By Liz Keller/Scrimmageplay.com correspondent
GOOCHLAND — Coming off a loss to unbeaten Louisa County last week, Goochland snapped back into form on Friday night against William Monroe.
The Bulldogs ran the football with ease as they rode a solid first half to a Jefferson District victory over the Greene Dragons on senior night.
The trio of David McKenna, Ryan Coles and Dustin Plummer racked up 308 yards on the ground en route to the 37-21 win.
“We didn’t play well at times. We did some good things on offense and defense and we made some mistakes on offense and defense as well as special teams,” Goochland coach Joe Fowler said. “It gives us something to work on for next week.”
Goochland, which sported black uniforms with bright pink numbers on its “Tackle for the Cure” night in support of breast cancer awareness, got off to a strong start.
The Bulldogs (5-4, 3-3 Jefferson) took just five plays to score on the opening drive, as Plummer reached the end zone on a nifty 66-yard jaunt. Goochland forced William Monroe to punt on its first possession and then marched down the short field, settling for a 22-yard field goal from Colby Cooke.
The Bulldogs continued to build their lead and took to the air in the second quarter.
Cody Johnson, who replaced Ryan Crouch (out with a concussion) at quarterback, hooked up with a wide-open Plummer from 19 yards out as Goochland broke to a 16-0 advantage.
The home team also got a spark from its special teams, as Mason Engel followed a big block from Lee McLaughlin and ripped off a 60-yard punt return for a TD.
Goochland, which led 23-7 at halftime, tacked on two second-half touchdowns to put the game out of reach.
McKenna, who racked up a game-high 154 yards on 19 carries, scored on a 26-yard sprint. The senior eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark on the season in the win. Coles, who finished with 84 yards rushing, added a 19-yard TD before the visitors scored a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to cut into the deficit.
“That’s a well-oiled machine that we were playing today, and we know that. But I was very proud of our kids because we’ve had issues the past couple of weeks,” William Monroe coach Mark Sanford said. “We benched four starters, so we were not at full strength. But the guys that were playing stepped up and did a great job. I was very proud of our team for fighting up until the end against a very, very good football team.”
The Greene Dragons (1-3, 3-5) got a big performance on both sides of the ball from Logan Forloines, who returned from a knee injury. Forloines blocked a punt and point after attempt, was in on a number of tackles, and had an electrifying 55-yard TD run. Forloines finished with 75 yards on the ground, all of which came in the second half.
“Tonight he came back and he was hungry,” Sanford said of Forloines. “Our plan was to ease him in for a series or two on defense and he begged us to let him run the ball. He looked like he was running fine with no hesitation. He played superb.”
Monroe quarterback Mitchell Morris was also effective, as he hooked up with Zach Duprey a few minutes after Forloine’s jaunt for a 10-yard TD pass. Morris, a senior, threw for 120 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The Dragons play host to Monticello next Friday, while Goochland travels to Western Albemarle in its regular-season finale.
