by Shawn Nowlin
When the William Fleming High Football Team defeated their crosstown rival Patrick Henry 41-13 on Sept. 20 at the Annual Mayor’s Cup, it marked the first time in a decade that the Colonels won their first regular season matchup against the Patriots.
A dominant performance from start to finish, Fleming scored on both the last possession of the first half and the first possession after the break. Malachi Coleman, a Syracuse commit, ran for nearly 130 yards on 16 carries. Quarterback Jycer Preston threw for 108 yards on 5-of-8 passing.
Historically, the two schools have faced each other 75 times on the gridiron.
After Nick Leftwich was hired as the head coach, many expected the program to turn around sooner rather than later.
Last year, Fleming went 8-5. In the first four games this year, the Colonels have put 211 points on the scoreboard while holding their opponents to just 20: Hidden Valley on Aug. 30 (90-0), Albemarie on Sept. 6 (55-0), Salem on Sept. 13 (25-7) and PH last Friday.
Running a successful high school football program doesn’t come without any challenges. In addition to juggling different egos, Coach Leftwich and his staff have to know which buttons to push to get the very best from every player.
Colonel Nation has rallied behind this year’s team in full force. When Fleming won their season opener by nearly 100 points, Eric Wilson knew this year’s squad had the potential to go down as one of the all-time greats.
“It’s an awesome time to be a Fleming football supporter right now. Many of our key players are underclassmen so they should be back next year,” he said. “You can tell that the players have the utmost respect for Coach Leftwich. It seems like he gives them some freedom if they do what they are supposed to, both on and off the court. If the Colonels win their remaining games by double digits, I wouldn’t be surprised.”
Winning breeds confidence. When the team took the field for the Mayor’s Cup, they exuded a certain level of confidence that some faithful say they hadn’t seen in a few years.
Fleming’s next five games are against Halifax County (Oct. 4), William Byrd (Oct. 11), Northside (Oct. 18), Lord Botetourt (Oct. 25), Franklin County (Nov. 1) and Staunton River (Nov. 8). An undefeated season is certainly within the realm of possibility.
For the most up-to-date information, visit williamflemingcolonelsathletics.com.
