Devils offense shows signs of life

Finally, the Culpeper offense came alive.

After struggling to move the ball through the first five games of the year, the Blue Devils finished with 342 yards of total offense in the 28-22 loss to Osbourn Park Friday.

It was, statistically, the most effective the offense has been this season. According to quarterback Kyle Majors, the reason was simple.

"It all starts on the offensive line," Majors said. "They're improving every week. They just get better every week. We feed off of them and that's where it starts."

It's been a growing process for the linemen. Senior Joe Reser is the only 2006 starter that returned for this season.

But the newcomers have been learning fast. John Ross Hawkins, Patrick Wilson, Charles Nicholson, and Tony Caruso have slowly jelled with Reser to give the Blue Devils a formidable line.

Against Osbourn Park, Majors was protected all night long. He wasn't sacked and didn't throw any interceptions.
"The offensive line did terrific (Friday)," wide receiver Steven Reynolds said.

Shaking things up
The Blue Devils knew the Osbourn Park offense could move the ball up and down the field. They just thought it would happen a different way.

Yellow Jackets quarterback Aaron Lee is one of the Cedar Run District's best signal-callers and has the reputation of being a top-notch passer.

So, with the Blue Devils thinking pass, Osbourn Park turned to running back Shawn Khanamuenwai. He carried the ball 35 times for 219 yards.

"We came into the game looking for the pass," CCHS cornerback Steven Strother said. "We came into the game expecting the pass and they kind of ran it down our throats."

'Something out of nothing'
Majors and Strother love making plays. Especially when it looks like its all going to fall apart.

Both have have the ability to making game-changing plays, even when something goes wrong.

On three separate occasions Friday, they turned busted plays into Culpeper points.

In the second quarter, Majors looked to be wrapped up in the backfield by an Osbourn Park defender. But as he was pulled to the ground, he managed to get off a pass to Strother, who darted 11 yards for a touchdown.

But it was a third quarter scoring drive that showcased the duo's athletic ability. Trailing 15-7, Majors took the snap at the Culpeper 33. After he and Strother appeared to mishandle a handoff, Majors darted 67-yards along the sideline for a score.

"Steve tried to take the ball from me, so I took it back. Then I faked it to him," Majors said. "It was kind of a busted play, but it ended up working in our favor."

Not to be outdone, Strother flashed his own skills on the two-point conversion. After a botched snap, he took a handoff and made several Yellow Jackets defenders miss on his way to the endzone.

"I'm just a lucky guy," Strother said. "I just try to make something out of nothing. If the opportunity presents itself, I'm going to make a play."

Harrier happenings
The CCHS cross country teams competed in two invitationals this past week.

At the Free Lance-Star All-Area meet Oct. 10 Steven Reynolds finished 12th to pace the boys team to a third place finish in the 15-team field. David Holden and Daniel Austin also ran in the top 20, finishing 18th and 19th respectively.

Dira Hansen finished sixth to lead the Devilettes to a ninth-place finish in the 10-team field.

On Saturday, the team headed to Charlottesville for the Ablemarle Invitational. There, Reynolds and Hansen again paced the squads.

Reynolds finished 88th out of 264 runners to lead the boys to a 24th place team finish. There were 38 teams that competed.
Hansen finished 48th in the girls race. The Devilettes finished 30th out of 34 teams.

Record breaker
Melissa Register made history.

The CCHS field hockey player scored four times in Wednesday's 8-0 win over Steonwall, bringing her season total to 29 goals.  That breaks Monica Jenkins' school record of 28.

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