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The players dumped Gatorade on Prince Edward Eagles Head Coach Melvin Mitchell after the game. After all, it was a time to celebrate, something Prince Edward hasn’t seen enough of in recent years. But when Mitchell told The Herald earlier this week that the team was on the verge of success, he wasn’t kidding. The Eagles beat Parry McCluer 46-38 on Friday night, to win both their first this season and Mitchell’s first as Eagles coach.   

“It felt great to see my players fight through, and staying together through all the adversity,” Mitchell said. “They came together as a team.” 

For the most part, it was a close game on Friday, with both defenses keeping players out of the end zone early. But once the Eagles defense started causing turnovers, it started a domino effect that ignited their offense. A 19-16 contest quickly became 33-16. Then 39-24 and finally 46-38. Mitchell said he was encouraged, both by an offense taking advantage of what’s on the field and a defense that didn’t just hold, but caused big turnovers. And this was against a Parry McCluer team that went to the playoffs last season and returned most of its squad. 

“It was a great win as a whole from my coaches, to my players, and to our PE alumni and fans for showing up at the game last night,” Mitchell said. 

He praised the community support, including New Flame Church of God in Christ for feeding the team yesterday. The Hampden-Sydney football team, which has their own season opener later today, came out as well, supporting Prince Edward and cheering them on. 

Now it’s time for the Prince Edward Eagles to go back on the road. They’ll head to Nelson County this coming Friday to take on the 2-1 Governors. 

Buckingham keeps rolling 

Make it two in a row for the Buckingham Knights. The team kept rolling on all fronts Friday, as they ran over Madison County 29-15. So far in two games, Buckingham has scored a total of 64 points, while only coughing up 28. Defense was a staple of their squad last season, helping to drive them into the playoffs. It looks like that’s carried over to the 2024 season. 

Up next for the Knights is a William Campbell team that is struggling in all areas so far this year. Coming in at 0-2, they’ve coughed up 61 points total, including a 41-14 blowout loss against Lunenburg this week. 

Beyond Prince Edward Eagles, other scores 

It was a rough week for other teams in our region.

Greenbrier Christian Academy 57 Fuqua 0

James River 20 Randolph-Henry 12