GOOCHLAND — Fork Union didn’t look like a team playing in its season opener as it excelled in all facets of the game en route to a dominant win over Goochland on Friday night.
The Blue Devils combined an effective ground game with an impressive air attack to secure the 38-10 win, their third in four meetings over the Bulldogs.
“Our front four — they’re pretty good,” Fork Union coach Brian Hurlocker said. “We had three scrimmages so we were a little more tuned up than we had been in the past. Our plan from the get go was to run the ball, kind of play defense with offense and do well with special teams and then play lights out defense.”
After forcing Goochland to punt on its opening drive, FUMA marched deep into the Bulldogs’ territory and came away with a field goal on its first possession. Tyler Simon converted the 27-yarder to give the visitors a 3-0 lead.
The Bulldogs’ defense came up with a big play on Fork Union’s following drive as Cannen Shell recovered a fumble. The stop led to Goochland’s only score of the first half as Sullivan Young connected on a 30-yard field goal with 11:49 left in the second quarter.
However, the rest of the quarter belonged to the Blue Devils. FUMA took a lead it would never relinquish with 3:32 to play in the first half as Chris Basso found Taurus Caroll from 11 yards out for the visitors’ first touchdown.
Fork Union (1-0) forced Goochland to go three-and-out on its next possession and took advantage of a short field. Basso again connected with Caroll for a 37-yard pass play and FUMA led 17-3 at halftime. Basso, a 6-2, 185-pound senior, finished 6 of 8 passing for 124 yards.
“[My offensive line] really held it down tonight,” Basso said. “They did a great job of blocking up front and that’s the only reason we hit those plays for big yardage. Getting those few receptions [to Caroll] really boosted my confidence which gave us the ability to pass the ball a little bit more.”
Fork Union’s opening drive of the second half spanned over eight minutes and culminated with another score — a nine-yard run by Simon. The Blue Devils wore down the Bulldogs with their run game and sprinkled in a few timely pass plays to put the game out of reach.
Adisa Gittens-Smith broke off a 57-yard touchdown run late in the quarter before Goochland reached the end zone on a one-yard run by John King. FUMA piled up 206 rushing yards, led by Iosefa Puaauli, who toted the ball 10 times for 81 yards. Gittens-Smith added 61 yards while Hunter Lewis finished with 41 yards on 13 carries.
“They’re a big, physical football team that we just didn’t match up with,” said Goochland coach Joe Fowler, whose team dropped to 0-2. “Our kids are 50 pounds lighter and four inches shorter and I’m proud of the way they battled. I don’t think we’re going to see teams the rest of our eight games that are that big and that strong, but we’ll be better for the experience. Iron sharpens iron and you’ve got to go against someone who’s really good just to see what you’re made of. Fork Union’s a great test for us.”
Wyatt Smith led the Goochland offense with 66 yards on eight carries and Marcus Burton tallied 22 yards on five attempts.
The last time Goochland had two losses early in the season was 2012, the same year it captured the state title.
Fork Union plays host to Georgetown Prep on Saturday while Goochland entertains Amelia Friday night.
