Goochland’s David McKenna didn’t ask coach Joe Fowler really — it certainly wasn’t constructed as a request. It was much more of a command.
“I was just like ‘Fowler, give me the ball,’” McKenna said of the moments before Goochland’s final offensive drive. “I told him to put me in and give me the ball, I want to win this game.”
Fowler did exactly that and McKenna carried the Bulldogs downfield, toting the ball 67 yards on eight carries in the final nine plays of the drive including a one-yard plunge for a touchdown that put Goochland within a point. Fowler then made the call to go for two points and the win in the regular season finale.
Dustin Plummer raced in, gave Goochland an 18-17 advantage and the Bulldogs’ defense held on the ensuing possession to preserve the victory.
It was McKenna’s tough running on those up-the-middle dives throughout that drive that set up the two-point, with a quick fake to McKenna collapsing the outside of the Western defense and opening it up wide for Plummer who raced out ahead of his pulling guard when he saw the edge wide open, whipping the Goochland sideline and crowd into a frenzy.
“When (McKenna) went up the middle, that outside linebacker bit right in and that left it wide open,” Plummer said.
McKenna finished with 184 yards on 23 carries while Plummer had nine touches for 51 yards. He also had a 38-yard touchdown in the first quarter to put Goochland up 7-0. The Bulldogs didn’t complete a pass on the night, relying, as usual almost solely on their run game to move the ball forward. That left the pressure squarely on the offensive line, a group that asserted itself in a big way on the final drive.
“I love running behind those guys, they picked me up, gave me a bunch of first down carries,” McKenna said.
After McKenna’s first touchdown, Western’s Abbott Wallenborn created two touchdowns, scoring from 13 yards out on the ground in the opening frame and hitting Jake Nidiffer for a 10-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Those scores gigave Western a 14-7 advantage at halftime. The Warriors pushed that lead to 17-10 on a 37-yard field goal from Pete Barber. Colby Cooke also knocked home a field goal for Goochland before Barber’s kick.
That set the stage for the Bulldogs’ march. In fact, Wallenborn’s production and explosiveness appears to have been as important a reason for the Bulldogs to go for two and the win as Goochland’s own momentum was.
“We had the momentum and I was worried if we got into an overtime battle with Western—I don’t know if we could’ve stopped Wallenborn within 10 yards,” Fowler said. “It would have been tough for us to stop him going back-and-forth.”
Wallenborn finished with 108 yards on 21 carries. He also threw for 182 yards on 16-for-24 passing, including a 9-for-12 first half.
Adam Diehl chipped in for 42 yards on 12 carries at tailback for the Warriors.
Both teams qualified for the Region II, Division 3 playoffs, with Western traveling north to take on Handley and Goochland getting a rematch with Monticello.
