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Things didn’t quite end as planned last season for the Buckingham County Knights. A strong regular season put them in the playoffs, where they played a tough, physical game. But in the end, Clarke County scored three touchdowns and sent the Knights home in the first round, winning 21-7. 

But there was plenty to build on, after last season. Buckingham improved in almost every way over 2022. In 2022, they were 8-3. In 2023, they finished 9-2. In 2022, they went 5-1 in the James River region. One year later, they went undefeated in the region, clinching both a regular season title and holding the rank of #1 defense in the area for most of the year. 

And there’s the improvement made on the field, on both sides of the ball. Buckingham gave up a total of 99 points on the year. There are some teams that gave up more than that in one game. Dividing that over 11 games, the Knights gave up an average of 9 points, by far the best in the region. And that’s an improvement over the 2022 season, where they only coughed up an average of 11.9 per game. 

Now here’s where it gets scary for some opponents. The majority of last year’s squad were juniors and underclassmen, meaning the Knights seem primed to make another run into the playoffs this year. 

Looking ahead for the Buckingham Knights

Last year, the James River region had three teams competing for the top spot. It was Buckingham, Amelia County and Central Lunenburg, then everyone else. Central, as we mention in this publication, appears ready to go for another round. And there’s nothing to say Buckingham won’t be vying for the top seat again at the end of the year. Amelia, however, could face some challenges with a younger team, including a couple 8th and 9th graders on this year’s squad. 

Last year’s lone faceoff between Buckingham and Lunenburg turned into a defensive battle, one favoring the Knights. They shut down the Lunenburg offense and picked up the 13-10 victory on the road. Flash forward 12 months and the Knights welcome Lunenburg to town, halfway through the season. Looking at the rest of the region, barring any upsets, it’s not too early to say that Sept. 27 battle could determine the regular season champion in the James River region. 

This season starts off on Friday, Aug. 30 as Buckingham goes over the border to take on an Appomattox team that was hammered 45-0 last week by the Liberty Christian Bulldogs.