Blue Devils showing progress

Rock music blared from the Fauquier locker room Friday night. Players walked out, smiling. After a 42-12 dismantling of Culpeper, life was good.

The win pushed the Falcons' season record to 4-0. It's their best start since 1989, and offers an object lesson in building a program that the Blue Devils should note.

Winning takes time.
Developing a successful football team is a process. It takes practice and it takes experience. It takes chemistry and commitment.

Most importantly, it takes patience.

One star player can't carry a football team the way they might in basketball or track. There's too many moving parts on the gridiron. A simple quarterback sneak involves 11 different players, each with their own assignments.

That's where experience comes in. Fauquier was 3-7 last season. Things weren't looking good. But coach Greg Hatfield believed in his program and the spread offense he employed. He knew his players would grow into the scheme. Now they're off to their best start in almost two decades. And the secret to success was simple.

"It's those kids being in the offense again and being confident in what they're doing," Hatfield said. "It's (the coaches) knowing the personnel better."

Experience. Comfort level. The two go hand-in-hand.

The Falcons weren't more talented than the Blue Devils. They were more comfortable.

A simple glance at the roster says a lot. Fauquier lists 16 seniors on the 2007 roster. The Blue Devils have 10. Perhaps more telling, just one sophomore is on the Falcons' roster. CCHS has 29.

CCHS coach Greg Martz is laying the foundation for success. The Blue Devils' 1-3 record doesn't do justice to their talent level.

Sure, the scoreboard says they've been blown out in all three losses. What it doesn't say is that they've led in all three games. They controlled the game against Osbourn, the defending Division VI state champs, into the third quarter.

The team has all the necessary parts for success.

They have talented skills position players. Joey Powell is a game-changing receiver. Stevie Strother and Kyle Majors can make people miss when the ball is in their hands. Steven Reynolds, a state qualifier in track, has the speed to take people deep.

Roger Davis leads an aggressive defense. K.K. Pollard, Strother, and Majors are opportunistic in the secondary.
Carter Mills has a big-time leg. Strother already has two punt returns for touchdowns.

But what the Blue Devils need now is a healthy dose of patience. The world has developed a sense of immediacy, a desire for quick results. And that superficial glance says the CCHS team isn't very good.

But progress is being made. The Blue Devils are competitive in every game they play. The reality is they're a few bad breaks from having two or three wins. Cut out a penalty here, a turnover there, and the Blue Devils are a dangerous opponent.

They just have to learn to put it together for an entire game. And that takes time.

Jason Simcoe can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 166 or