The Buckingham County High School football team wasn't lulled into a false sense of security due to Clarke County's regular season record going into last Friday's Group A, Division 2 East Region playoff opening round game.

That was good foresight on the part of the Knights, who had to fend off a second half rally before winning 48-20.

The win sets up a rematch with James River District champion Goochland in the quarterfinals on Friday night at Goochland.

The key to Buckingham's victory was its ground game. Buckingham's offense churned out 541 yards on the ground alone. Tailback Kyree Koonce led the Knights with 225 yards rushing and a touchdown on 22 carries. Kenneth Johnson gained 247 yards and rushed for three touchdowns on 21 carries, while fullback Tariq Bartee rushed three times for 23 yards.

“If you rush for 541 yards, someone has to be blocking up front,” said BCHS head coach Craig Gill. “We moved the ball really well, and were able to set our tempo for most of the game.”

Buckingham jumped out to a 27-6 lead at the end of the first quarter, and held a seemingly comfortable 33-12 lead at the break. Quarterback John Edwards hit Jesse Hickman for a 24-yard touchdown pass with about 10 seconds left in the half.

Clarke took advantage of some BCHS mistakes to close to within 33-20 in the third. Down 13 points, the Eagles drove inside the BCHS ten-yard-line, and was looking to close the contest to within one score before Johnson intercepted a pass just in front of the end zone to give the ball back to the Knights. A few plays later, Edwards capped off a quick drive by the Knights on a one-yard keeper to put BCHS back up 41-20. The Knights regained the ball on the ensuing kickoff and scored an insurance touchdown a few minutes later to bring the game to its 48-20 final.

“We knew they wouldn't quit,” said Gill of Clarke. “They were down 20-0 to Manassas Park earlier in the season and came back to make a game of it, and we knew when we were up at the half that they would rally.

“We shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times to help them out, but they were good enough to take advantage of our mistakes. Fortunately for us, we did the same after Peanut's [Johnson's] interception.”

In addition to Koonce's 255 yards rushing, he also had an 80-yard punt return for a touchdown in the first quarter to help the Knights to the early advantage.

Defensively, Bartee led the Knights with 16.5 tackles and a tackle for a loss. Justin Ayers, who was moved from the secondary to the end to cover the Clarke tight end, registered nine tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Johnson collected seven tackles and a pair of interceptions.

“Overall, I felt we did a great job of controlling their single wing. We knew they were going to get some good gains out of it, but we didn't let anything get us too down.”

Buckingham moves into the second round for a much-anticipated rematch with Goochland.

“Even though we knew we would probably get Goochland again if we won, nobody mentioned it at all last week. Now, we've been rewarded with a second chance.”

Three weeks ago, Buckingham lost to the Bulldogs 28-27 in overtime on a two-point conversion that came up about a foot-and-a-half short.

“We're pretty healthy, so we should be able to have a full week of preparation. We've studied the tape to figure out what we might be able to do differently this time around.”

Gill said on Monday afternoon that the team would find out on Tuesday or Wednesday if senior quarterback/safety Cam Johnson can return from an elbow injury he suffered in September. It was speculated that he might be ready in time for the regular-season finale or for last week's game, but he was not cleared for either contest.

“We'd like to have him, but right now we will prepare like we won't. If we do, we're confident that he can come in and make an immediate impact on both offense as a receiver and a quarterback and defense. Especially as our safety on defense. John [Edwards] has done a great job for us filling in at quarterback, so we can use Cam in a number of different roles, and not just as a receiver or just as a quarterback.”

Game time for Friday's quarterfinal game will be at 7 p.m.