Sitting on a 5-1 record, the Western Albemarle football team won its first five games. The Warriors met their match at Louisa County High School, when Western suffered a 56-26 defeat against the Lions on their homecoming night. The Louisa running game was too much for the Warrior defense as Louisa ball carriers Job Whalen and Trey Cherry combined for 243 yards and four touchdowns. Western is focusing on looking forward to the future games while learning from their past failures. Throughout the first six games, the highlight for the Western squad has been the Albemarle game where the Warriors defeated the Patriots in a game to be remembered.

With a stellar defensive performance and a steady run game, the Warriors hung on for a 23-17 win over Albemarle, sending the rival away in shambles and making the Western student section go nuts. After maintaining a steady lead throughout the game, Albemarle pulled themselves within a touchdown with 2:52 remaining, but Junior Osiris Crutchfield swatted down a passing attempt from Albemarle quarterback D.G. Archer. After the Warriors turned the ball over on a fourth down conversion attempt, the Patriots threatened again but the hail mary pass from Archer to Cameron Green was off target and Western walked away with a big win.

Despite their consistently stellar performances under the lights, The 2014 Western Albemarle football team is in a rebuilding year after the loss of 22 seniors from the legendary 2013 Western team. Last year’s group had a historic season finishing with an overall record of 9-2, and a regular season district championship. The Warriors are going under quite the personnel change, but this year’s squad is not focused on last season’s heroics.

“We’re all just looking forward, living in the moment, and trying not to think too much about the past,” said senior offensive tackle and defensive end Matt Wozneak.

Wozneak, along with seniors Michael Mullin, Josh Meeks, and Logan Sprouse are the captains of the 5-1 team.

Last year, the Warriors, led by Kent Henry, Steven Hearn, Nicolaas Drapanas, Patrick Maupin and Donte Henry, had big goals prior to the beginning of the season.

“The biggest difference was expectations for us this year. We really are flying under the radar, not many people think we’re that good,” said assistant coach Michael Redmond. “Last year we had a big bullseye on us we had to be our best every week but this year we are able to progress and hopefully be playing our best football by the end of the season.”

The Warriors are exceeding expectations in the 2014 season. Leading into the highly anticipated Western vs. Albemarle game, coaches and players were preparing for the clash.

“I’m excited, this rivalry thing is new to me, but the competition is what I love. It’s competition at its highest,” Redmond said. “It’s going to be a hostile environment, kids are going to be competing”.

Wozneak was equally excited about this matchup saying, “There’s always some nerve going into games like these, but we’re just pretty pumped up. Especially after last year. We don’t like to think back to the past too much, but it’s hard to forget that one.”

Wozneak was, of course, referring to last year’s victory over Albemarle, where Steven Hearn caught a last second touchdown pass to put the Warriors on top.

Western’s defense has been cohesive and tenacious this year, allowing a total of 54 points in 5 games.

Coach Redmond said, “Our defense has been the biggest star…I can’t remember any games we gave up under 30 points last year,” Redmond said of his determined defense.

The Warrior’s offense, led by juniors Sam Hearn, Henry Kreienbaum, and Oliver Herndon is producing and is not overshadowed by last year’s senior stacked crew. Sam Hearn is developing a good reputation in his first year as starting QB: the junior is fourth in central virginia in passing touchdowns, and passing yards. Oliver Herndon, starting at running back for the Warriors, is 9th in central virginia in yards per attempt, averaging 8.7 yards. Kreienbaum, the third of the junior offensive trifecta is fourth in receiving yards and 8th in yards per catch.

Derek Domecq, the lone freshman on the team, is playing like a veteran. He leads the team in yards per catch and sees a lot of action at his starting position, slot receiver. But Domecq isn’t just limited to the wide receiver spot. He plays on both sides of the ball and special teams. He plays receiver, cornerback, kicker, and punter for the varsity squad. It seems like a big load for a first year, but Derek has been scaling the sidelines of the Western turf for many years.

“I’ve been sitting on the sidelines…since I was 5 basically. As a starting receiver this year, I feel a lot of pressure, especially because I’m a freshman,” he said. Domecq has never played at the caliber of the varsity level. Domecq said of the big change, “The speed. It’s a lot faster. On JV the players weren’t as fast and didn’t hit as hard but varsity is a whole different level.”

The Warriors look ahead to their next big matchup which is against Monticello, this Friday at home, on homecoming night. Monticello is one of the strongest teams in the district with just one loss to Powhatan. But the Warriors are trying not to think too far ahead.

Redmond said the team is “focusing on one quarter at a time one play at a time. That helps us forget the bad but also stay focused on the present and live in the moment.”