Osbourn hammers Culpeper

By Brian Hunsicker

Published: September 12, 2008

Following Osbourn’s season-opening loss at Brooke Point, Eagles coach Steve Schultze said his team needed a more consistent offense and a better effort at stopping the run. Schultze got both – though maybe not in the fashion he expected – in Friday night’s 61-14 win over visiting Culpeper in the Cedar Run District opener for both teams.
The Eagles (1-1, 1-0 district) held Culpeper to -4 total yards in the first half; though most of the negative yardage came on sacks against Blue Devil quarterback Stephen Dodson, Culpeper’s running game was no factor.
Offensively, Osbourn was able to sustain drives, though more than one of those drives didn’t last very long.
With the Eagles up by a touchdown after a Culpeper (0-2, 0-1) missed field goal, running back Jerell McFadden took the first-down handoff. He broke through to the second level and weaved through the secondary for an 80-yard score.
Just before halftime, quarterback Thomas Keith found Vidal Greene down the middle; Greene hauled the pass in over his shoulder inside the 10 and went untouched into the end zone.
“We really did brief our offense,” Schultze said. “In the past, I kept adding, kept adding, kept adding, and we weren’t very good at anything. We had too much. So we condensed our offensive scheme a little bit, made a few personnel changes and I was really proud of the entire unit, the offense, defense.”
When necessary, the Eagles were able to put drives together. The Eagles’ middle two scores in the second quarter, which put the game well in their control, came on somewhat longer drives.
Osbourn took advantage of a Culpeper fumble and needed four plays to punch it in; McFadden’s 1-yard plunge increased the Eagles’ advantage to three scores.
On its next possession, Osbourn took over near midfield. They drove steadily toward the goal line, getting yardage in chunks but not in huge swaths. Keith’s 7-yard run capped the eight-play drive and gave Osbourn a 27-0 lead.
The win gives Osbourn momentum heading into next week. The Eagles will most certainly have a more stern test when they host Woodbridge and one of the state’s top running backs, De’Antwan Williams.
“They were in the state championship last year, and they’ve not fallen far off,” Schultze said. “I’m excited about it.”