Fork Union's Postgraduate football team defeated Bethany College(JV) 48-7 on Friday, September 26. FUMA was lead by the "Player of the Game" Matt Socholotiuk and his two TD's, one by returning a kickoff 65 yards and catching a TD off a bootleg by QB Nick Owens.
QB Nick Owens also added a TD run. Tony Owah added a TD run from his tailback position and Jordan Rigby caught a 26 TD pass from QB Jeff Legree. Jeremiah Maglero chipped in with a defensive TD on a 48 interception return. The defense held strong with QB sacks from: Alex Johnson, Jimmy Brookins, Chaz Sutton, Erwin Roach, and Cody Blue. Bill Romanow and Tim Brown led the LB corps in tackles and the defensive secondary was led by Richard Democker and Brent Vinson. The FUMA postgraduate team will travel to Averett University in Danville, VA for a game on Sunday October 5th. Kickoff is set for 2:00 PM.
Fork Union stopped its rival, Hargrave Military Academy, during Friday's game at Hargrave. After a couple of wake-up calls from Prep League teams last week, the Blue Devils finally fought tough to earn a 2-2 tie.
The Tigers opened the scoring with an early goal off a penalty kick in the 6th minute of the game from Tian Yang. About 15 minutes later they added to the scoreboard with a goal by Ben Luther.
The Blue Devils, playing with only one substitute player in the first half, did not gave up. Unfortunately, they were unable to score in the first half even though they created few good situations inside the Tigers' eighteen.
In the second half, the Blue Devils started very motivated not having anything to lose. After an injury to Lee Woo, FUMA did not have any players on the bench. But the Blue Devils didn't fail, they played for each other and their team play resulted in a goal by Jordan Norris in the 62nd minute. FUMA kept high pressure on the ball until the end of the game, and Norris eventually scored with about five minutes left to play. Norris pulled double duty for the Blue Devils --he served as the goalkeeper in the first half. The game went into overtime but neither team could find the back of the net.
Fork Union is back in action on Tuesday, September 30th at Covenant at 4 p.m.
Lindsay Nolting's Works on display in Barboursville, VA
On Sep. 28, 2008, "Great Works from Small Places: Four Fluvanna Artists" opens at the Nichols Gallery Annex in Barboursville, VA. The artwork will be on display until October 26, 2008. An opening reception for the four Fluvanna artists will be held from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. at the Gallery. Our very own artist and teacher, Lindsay Nolting, has a collection of her work at the show. We invite you to view her beautiful talent.
The rifle team competed against Fishburne Military School today, coming out on the short end of a 989-813 score. FUMA's top four shooters were Joe Edwards (239), Connor London (232), Robert Foley (171), and John O'Connor (171).
The top five improvements from last week were Thomas Regn (+56.2%), Robert Foley (+20.4%), Joe Edwards (+16.6%), Connor London (+15.4%), and Jake Smith (+13.5%).
The team will travel to Hargrave for their next match on Thursday October 2nd.
Due to heavy rain last night and rain predicted off and on for today, Friday, September 26, the middle school soccer game between Fork Union and Goochland has been cancelled.
In a mailing sent today to alumni, friends, and supporters of the school, Fork Union Military Academy announces the start of a $13.1 million capital campaign to finance the construction of a new barracks facility on campus.
The need for a new barracks facility was described in a letter from George Currin, an alumnus of the FUMA Class of 1954 and Chairman of the new Capital Campaign Committee:
"Our current barracks facilities were constructed many years ago and have seen many generations of cadets pass through their halls. After so much usage they can no longer meet our needs or our standards. We had hoped that another round of renovations might restore these structures, but after much study, our Board of Trustees has unanimously decided that a new, modern facility is the only appropriate solution.
"Perhaps some of you are living in homes built many years ago and know first-hand the high costs of maintaining the plumbing and electrical systems in older buildings. Without today's energy-efficient materials, the costs of heating and cooling those structures are very high as well. Add to these costs the desire for better security and safety features in today's schools, and the need for a modern building becomes evident."
The Academy completed a capital campaign in July, 2007 that included some fund raising for renovations of the two existing Upper School barracks buildings, Snead Hall and Memorial Hall. These renovation funds will be applied toward the $20.4 million projected cost of building the new facility, along with funds raised since 2007 during the silent phase of the new barracks capital campaign, leaving a total of $13.1 million still to be raised to complete the project.
"Now is the time to build on the momentum we've established," explains Currin. "Now is the time to keep our Academy growing to meet the needs of future cadets. I hope we can continue to count on your help as we move forward together."
More information about the Barracks Fund capital campaign can be found on the Academy's web site at http://www.forkunion.com/barracks.
Fork Union Military Academy's Honor Council has been selected for the 2008-2009 academic year, school officials announced today. The Honor Council is an important part of the school's disciplinary structure for cadets in the Upper School (grades 9 and above) and is composed of high school students, known as "cadets" within the Academy system, who have undergone a rigorous selection process.
The Honor Council's duties include upholding the integrity of the corps of cadets and enforcing the Academy's honor code ("Do not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those that do.") within the Academy's high school program. Violations of this honor code are referred to the Honor Council for action. The alleged honor violations are first brought before a review board from the Honor Council who must first decide whether the violation alleged would constitute an honor violation. If the review board finds that the violation, if true, would constitute an honor offense, the case proceeds to an Honor Court.
In an Honor Court hearing, the Honor Council determines the facts and evidence in the case and passes judgment on the guilt or innocence of the cadet accused of an honor violation. The Honor Court will review written reports, hear the testimony of the accused cadet, and receive the testimony of any witnesses in the case. Witnesses may be subject to questions from the Honor Court in addition to offering their direct testimony.
After gathering the facts and evidence in the hearing, the Honor Court reviews all the evidence and then votes on the case, determining the guilt or innocence of the accused. If the evidence is determined to be inconclusive, the case will be dismissed.
Following the Honor Court's decision on the case, the Honor Council makes an official recommendation to the Commandant's Department. This recommendation informs the Commandant and parties to the case of the Honor Council's findings. If a cadet is found guilty of an honor code violation, he is subject to dismissal.
Members of the Honor Council are nominated by the Academy's faculty. These nominations are then forwarded to the Cadet Honor Council President, Vice Presidents, and the Battalion Commander of the Corps of Cadets. These cadet officers review the cadets nominated by the faculty and choose cadets based on the number of nominations received, the demerit history of the nominee, as well as his character and overall standing in the corps of cadets. The recommendations from these cadet officers are then reviewed and finalized by members of the Academy's faculty. Members of the Honor Council can truly be said to be among the Academy's brightest and best.
Honor Council 2008-09
Anderson, Taylor
Anthony, Troy
Conley, Nathan
Davis, Isiah
Edell, Justin
Ervin, Anthony
Gudeman, Calvin
Haney, Caleb
Hayes, Patrick
Jones, Edward
LaCour, William
Quarles-Belt, Jahmeal
Wales, Bennett
Wilkinson, William
The Blue Devils lost a hard fought game to Woodberry Forest School tonight, 16-8. The Blue Devils were in total control of the first half, which was highlighted by a 12-play drive for a touchdown. Anton Bartsevich connected with Marshall Wiley on a 30 yard fade pass, which set up Alex Colin's 4-yard touchdown run. The two-point conversion was successful on a three yard run by TJ Dudley. The offense accumulated 149 yards of total offense and held on to the ball for over 15 minutes in the first half. The half ended with the Blue Devils up 8-6.
The second half was not so fortunate for the Blue Devils. The offense possessed the ball six different times and two ended in turnovers, two on punts, and a safety. During the second half, the Devils could only muster a mere 27 yards of total offense.
However, the Blue Devils defense definitely showed up once again. The FUMA defense was stellar against the run, but struggled a bit on the passing game. Woodberry Forest connected on three big pass plays, two in which ended in touchdowns. The defense was highlighted by linebackers Kara Stewart and Fernando Miranda. These guys continued to fly around the ball and made several key plays throughout the game.
Overall, FUMA turned over the ball four times to Woodberry's zero. As well, we had 40 yards in penalties. The young Blue Devils learned a few lessons on discipline and the importance of ball security. Above all, they fought extremely hard, and they are eager to get back on the practice field to make the needed adjustments for next week’s game.
Next week, the Jr. Prep football team will play at St. Christopher's School in Richmond, VA. The game is currently scheduled for Thursday, October 2, at 4pm. We thank you for your continued support! See you next week.
The Fork Union 4-Miler was run this past Saturday with over 170 runners and walkers participating. FUMA cadet Caleb Haney crossed the finish line first with a time of 23:13.91 with cadet Patrick Hayes hot on his heels at 23:14.25.
Participants came from all over the region to participate in this community event sponsored by the Fork Union Village Project.
The PG football game scheduled for Sunday, September 21, 2008, at FUMA has been canceled at the request of the opponent, Valley Forge Military Academy, due to tragic circumstances.
The Middle School soccer team dropped a pair of back-to-back games against Tandem Friends School and St. Christopher's School, 6 to 1 and 10 to 3 respectively. Despite great effort from all of the players, the team could not overcome the more experienced clubs.
Scoring goals for FUMA were Said, Suarez, Arnold, and McCormick. Coach Balhoff is very encouraged about the improvement seen in all of the players, and more so the team since the first game. Many players are playing positions that they have never been asked to play, and some players have never played soccer at all. As the team gets more experience, the coaches are confident that the team's fortunes will change.
The team next takes the field on Wednesday September 24th at Collegiate in Richmond. Then the team will look for signs of improvement as they take on Goochland Middle School at Goochland on Friday, 26th. Goochland bested the team last Wednesday, and FUMA is hungry for another chance.
Lifetouch Studios will be on campus Monday, September 29th for pictures. In the morning they will be taking photos of all cadets, including the senior photos for the yearbook. Proofs of these pictures will be mailed to all parents from Lifetouch for parents to order. Please note that senior proofs will take at least 4-6 weeks to be mailed to parents from the photo lab. Once the order is placed and returned to Lifetouch it will at least another 4 weeks to receive your portraits. All other proofs will be sent within 4 weeks and portraits will be mailed within 2-3 weeks after the order is placed.
On Monday afternoon team photos for fall sports will also be taken. Any parent wishing to purchase their son's individual sports photo and team photo should contact the allowance officer to make sure money is in their account to order these photos. Coaches of each sport will be passing out order forms to cadets prior to the day photos are taken. Lifetouch will no longer accept credit card payments for sports team photos.
Once proofs or portraits are mailed to parents, please contact Lifetouch Studios at 1-800-547-3936 if you have any questions regarding your son's pictures. Please note that photo orders are not taken at FUMA nor should the proof payments be returned to FUMA. All payments for proofs should be returned to Lifetouch once they are mailed to the parent/guardian address.
A makeup day will be scheduled later in the year for retakes or any new cadets that arrive after September 29th. This date will be posted later.
The Blue Devils jumped out to a 30 to 7 halftime lead at Hargrave and then let the reserves get playing time as they rushed for more than 300 yards last Friday evening. Louis Litkett and Nathan Lundberg both rushed for more than 100 yards as the FUMA offensive line led the way by opening huge holes to run through. The defense gave up two late touchdowns (in the last four minutes of the game). Blue Devils Rock!
In the season opener the Blue Devils faced one of the strongest teams in the state, Norfolk Academy. After putting up a good fight, they were eventually defeated 3-0. Fork Union battled back and forth with the Bulldogs' offensive line, but lost first goal in 29th minute of the game. The Blue Devils started the second half bravely and created a couple of good scoring opportunities, including shots by Justin Ives and Trace LaCour.
Fork Union plays Virginia Episcopal School on Sept. 16 at 4:30 p.m.
FUMA's juniors and seniors attended College Day held in the Estes Athletic Center as representatives from dozens of colleges and universities throughout the region set up displays, passed out information, and answered students' questions.
Our thanks to Cadet Adam Welsh for giving us this walking tour of the exhibits!
FUMA started the first game of the new season strongly taking a 2-1 lead over Goochland Middle school half way through the first half. Alas, the team's inexperience was exposed in a 3-9 final score. The team showed a lot of promise, and only needs to improve in a few key areas in order to have a successful season.
Coaches Balhoff and Butt were impressed by the play-making ability shown by Cadets Said, Suarez, Alfaro, Orvananos-Archer and McCormick, and the gritty performances of goalkeeper Boland and midfielder/defender Jacobson. Newcomers Arnold, Hammond,and Marshall also showed great potential. The coaches are looking forward to making adjustments prior to the next game, Tuesday Sept. 16th at Tandem Friends School in Charlottesville.
The Junior Prep football team won their first game of the season winning 58 to 6. The Blue Devils, TJ Dudley, took the opening play 62 yards to pay dirt (2PT Failed). Hargrave opened with two bad snaps resulting in a safety, and in a matter of one minute the Blue Devils were up 8-0.
The next offensive series was highlighted by two big runs by Sean Sandoval and a 2 yard run by Dudley for his 2nd touchdown (2PT Failed). The very next play for Hargrave resulting in an interception by Fernando Miranda. The next defensive series Dudley recovered a fumble for 14 yards and his 3rd touchdown (2PT Successful - Dudley Run). Two plays later, Marshall Wiley blitzed from the corner and caused a fumble in the back field setting up and 8 yard touchdown run by Alex Colin (2PT Successful - Dudley Run). The next offensive series was capped off a 9 yard run by Fernando Miranda (2PT Successful - Sandoval Run).
Are you starting to see where this is going? A fumbled punt by Hargrave gave the Blue Devils excellent field position once again setting up a 20 yard touchdown scamper by Martin Wiseman (2PT Failed). Hargrave went three and out and punted to Martin Wiseman who took the punt back 40 yards for his 2nd touchdown (2PT Successful - Wiseman Run). We have finally reached halftime, where the scoreboard read FUMA 52 - HMA 0!
In high school football, there is a mercy rule in place during the 2nd half of a ball game when a team is up by 35 points. At this point, the game clock runs continually. The 2nd half was highlighted by Alex Suarez's interception, which set up FUMA's last touchdown by Fernando Miranda - a 31 yard run (2PT Failed).
Enough about the offense. We cannot give the defense more accolades after shutting down Hargrave to negative total yards, 2 interceptions, 2 fumbles, 1 safety, and accounting for 8 points tonight.
FUMA rushed 25 times for 262 yards 6 TDs and 4 2PT conversions.
The Junior Prep football team plays next at Woodberry Forest School on Tuesday, September 23, 2008. We hope to see you there. Thank you for all the support you have shown thus far.
Sam Reisenfeld, former FUMA PG football player, is serving two masters at Old Dominion University. The offensive lineman not only participates in grueling football practices, he starts his days with grueling workouts as part of his Naval ROTC commitment. When forced to choose between preparing to defend his quarterback and preparing to defend his country, this freshman has no hesitation. He serves his country first.
Fork Union Military Academy will host a college day on Monday, September 15th for junior and senior cadets. There will be close to 60 college and university representatives on campus. Some of them include Alderson Broaddus, Christopher Newport, East Carolina,
GMU, Hampden-Sydney, JMU, NC Wesleyan, UVA, VCU, VMI, and VA Tech. The event will be held in the Estes Athletic Center from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. Students from other area schools will also be in attendance.
In the past it has been well attended and gives FUMA cadets a first hand look at some of the colleges they may be interested in attending following graduation.
The Postgraduate football team will not be travelling to Pittsburgh, PA to play the Blue Storm Club this week. The athletic department will try to re-schedule that game.
Tropical Storm Hanna did not put a damper on the teams that were invited to the FUMA Invitational on Saturday, September 6th. Of the 45 teams orginally entered, 19 came to Fork Union to brave the elements in this cross country meet. FUMA finished 6th as a team and the Blue Devils were led by Caleb Haney and Patrick Hayes. They both finished in the Top Ten. Special thanks goes out to all the faculty and staff who helped with the meet despite the weather conditions.
FUMA's defense came up big when they needed it. Stopping the Saints inside the FUMA 20, the offense then went the distance to take the lead on a 3 yard run by Louis Lickett. Lickett ran for 195 yards on 21 carries and scored four times including the game winner with 13 seconds left in the game. The offensive line (Bodine, Allen, Komey, Shuman and Sims) led the way opening holes for Ethan Taylor and Lickett. Next week, the Blue Devil's will travel to take on Hargrave Military Academy for another night game. (From Coach M. Hooper)
Liz Keller of the Daily Progress also provides an outstanding article in the Charlottesville paper describing FUMA's inspiring last-second win over St. Anne's-Belfield. FUMA won with a final score of 32-29 on a fourth-down running play with 11 seconds left in the game.
Staff and faculty at Fork Union Military Academy are preparing for the arrival of Tropical Storm Hanna in the coming days. Governor Timothy Kaine today declared a state of emergency in Virginia as agencies across the state have begun making ready for the coming rains and wind.
Lt. Gen. John Jackson, the Academy's President, assures parents that "The staff at FUMA are taking all precautions necessary at this time. Extra food and water supplies are in place, generators have been serviced, and we will adjust sports schedules and team travel as needed. We have dealt with similar events before, but we appreciate your concern and ask for your prayers."
Tropical Storm Hanna is expected to be upgraded to hurricane status prior to reaching the southeast U. S. coast early Saturday. The storm is expected to track northward along the I-95 corridor, weakening as it moves inland. Fork Union is located west of the storm's currently projected path, but school officials are taking no chances as they prepare for the storm.
Academy officials recall that the last hurricane to do any significant damage in the Fork Union area was Hurricane Isabel in September, 2003. That storm caused tree damage and caused losses of power to areas of the campus. Critical operations on campus such as food storage and the Infirmary have independent electric generators and FUMA's staff expect little disruption due to storm conditions. "Our cadets always rise to challenges, and this will be no different," says the Upper School Commandant, LTC Al Ivens.
VIDEO: Highlights from Prep Soccer game with Woodberry Forest
FUMA's prep soccer team played Woodberry Forest to a 1-1 tie on Sept 2, 2008 in the season opener. Here are some video highlights from the game, courtesy of Cadet Jake Hargrove.
Attention all Alumni - Alumni Directory in Progress
Fork Union Military Academy is working with Harris Connect in producing an Alumni Directory scheduled for publication in May 2009. Over the next several months, you may receive postcards, emails or phone calls from Harris Connect asking for updated contact information. Check out Alumni News & Networking to learn more about the Directory process.
Tienne Jefferson '07 wins starting quarterback role at WSSU
Tienne Jefferson, FUMA's former All-Prep quarterback from the Class of 2007, has won the starting quarterback job at Winston-Salem State University after beating out redshirt junior Jarrett Dunston. Jefferson will start at quarterback in WSSU's season opener on Saturday at North Carolina A & T.
The varsity soccer game scheduled for Thursday, September 18th has been cancelled against Benedictine High School. Another date for the match has not been scheduled.
Gideon Mabeny (FUMA '08) making a big impression at Wooster
Gideon Mabeny, a member of FUMA's Class of 2008, is making quite an impression on campus at the College of Wooster. Mabeny, who came to FUMA from the Sudan in his sophomore year, is the subject of a feature article in the local paper about Wooster's new "Dunking Dinka."
Fork Union's varsity soccer team opened its 2008 season with a tie (1-1) against Woodberry Forrest School in its first scrimmage. Woodberry scored at the beginning of the second half on a rebound from the goalkeeper, but the Blue Devils responded, and 10 minutes later midfielder Justin Ives scored from 45 yards out. The defensive line looked solid with a group of newcomers and returning players. FUMA also had a strong performance from new goalkeeper Erick Ndunguste.
Fork Union will visit Hargrave Military Academy on Friday at 4:30 p.m. in its season opener.
Special Order #1 for 2008 - Cadet Officers Announced
The Commandant's Department has just released a copy of Special Order #1 for 2008, naming the top officers of the Corps of Cadets in the Upper School at Fork Union Military Academy. Congratulations to these young men on their hard work, dedication, and achievement.
VIDEO: Coach Sullivan talks about the early season
Prep football head coach, Micky Sullivan, talks about his team's progress early in the season and discusses how the cadets are adapting to life at FUMA.
