After losing its own homecoming game to Charlottesville Sept. 25, Goochland went on the road, spoiling the homecomings of both Orange and Monticello in the following weeks. Friday night, the Bulldogs completed a trifecta of sorts, dampening Fluvanna’s homecoming festivities with a 21-7 victory over the Flucos.
“3-0 on the road,” senior running back Wille Ezell said. “We lost our homecoming so the plan was to mess up everyone else’s homecoming.”
The Bulldogs (6-1, 3-1 JD) used a dominant second half to overcome the pesky Flucos (2-5, 1-3 JD) and break a 7-7 halftime tie. Goochland’s defense — which was strong all game and especially in the second half—forced a Fluco three-and-out to start the second half and then followed it up with a 13-play, 62-yard drive — all run plays — capped off with a 4-yard touchdown run by junior running back Dustin Plummer to make it 14-7 late in the third.
“The big drive of the game probably was the opening drive of the second half when our defense got the ball back to us,” said Goochland coach Joe Fowler, noting that Fluvanna converted on third and fourth down several times in the first half.
The next drive didn’t go much better for Fluvanna, which picked up just one first down before punting again. Goochland’s next drive, however, was even more effective than the last one. The Bulldogs went 81 yards in 15 plays and seven minutes and 17 seconds, going up 21-7 when Plummer notched his second rushing touchdown — this one from five yards out — with 5:58 left in the game.
“When we got up 14-7 we tried to eat up a little bit of the clock and push the ball down the field a little bit at a time,” Fowler said. “We came out in a tight end set and got away from the two wide receiver stuff and just played smash mouth football.”
The Flucos responded by quickly marching down to the Bulldog 27-yard line on three plays, poised to make it a one-score game with about three minutes left. But following an incomplete pass on first down, the Goochland defense came up big with two consecutive sacks — two of five on the night — making it fourth-and-a-mile for Fluvanna. On fourth down, Fluco senior quarterback Ryan Foster heaved it toward the goal line but the throw went a little long for his intended receiver, and Goochland wrapped up its third consecutive win. Fowler commended defensive coordinator Dan Summitt for a solid defensive game plan that yielded a lot of yards, but only one score.
“We got them into some third-and-long situations and we put some quick kids out there and they were able to get around their linemen, who did a great job for most of the night,” Fowler said of the late-game sacks. “They were just in a tough spot.”
Added Fluvanna coach Rodney Redd: “Their defense came up with a couple key stops in the second half and that proved to be the difference in the ball game.”
The Flucos found it difficult to move the ball for much of the game, but the struggles didn’t come until late — their first drive may have been their best. After taking over at its own 20 following a Goochland punt, Fluvanna engineered a mammoth 20-play drive that ate up 9:57, finally scoring on a 1-yard plunge by sophomore running back TJ Dudley at the 8:59 mark in the second quarter. Sophomore wide receiver YaYa Anderson kickstarted the drive, hauling in four balls for 50 yards on the posession.
“[Foster and Anderson are] starting to gel right now,” Redd said. “Yaya is doing a great job of getting open and Foster is a warrior. He can hurt you with his legs or his arm.”
Both players ended up with great nights despite the loss. Foster completed 13-of-17 passes for 172 yards while Anderson caught nine passes for 120 yards.
Down 7-0, Goochland then fought back, tying it on the next drive. Ezell came up big on two plays, first on an over-the-shoulder catch for 37 yards and then on a 20-yard touchdown run around the right side where he stopped running completely, freezing a host of Flucos before jetting off again, diving into the end zone as he neared the pylon.
“It was huge for our kids to bounce back from [being down 7-0],” Fowler said. “Let’s say they go up 14-0 on us—and we’re not a quick-strike offense necessarily—it was important for our kids to bounce back offensively and then defensively.”
Fluvanna hosts Orange next week while Goochland returns home to face a formidable foe in Louisa.
“Huge game with Louisa,” Fowler said. “You know they’ll come in with a million people and the lion. Hopefully the kids won’t get distracted by all that and will remember the game is about football. A live lion can’t run out on the field for them.”
