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Randolph-Henry High School’s (R-H) junior varsity (JV) football team fell 20-8 to visiting Buckingham County High School’s JV squad on Thursday, Oct. 17, but there was a big positive that Statesmen Head Coach Devin Foster took away from the game.

“We had a lot of mistakes, offensively, a few mistakes, defensively, but overall, it was the best game we’ve played as a team,” he said. “I believe it’s the first time we’ve played as a whole team all year.”

He noted that on defense, all 11 of his defenders were racing to the football.

Asked what was there that night for his squad that had been lacking before, Foster said, “Really the energy and the effort. It’s the second time we came out with energy from the first snap. Now, the first time we came out with full energy was our first game against Nelson, and we ended up coming (up) with a win.”

The Statesmen are 1-6 overall, and they defeated host Nelson County High School 16- 14 in that season opener Aug. 29.

Randolph-Henry’s roster features around 16-17 healthy and active players after starting the season with 21.

Leaders on the squad include freshman lineman Jayden Gee, freshman fullback/defensive lineman Lazarus Moss and eighth-grade quarterback Elijah Charlton, the latter of which is new to the position and high school football.

R-H visits Cumberland on Oct. 24.