By Liz Keller / Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor
DILLWYN – Goochland withstood a fast and furious rally from rival Buckingham with the help of some late-game heroics from an unlikely candidate on defense Friday night.
Freshman Jordan Jefferson came up with a big stop to prevent Kyree Koonce from scoring on a game-tying two-point conversion, and the Bulldogs prevailed 26-24 to stay unbeaten on the season.
The win sets up a James River District showdown with Amelia next week.
“We survived, that’s all that matters,” Goochland coach Joe Fowler said. “We’re fortunate to get a W tonight. Coach Gill’s got an unbelievable football team and our kids and their kids couldn’t have played any harder and put it any more on the line.”
The Knights broke to a strong start as Peanut Johnson raced 97 yards for the touchdown on the opening kickoff. Minutes later, Buckingham added to that lead with a 12-yard TD run from Tarian Ayers. On both scores, the extra point attempt failed, and the Knights held a 12-0 advantage early.
“[That kickoff return] was great, because the way they’ve been kicking the ball, no one’s been able to get one,” Buckingham coach Craig Gill said. “We had some good blocking, he had a big seam up the middle and that gave us all kinds of momentum and confidence.”
Goochland (9-0, 6-0 JRD) crushed that momentum as Jake Martin found a huge hole and scampered 47 yards for the score. With the PAT by Colby Cooke, the Bulldogs cut the deficit to 12-7.
The visitors took the lead on a spectacular 97-yard run up the middle by Patrick Clore, and held a 13-12 advantage at halftime.
“They were packing the box, and we felt like if we could get to the second level there’d be some long runs and we could pick up some yards and we were able to,” Fowler said. “Everyone was keying on Mitchell Brice and it gave those other kids a chance to break a couple off and Mitchell did a great job of blocking for them.”
Goochland’s line continued to pave the way in the second half and Martin was able to break away for another long TD run – 60 yards – as the Bulldogs extended their lead to 19-12 in the third.
Late in the third, Dasheem Norris intercepted Ayers’ pass to set up another score. Clore dashed 26 yards on the first play of the drive and Goochland took a commanding 26-12 lead.
However, the Knights bounced back behind the play of Ayers. The senior quarterback completed passes to Jesse Hickman and Landon Allen before running in from 1 yard out to mount Buckingham’s comeback with 4:37 remaining.
Goochland appeared poised to run out the clock, but after a pass interference and personal foul call, the Knights got the ball back with just under two minutes to play.
Ayers hooked up with Hickman for an 8-yard gain before Koonce ran in for a 6-yard TD to set up the thrilling finish.
Goochland’s victory snapped a four-game winning streak for Buckingham. Gill hopes his team can learn from its mistakes as they enter the postseason.
“The last four or five weeks we’ve done really well, but we haven’t been tested or pushed or had to come back like we did tonight,” Gill said. “It showed the true character of our team. Coach Fowler has a great program over there and we played them tougher than anybody has this year. The kids had a great attitude all week — we just came up a little short.”
Buckingham (7-2, 4-2) travels to Bluestone on Friday, while Goochland plays host to Amelia in a game that will determine the district champion.
