The Buckingham County High School football team's previous football game may have gone to the wire, but last Friday's regular-season finale against Bluestone was over at the start, as the Knights readied for the playoffs with a 60-8 victory over the Barons.

“Everybody came ready to play, and we shook off the disappointment of losing to Goochland,” said BCHS head coach Crag Gill. “We were concerned about Bluestone's big running backs, but they threw a couple of different things at us, and I think it worked to our advantage.”

Buckingham (8-2, 6-2 JRD) tailback Kyree Koonce wasted little time in helping the Knights to the quick start. Koonce ran in a 66-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage.

Koonce then showed his dangerous speed on special teams by returning Bluestone's first two punts 80 yards for touchdowns to give the Knights a quick 20-0 lead.

Buckingham led 33-0 after the quarter, and 47-0 at halftime, which allowed for several junior varsity players, who were playing up on the varsity (Bluestone has no JV team) to get into the game.

“We got right on them and didn't let them catch their breath,” said Gill. “It was good to get our starters some rest in the second half, and to let our reserves and JV kids get some playing time.”

Koonce rushed just seven times for 115 yards and a touchdown. Kenneth Johnson had 45 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries. Both backs have rushed for over 1,000 yards on the season.

Callighan rushed five times for 53 yards, and Matrice Foster scored a touchdown. Playing in his final regular-season home game, Tariq Bartee scored twice; once as a fullback and another on a fumble recovery and touchdown.

Bartee led the Knights on defense with 12 tackles, three for a loss and the fumble recovery for a touchdown. Devin Smith had 10.5 tackles, three for a loss, two sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Austin Seay finished the night with 9.5 tackles from his defensive line position.

For the fourth straight season, the Knights move on to the postseason. Buckingham earned the No. 7 seed in the 16-team field, and will host an old playoff foe, Clarke County on Friday night at 7 p.m.

Buckingham defeated Clarke 7-0 in the first round of the then named Region B, Division 2 Playoffs in 2010.

“This is a good team,” said Gill. “Much better than their 6-4 record. They finished tied with Manassas Park and Strasburg for the Bull Run title. We're going to have our hands full.

“There are a couple of kids we played two years ago that are seniors now. They're athletic. Their defensive line is fast, and they have good linebackers. Offensively, they still run the single wing. We just don't see that all too often. Central is the closest, but [Clarke] uses more misdirection, which means we'll have to maintain our assignments on defense and not over-pursuit.”