Football

Down 14-0 early in the first quarter and coming off of a 63-7 loss the previous week, it seemed as if history would repeat itself for the Flucos on Sept. 5. In past seasons, the Flucos tended to automatically throw in the towel when down. But they seemed to have a different mentality as they took on Spotsylvania that night, perhaps being motivated to not go into their bye week coming off another loss.

”The defense played really well throughout the whole game, especially in the first half, and kept us in the game so that the offense could pull through in the second half,” said junior and team co-captain Gavin Patrick. The game could have ended a lot differently, but the hard work of the defense minimized Spotsylvania’s scoring, keeping the Flucos in the game and helping the offense pull out a 24-14 win.

Vinny Agee is currently leading the Flucos in points for the season with three touchdowns, while senior and team co-captain Macen Dahl is in second place. ”We came out ready to play after halftime and had an easier time of executing our plays,” said Agee of the Spotsylvania game.

Coach Jason Barnett was pleased by the win too. “We have earned the opportunity to be successful and I’m happy to see that result,” he said. The Flucos will take on Culpeper on Sept. 19 at Culpeper at 7:30.

Boys’ Cross Country

The team has had three meets so far this season, and done exceedingly well in all of them. At their recent meet at FUMA on Sept. 7, Travis Moe placed in the top ten for the 3- mile, running an incredible 16:13. The team is showing a lot of promising qualities” That the team has been doing extraordinarily well shows that this years team has a lot of promise and potential,” says Morgan Milburn.

The boys cross country team has a lot of younger runners and not a lot of veteran runners. The team expects the older boys to set high standards and expectations for the younger runners so that the program will remain strong after some of the older runners leave. While nowhere near as large as the girls’ cross country team, the boys’ team is no less of a threat to the competition. “The team is in full swing now and is more prepared than ever,” said Milburn.

The boys also ran in the Judges Classic XC Invitational on Sept. 13. Moe ran an exceptional race earning a medal and 15th place overall. In addition, all of the Fluco runners ran personal bests for the season at this meet.  They next travel to Powhatan for a meet on Sept. 17.

Girls’ Cross Country

The girls’ cross country team has always been one of the best Fluco athletic programs and this year seems to be no different. One factor is new blood in freshmen who have been running for a long time, but are finally old enough to compete for a spot in the top seven.” It feels amazing to finally be old enough to compete for a top seven spot. As a middle school runner, your races don’t really count so it’s thrilling knowing that your races will finally be counted,” said freshman Haley Kennedy.

The Flucos have started off the season well, placing highly in all of their meets. “As a team, we’ve been working our hardest but our coach knows we have even more potential. She says we need to work better as a team and our destiny will be even more in our favor,” said sophomore Jackie Rodriguez.

Like the boys’ team, the girls’ team did exceptionally well at the Judges Classic XC Invitational on Sept. 13. Haley Kline, Jackie Rodriguez, Haley Kennedy, Bridget Bossong, and Saige Haney all placed in the top ten overall, while all of the girls ran personal bests for the season. The team will join the boys’ team in competing at Powhatan on Sept. 17.

Volleyball

It’s the final season for senior volleyball players on the Varsity team, and one can see the tension rising from the girls representing Fluvanna County. Both the old and new players seemed ready to fight and lay the ground work for a winning season at the first home opener on Sept. 4.

A large and rowdy group of Fluco student fans also made their presence known that night– the loud bunch of moody teenagers seeming to be on a mission to get inside the Waynesboro Little Giants’ heads.  From the start, the girls came out strong, getting kills early. That combined with the obnoxiousness from the student section appeared to stress the Giants out, and the Flucos made sure to capitalize on all of it. The Flucos were relentless, finishing off every set with a capping blow to the polished court and bit by bit, breaking down the Little Giants both physically and emotionally until the Flucos won in a shut-out.

“Our connection and chemistry is really strong because we do everything as a team,” explained senior LeeLee Robbins. “We eat as a team, we hang out as a team, we practice as a team and that’s why we win as a team.”

Both the JV and varsity teams will travel to Orange on Sept. 18.

Golf

The Fluco golf team has had rather slow start to their season, but on Sept. 11 the Flucos received their first win in district play, beating the Powhatan Indians by 202 strokes to 190. It was a huge boost for the team. Junior Tyler Marshall explained the team’s potential for the season. “If we fix the mental errors we could have a great season. We can’t dwell on one bad swing. The mental part of the game is what is holding us back from our potential and once we overcome that part of the game we will have a very successful season,” he said.

The Flucos next travelled to Waynesboro to take on the Little Giants on Sept. 15, followed by a match a Charlottesville High School the next night. Their next match: Taking on Western on Sept. 18 at home at Lake Monticello.