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Something just wasn’t working. Prince Edward Eagles Coach Larry White saw that clear as day. With the offense struggling this season, White stepped in and made a change, then reworked his system around it. He took senior tailback DeJuan Little and plugged him in at quarterback, turning things into a more option based scrambling system. You can’t really argue with the results. Prince Edward has two wins in the last three games, including Thursday’s 48-42 shootout against Nottoway. 

“The offense is (driven) by DeJuan Little taking over as quarterback,” White said. 

In many ways, it’s a reversion back to the system White prefers. 

“My philosophy has always been run first,” White told us earlier in the season. “I’m gonna run to open up the pass. I’ve been a run first man ever since I’ve been coaching.”

Thursday’s back and forth battle, played on the road in Crewe, saw the Prince Edward Eagles put up the most points they have this season. White says the team is just settling in to the new system. 

“Nothing changed (since last week), just the offense continues to get better,” White said. 

He pointed out the only struggle so far since the switch came last week against a very good Buckingham team, as the Knights are 8-1 and 5-0 in the region. Yes, Prince Edward lost last week 47-6, but they are in very good company. Over nine games, the Knights have only allowed a total of 72 points. 

“(We had) a small letdown against a really good Buckingham team,” White said. Otherwise, he’s been extremely happy with how the new offense is running. 

White still isn’t fully satisfied, as he still feels the defense gave up too many points Thursday night. 

“We’re still making adjustments,” White said. “It’s not where I want our defense to be.” 

Up next for the Prince Edward Eagles

Prince Edward finishes the season next Friday, going on the road to take on Cumberland. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. 

Streak continues for Buckingham 

This season started slow for the Buckingham Knights. They lost the first game of the year, 23-6, to Appomattox County. That was both the last time Buckingham lost and one of only two times this season the defense gave up at least 20 points. 

Since then, Buckingham has shut out three teams, including Cumberland, who they beat Friday 49-0. Three others have managed to score one touchdown each. The 72 total points Buckingham has given up is the fewest in both the James River and neighboring Dogwood regions. The two closest are Gretna, which has given up 126 total points and Altavista, which has given up 148. The offense hasn’t been too shabby either, having put up 322 total points over nine games. Only two teams in the area have scored more. That’s Gretna at 326 and Central High in Lunenburg, which comes in at 396. In this year’s meeting back on September 25, Buckingham’s defense shut down Central, as the Knights won 13-10. 

But Buckingham still has something to play for, when the game kicks off next week. They’re tied with Amelia County for first place in the region, as both teams are 5-0 in regional games. First place will be decided, as the two teams face off Nov. 3 in Dillwyn.