Altavista exacts revenge on Generals in Naruna

NARUNA — Altavista had endured a lot of pain at the hands of William Campbell over the years, and plenty of humiliation.

The scores the last four seasons: 28-3, 56-0, 56-6, 70-0, all in favor of the Generals.

And when the Generals won those games, they made sure the Colonels knew how many points they scored, jumping up and down at the middle of the field once for each point tallied.

So it was with great satisfaction Friday night after Altavista’s convincing 28-6 victory that the Colonels gathered at one end of William Campbell’s stadium and jumped up and down 28 times.

“Last year they disrespected us at our house,” said Colonels senior Johnny Wimbish, who rushed for 145 yards on 11 carries. “This year we put up 28 and matched them.”

The Colonels moved into a tie for first place in the Dogwood District with Gretna, which lost at Appomattox Friday, and it’s clear now that Altavista is no longer a cute little story.

At 8-1, the Colonels are a near lock to make the Region B playoffs, which would mark Altavista’s first postseason foray in nearly two decades.

And Friday night, the Colonels used a physical, grinding offense and an opportunistic, swarming defense to knock out the Generals (3-5, 1-3).

William Campbell picked up five first downs in the first quarter, but that was the extent of the Generals’ offensive success. They managed just two more first downs the rest of the game, and one of those came with less than two minutes to play.

Second-year Colonels coach Mike Scharnus called the effort “lights out.”

Altavista’s front seven harassed Campbell quarterback BeBe Adams continually, holding him to 38 yards on 19 carries and bringing him down for a loss nine times.

“We covered the routes, and he had to scramble, and we hit him,” Colonels linebacker Chris Clark said.

Clark was the workhorse offensively, racking up 157 yards on 18 carries and scoring all four of Altavista’s touchdowns.

With the Colonels up 7-6 early in the fourth quarter, William Campbell flubbed a punt after a poor snap deep in its own territory, and it rolled about 10 yards before an Altavista player touched it at the 28.

An assistant coach barked, “All right offense! Right now!”

Clark must have heard him. He took a handoff on the next play, ran off tackle right and raced 28 yards for the touchdown.

Later in the quarter, Mike Robinson and Hunter Shelhorse intercepted passes, and the Colonels turned both turnovers into touchdowns.

“This year, we’re winning football games and everything is a step,” Scharnus said. “This is huge for us. It was huge to go down to Appomattox and win.

“We haven’t been real big into ‘first time we’ve beat these guys’ stuff. I’m sure it’s been a long time. But we’re doing the boring old take it one game at a time thing, and the kids were grooved into that this week.”