils most explosive players this season. He has already scored on an 84-yard kickoff return and pulled in two touchdown passes, but only recorded one carry and one reception Friday.

Majors is another speedster who broke out with four catches for 75 yards against Fauquier, but only carried the ball twice during the loss to Orange.

The speed of the Hornets’ defensive backs kept the Blue Devils from matching last weekend’s passing totals, according to Williams, but as a coach you still have to know who your home run hitters are and get them the ball whether it’s on the ground or through the air.

Williams has talked many times about how speed is the hardest thing to defend, but he isn’t taking full advantage of the favorable matchups his skill players’ quickness can create.

Instead of rotating them in and out, why not put Wilkins, Lezcano and Majors on the field at the same time to force defenses to respect their speed? That would not only create more opportunities for the Blue Devils’ most explosive players, but also open up the middle of the field for powerful runners Williams and Rollins.

So what now for the Blue Devils?

They have two weeks off before taking the field against Battlefield District foe Caroline Oct. 2, and Williams knows what his team has to do between now and then.

“We’re going back to square one,” he said. “We’re going to work on blocking, tackling and execution, and if that doesn’t work we may have to look at who we are putting on the field.”

Williams has often said losing is a habit that he and his staff have to find a way to break. If that’s the case, they may want to hurry because with the Blue Devils’ winless streak stretching to 16 games, it’s beginning to look more like an epidemic.