By Liz Keller / Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor
GOOCHLAND – The season-opening loss to Hermitage appears to be well behind Fork Union as the Blue Devils have reeled off two straight wins – the latest of which came against Goochland on Friday night.
Quarterback Christian Hackenberg threw for two touchdowns and ran for another to help the visitors gain a sizeable lead it never relinquished and FUMA prevailed for the 28-10 victory.
Fork Union’s defense also came up big as it shut down the Bulldogs’ explosive running game for much of the night. The Blue Devils scored three times off turnovers, including a 40-yard interception return by Tyron McDade to get things rolling in the first quarter.
Goochland failed to convert on a fourth-and-three attempt in the second quarter, and FUMA took advantage. The Blue Devils used a 7-play, 66-yard drive, capped by a three-yard run by Hackenberg. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound senior powered the drive with three completions to Roma Michael for 42 yards. Dylan McCormick converted his second point-after attempt to give Fork Union a 14-0 advantage.
“It was just a broken play and I tried to make something happen so I guess I did,” said Hackenberg of the TD. “I think we executed pretty well. There’s a few plays in my mind that I feel like we can improve on my part and as a whole, but overall I think it was a good win and we kept the momentum rolling going into Powhatan.”
Fork Union’s defense thwarted the 2011 Group A, Division 2 finalists on their following possession. Austin Stone and Dondre Wright sacked quarterback Jordan Jefferson for a loss of six as FUMA forced Goochland to go three-and-out.
With a short field, the Blue Devils capitalized on the opportunity, taking two plays to reach the end zone again. After a 12-yard gain from Jeremy Bell, Hackenberg connected again with Michael, this time for a 10-yard TD play. The PAT by McCormick gave FUMA a 21-0 lead. Bell finished with a game-high 88 yards rushing on nine carries.
In the third quarter, Javier Moreno’s punt pinned the visitors inside the 5-yard line. Goochland’s defense clamped down, as a host of players, led by Nathan Adams and Scott Pearce, brought Bell down in the end zone for a safety.
“I’m so proud of the effort our kids gave in the second half,” Goochland coach Joe Fowler said. “They could have rolled over, started pointing fingers, could have quit. But instead they stuck together, they went out to try to win the second half, and I thought we did. We went toe-to-toe with a very good football team in the second half.”
Late in the third quarter, Goochland fumbled and Fork Union recovered the loose ball. The Blue Devils wasted little time, using a four-play drive to score again. Hackenberg, a Penn State commit, hooked up with Chrystian Brown on a nifty 24-yard pass play to give FUMA a comfortable lead.
“They gave us some things on the bubble screens and Christian took care of them,” veteran Fork Union coach Micky Sullivan said. “Defensively I think we played really well in the second half and on that last touchdown, Christian Hackenberg made a nice throw, but Chrystian Brown made a great adjustment on a ball that put the game out of reach.”
Hackenberg finished 6-of-11 passing for 81 yards, connecting with Michael for a game-high 52 yards on four receptions.
“Those guys [receivers] are starting to get confidence in me and I’m starting to get confidence in them and that’s just something that is different at Fork Union,” Hackenberg said. “We can’t really develop that like other schools do throughout the summer. I think we’re starting to catch on and we have something to build off of.”
Goochland used a methodical, 13-play drive to make its way down field late in the game, and Jefferson scored on a 5-yard keeper to provide the final margin. The Bulldogs found success in the middle with their fullbacks, Nathan Mattox and David Dyer, who accounted for 132 rushing yards.
Fowler said the loss should help his team when it faces other tough opponents.
“You don’t know how you’re going to react until you’ve been in a fight, and we’ve been in a fight now,” Fowler said. “It might be next week or it might be 10 weeks from now but tonight was good for us. We would have loved to have won this game, but when a public school plays a private school it doesn’t affect our playoff points whatsoever. So we had nothing to lose tonight.”
Both teams will get tests on Friday from Jefferson District squads. Fork Union travels to Powhatan, the defending district champion, while Goochland entertains Monticello.
