By Liz Keller / Scrimmageplay.com correspondent
GOOCHLAND — In a game featuring two teams with high-powered offenses, it came as no surprise that the outcome of Friday night’s game between Orange County and Goochland came down to the wire.
In fact, the Jefferson District teams needed three overtimes to determine the winner and in the end, it was the visiting Hornets who prevailed, rallying past the Bulldogs in a thriller.
Tyrone Ellis rushed for the final touchdown and Amir Waller provided the late heroics as he ran in for the two-point conversion and Orange squeezed past Goochland, 57-56.
It was fun, a little nerve-racking, but it was fun for the kids,” Orange County coach John Kayajanian said. “I was going to go for the win in regulation. The kids worked too hard to not take a shot.”
The Hornets clawed their way back from a 28-6 halftime deficit, scoring on three consecutive drives in the second half to cut the lead to 28-25. Cameron Hughes fired touchdown passes to Tyler Seal (45 yards) and Waller (13 yards), then Isiah Ferguson found his way into the end zone from eight yards out as Orange mounted the fast and furious comeback.
“They’re a well-oiled machine offensively. We made all kinds of adjustments at halftime so we could slow them down and I think at times it worked,” Kayajanian added. “I knew we couldn’t stop them, but we had to slow them down enough for us to get back in the game.”
Goochland got back on the scoreboard, though, extending its lead after a 12-yard touchdown run from Ryan Coles.
But the visitors were just getting the highlight reel started. Freshman Isiah Ferguson immediately ripped off an electrifying 99-yard kickoff return to pull the Hornets within three points with 6:38 to play. It was Ferguson’s second kick return for a score in as many weeks.
Orange (3-2, 2-0 JD) forced Goochland to go three-and-out on its next drive and it appeared the Bulldogs would get the ball back with 3:21 remaining as the Hornets were faced with fourth and 11. But Hughes found Seal over the middle for a 20-yard gain to keep Orange moving down the field. The senior quarterback was effective all night, finishing 18-for-26 passing for 224 yards. Hughes found six different receivers in the game, but his favorite targets, as usual, were Seal and Waller, who made several dazzling catches and finished with 111 and 110 yards receiving, respectively.
Waller made a big catch with under a minute to play, getting the Hornets to the 2-yard line to set up an eventual field goal. Hunter Ferguson connected on a 23-yard field goal to send the game into overtime.
“We knew they were very athletic, and they got those athletes in the right spots in the second half and were able to exploit some things,” Goochland coach Joe Fowler said. “Amir Waller is just an amazing athlete and we just don’t have anybody on our team who is as fast as he is or who can jump as high as he can. The quarterback looked like Dan Marino back there tonight — he just picked us apart.”
In overtime, Goochland scored first on an 8-yard run by Dustin Plummer, who played in his second game after suffering a back injury. Orange answered, as Waller reached the end zone with a 4-yard run. Ellis (21 carries for 94 yards) added a score before Goochland tied it with another Plummer TD. McKenna followed suit with a 10-yard touchdown run as the Bulldogs took a 56-49 lead.
But Ellis’ next TD and the conversion from Waller sealed the win for Orange, who stayed unbeaten in district play with critical wins over Monticello and now Goochland.
“We just all came together as a team, we knew what we had to do,” Waller said. “We got that final push and we got in the end zone. It means a lot – we’ve get a lot of momentum going into Louisa next week.”
Nearly overshadowed was a dominant rushing performance from McKenna, who amassed 272 yards on 26 carries and three touchdowns, including an impressive 90-yard TD run in the first quarter. Meanwhile, Plummer got back to his old ways, finishing with 118 yards rushing on 13 carries.
Goochland (3-2, 1-1) plays host to Monticello next Friday, while Orange County will entertain Louisa County in a district showdown.
