With a 1-8 record, the football season didn’t go the way the injury-riddled Flint Hill Huskies wanted this fall.
But there are glimmers of hope for the future.
One thing that was unique about Flint Hill’s schedule is the Huskies were defeated by two teams that went on to become Virginia private-school state champions.
Flint Hill opened the season with a 38-23 home loss to Division II state champion Blue Ridge Barons of St. George. In its third game, the Huskies lost to the Division I state champion Benedictine Cadets, 24-8, of Richmond.
Both games were close, with Flint Hill having eight turnovers against Blue Ridge, while quarterback Caleb West passed for 243 yards in the loss. The Huskies were driving for the go-ahead score in the second half against Benedictine when an interception return for a touchdown ended that chance for victory.
A third game for Flint Hill was against Division I state finalist St. Michael the Archangel, which lost to Benedictine, 43-12, in the state final.
“There is no consolation prize in high-school football, but we were able to compete against each of those teams pretty close for a while,” Flint Hill coach Kirk Peterson said. “We had eight turnovers against Blue Ridge, or we might have won that one. We had that pick-six late against Benedictine when they were down just 10-8 and driving. There were other close games against good teams.”
Flint Hill suffered season-ending injury to two starting runningbacks and multiple linemen, which hampered productivity.
Flint Hill’s schedule was difficult. In addition to those three state finalists, five other opponents had winning records, including 8-0 Woodberry Forest and Bullis and Maret, each with just two losses.
“We were 1-8, but those close games can be motivation for next season,” Peterson said.
