When Goochland’s Scott Carter raced in on the opening kickoff from 80 yards out, it looked at least briefly like it might be an easy night for the Bulldogs.
As College Gameday’s Lee Corso is fond of saying, not so fast.
The Bulldogs found themselves in a battle against Randolph-Henry Friday night and Goochland was up to the task, pulling away to a 49-28 victory as the Bulldogs’ defense shut out the Statesmen in the second half.
Part of the issue was Randolph-Henry’s UVa commitment Joe Reed, a speedy dual-threat quarterback who answered Carter’s touchdown with an 80-yard scoring sprint on the Statesmen’s first play from scrimmage.
The see-saw battle in the first half didn’t stop there, with Cordell Mattox scoring off a Reid Chenault pass and Marcus Burton racing in from 42 yards out to push Goochland to a 21-6 advantage. Then the Statesmen scored three touchdowns in the second quarter while Daric Clarke scored from a yard out for Goochland. Reed, who’s committed to UVa as a wideout, threw for one of those Randolph-Henry scores and ran for another. At the break, it was 28-28.
In the second half though it was all Goochland as the defense clamped down and the offense closed the door. Clarke scored from five yards out in the third quarter to make it 34-28 Bulldogs. Marcus Burton sprinted in for a 27-yard score and Wyatt Smith scored from a yard out.
On the night, Martin finished with 111 yards on 18 carries while Burton had 74 yards on six touches. Smith went for 78 yards on 13 carries and Clarke finished with 49 yards and two scores on eight chances.
Chenault threw for 102 yards on 6-for-12 passing. Mattox had three catches for 52 yards.
The Bulldogs finished with 441 yards of total offense, with 339 of it on the ground.
Randolph-Henry’s Reed finished with 172 yards on 23 carries and threw for 94 yards on 10-for-20 passing.
Goochland (3-2) travels to take on Prince Edward Friday at 7 p.m.
