When Albemarle’s football team saw a trip to Goochland on their schedule, they knew they were in for a tough fight. The Bulldogs shut them out in their meeting in the spring football season and that game was still on their minds when they headed down I-64 Friday night.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game, they have a great program and some great players, but we just relied on ourselves and being tough and physical,” said Albemarle coach Brandon Isaiah. “They came down last year and gave it to us at our place, so the kids were excited to come play a good football game against a great team on the road.”
The Patriots came out this time and pitched a shutout of their own, taking the game on the road 21-0.
The first half set a physical tone. It was a tough battle with both teams keeping each other off the scoreboard.
Defense and turnovers were the name of the game in the first half, with Derek Pierce picking off Albemarle quarterback Amaje Parker’s first pass of the night. And that wasn’t the only turnover for the Bulldog defense in the half, as they also recovered a fumble near their own goaline thanks to Omarion Quarles.
But the Patriot defense stayed strong, keeping the Bulldogs off the board and forcing C.J. Towles to fumble on Goochland’s final drive of the half. And while the offense did have a couple chances, they couldn’t find a way to finish their drives.
“We already knew it was going to be a dogfight, we came to play hard and work as a team, play strong and we were able to get the win,” said TaeVeon Wilson for Albemarle.
At the break, the Bulldogs lost Towles for the remainder of the game to a shoulder injury, and in the third quarter, the Patriots started to break through on offense in a big way. With 6:37 left in the third, Parker led the Patriots on a drive that he capped off with a 17-yard touchdown run to get his team on the board first with a 7-0 lead.
Then after the defense came out and forced two straight three-and-outs, the Patriots’ offense struck again with Parker finding Wilson for the 15-yard score to make it a 14-0 game. Parker ended up going 9-for-18 through the air for 145 yards, two scores and a pick in the air and had 12 carries for 52 yards and a score on the ground. Wilson ended up with the one touchdown reception, and also came up with a pick on the next Bulldog drive.
After Wilson’s pick, Parker rolled out to his right and launched a deep ball to Noah Grevious for a 48-yard touchdown pass to give the Patriots a 21-0 lead with 10:09 left to play in the game. A few more punts and one last pick by Malik Washington, and the shutout was complete.
Another key offensive contributor for the Patriots was Eb McCarthy, who had 19 carries for 121 yards. Towles delivered the key offensive performance for Goochland with 13 carries for 80 yards on the ground in the first half. Jason Woodson was the leading receiver for the Bulldogs with four catches for 30 yards.
The Bulldogs will look to rebound traveling to Orange next week, while the Patriots will look to continue their winning ways with a huge matchup as they host Louisa County in a game with big-time playoff implications for both squads.
