Carrying the load

Before Virginia Tech’s loss to Alabama, Stonewall Jackson product Ryan Williams hadn’t electrified fans with his legs since he torched the Culpeper County High School football team in the final game of the 2007 season.

But after Williams’ performance in Saturday’s 52-10 win over Marshall, there’s no doubt who the Hokies’ workhorse is going to be this year.

The 5-10, 206-pound redshirt freshman improved on his 71-yard, two-touchdown performance against the Crimson Tide by racking up 164 yards and three touchdowns on the ground and added one catch for 36 yards against the Thundering Herd.

True freshman David Wilson got into the action Saturday as well. The running back out of George Washington Danville High School finished the game with 165 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries after only seeing minimal playing time against Alabama.

Climbing the mountain
Orange County product Bradley Starks made a name for himself as a quarterback with the Hornets, but now he’s getting pretty comfortable in his new role as a starting wide receiver at West Virginia University.

After only catching two passes in the Mountaineers’ win over Liberty last weekend, the 6-3, 185-pound Starks came out of his shell in West Virginia’s 35-20 win over East Carolina with five catches for 76 yards.

Starks wasn’t the only local product on the field for the Mountaineers Saturday. Osbourn graduate Brandon Hogan was also a quarterback during his high school days, but now he’s a starting cornerback at West Virginia.

The 5-10, 191-pound junior finished Saturday’s game with 11 tackles and two pass breakups, but also fumbled a punt that led to an East Carolina touchdown.

Getting on the field
After not getting much playing time in Virginia’s first game of the season, Orange County product Quintin Hunter recorded his first stats as a Cavalier during Saturday’s loss to TCU.

The true freshman caught one pass for 13 yards, while fellow freshman Dominique Wallace — a Chancellor graduate — finished with one carry for seven yards.

Culpeper’s Terence Fells-Danzer also saw some action against the Horned Frogs but didn’t record any stats.

Making strides
Orange County product Brent Trice made vast improvements in his second game as a starting linebacker at Vanderbilt University.

After only recording one tackle last weekend, Trice finished the Commodores’ 23-9 loss to No. 11 LSU with 10 tackles and half a sack.

Lighting the flame
Orange County was well represented in college stadiums around the state Saturday and Liberty University defensive tackle Asa Chapman was one of many former Hornets racking up stats.

He finished the Flames’ win over North Carolina Central with seven tackles.

Representing the Eagles
Liberty graduates Justin Carrington and Aaron Hull spent plenty of time on the field for their respective teams Saturday.

Carrington — a linebacker at Indiana University — finished the Hoosiers’ win over Western Michigan with three tackles and a fumble recovery.

Hull — a starting defensive lineman at Kent State University — finished the Golden Flashes’ loss to Boston College with one tackle.