It is truly an exciting time to be a fan of Buckingham County High School athletics, and that theme is resonating just as strongly in the heart of the winter sports season as it did in the fall sports season.

Of course, to start the school year, the Knights varsity football team demonstrated that it was definitively back on the map as a power in both the state and the James River District (JRD). This was exactly what Buckingham Athletic Director Russ Gowin wanted to see when he hired Seth Wilkerson as head coach of the team. Wilkerson had been a key member of the coaching staff under the late great Craig Gill during the Knights’ run of seven straight seasons making the playoffs.

The 2019 Knights went 10-2 overall, advancing as far as the regional semifinals, and the stands at the gridiron were packed once again with fans eager to cheer them on.

Now the Buckingham varsity boys basketball team is giving Knights fans a major reason to pack the stands of the gymnasium. The squad has started the 2019-20 season with a striking 11-0 record, including a 6-0 record in the district entering its epic showdown with visiting Goochland High School (6-1, 4-0 JRD) on Tuesday, Jan. 14. It is a start that has sent Head Coach Taylor Boyers to the history books to see if the Buckingham varsity boys program has ever achieved it before.

The 2019-20 Knights have had a couple of close games, including a 44-42 home victory over Bluestone High School on Dec. 10 in the second game of the season and a 68-67 road win over Appomattox County High School on Jan. 8. But even including those contests, Buckingham has been winning its games by an average of 23 points.

“I’m very proud of this team and how we’ve played thus far,” Boyers said. “We still have room for improvement, and that’s what we’re going to continue to strive for.”

Some of the same names that helped drive Buckingham’s success on the gridiron have been behind its winning ways on the hardwood. These names include juniors Gerry “Tae” Toney, Xavian Gough, Xavier Copeland and Cameron Taylor, among others.

It really is an exciting thing to see student-athletes excel in different contexts throughout the course of a single school year.

The basketball team features more highly notable standouts as well, including junior Amari Toney, sophomore Damorrious Holman and senior James DeVore, among others.

We congratulate Coach Gowin on his administration of the Buckingham athletic department. We congratulate the coaches and the players, and we want them all to know that we cannot wait to see what they do next.