CHARLOTTESVILLE — Opening night was a night of celebration.
It was a celebration of Clayton Shultz.
There were tributes pregame, halftime and postgame for the Royals legend, who starred as a student-athlete then returned to the school to coach and teach for 20 years.
Shultz passed away earlier this year at the age of 42, losing a hard-fought battle with cancer.
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In the season opener at Knarr Field, the Eastern Hancock Royals won one for their long-time coach, dominating from the get-go in a 45-21 win over Alexandria, Friday.
In a pregame ceremony, the school dedicated the bell, located behind the east end zone, to the former North-South All-Star football player and coach of multiple championship Royal teams. The Shultz family rang the Clayton Shultz Bell as the Royals took the field.
At halftime, they retired his No. 79 jersey.
Athletic director Aaron Spaulding, during the pregame dedication, said, “Clayton’s passion and love for Eastern Hancock was unmatched.”
On Friday, his Royals showed their love for him.
“This night was about Clayton Shultz and his family and how much he meant to Eastern Hancock and Eastern Hancock football,” Royals head coach Doug Armstrong said. “It was about honoring him with a victory.”
Following the win, Armstrong led his team in a traditional cheer of ‘hip hip hooray’ with the third verse changed to “Hip Hip, Coach Shultz!” Armstrong said Shultz loved joining in with the players to do that cheer.
There was a lot to cheer about on Friday.
Much of it came from the high-powered Royals offense, led by junior quarterback Houston Swan.
The 6-1, 200-pounder threw four first-half touchdown passes to three different receivers. He also rushed for another score to give Eastern Hancock a 35-6 halftime lead.
Swan finished the game, unofficially, 22-of-32 passing for 384 yards. Junior receiver Cole Rainbolt had two touchdown catches. Seniors Cayden Sotelo and J.P. Fuchs each had one.
Six different players caught passes with Rainbolt leading the way with eight grabs for 121 yards. Fuchs had five for 87, caught one two-point conversion and kicked a 31-yard field goal and four PATs.
"This really meant a lot. Coach Shultz had been our coach for a long time, and with our grade for a long time. This one was for him," Rainbolt said. "This one was for him tonight. We miss him dearly. It was great time to play football again. With COVID-19 and everything you don’t know if it’s going to be your last.
"You’ve got to play every play like it’s your last."
The Royals did that with the great contributions from a number of players.
Sotelo finished with three catches for 83 yards.
Junior running back Zach Arnold had a 32-yard touchdown run and led the rushing attack with five carries for 63 yards. He also caught four balls for 58 yards.
"We haven’t played football in a long time. We didn’t have a scrimmage. We didn’t have much of a summer and I kept us out of pads for awhile, trying to stay healthy and focus on being in shape and being strong," Armstrong said. "It was good to play some football. I think we’ll get better as we get more experienced.
"The boys played with emotion. They played with spirit."
"We’ve been really anticipating this for a long time," Swan added. "It was great that we could make this night about Coach Shultz and honor him for everything he has done here."
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Eastern Hancock 45, Alexandria 21
Alexandria (0-1);6;0;7;8;-;21
Eastern Hancock (1-0);15;20;10;0;-;45
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
EH – Cole Rainbolt 5 yd pass from Houston Swan (JP Fuchs pass from Swan), 8:38
A – Chance Martin 10 yd run (pass failed), 4:32
EH – Cayden Sotelo 33 yd pass from Swan (Fuchs kick), 4:00
2nd Quarter
EH – Fuchs 1 yd pass from Swan (Fuchs kick), 11:30
EH – Swan 1 yd run (Fuchs kick), 3:26
EH – Rainbolt 6 yd pass from Swan (kick failed), :10
3rd Quarter
EH – Zach Arnold 32 yd run (Fuchs kick), 9:16
A – Martin 3 run (Gabe McGuire kick), 5:01
EH – Fuchs 31 FG, :11
4th Quarter
A – Braydon Jacobs 5 yd pass from McGuire (Abram May pass from McGuire), :16
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