So often the last sixty seconds of the first half are uneventful. In this case, the final minute of the first half was the difference between two offensive powerhouses and James River District archrivals.
Goochland’s Jordan Jefferson didn’t look as though he was going to try and field a Buckingham punt with 45 seconds left on the clock. But at the last possible second before the Buckingham County special teams unit arrived, he changed his mind. It was that decision, a fumble by the Knights on their ensuing possession and a Reid Chenault touchdown pass to Jayrell Myles that turned a 2-point contest into substantial lead for the Bulldogs. With both sides trading blows in the second half, it was that 42-second stretch that led Goochland to a 41-27 win.
“It seemed like the longest game ever and by the fourth quarter I couldn’t even remember what happened in the first half,” said Goochland coach Joe Fowler. “We’re blessed that the scoreboard went in our favor tonight because it could have easily gone the other way if the ball had bounced the other way.”
Before the pivotal plays at the end of the second quarter, this game saw a flurry of back and forth. Goochland scored on its opening drive when Isaiah Minor picked up a 24-yard rushing touchdown. Buckingham answered quickly though. On the next play from scrimmage, quarterback Leon Ragland broke loose for an 83-yard touchdown run of his own to make it 7-6 after a failed point after attempt. The Knights fumbled on their next possession, and that opened the door for Goochland to go up 14-6 after Jefferson took an outside run 20-yards to the endzone. Once again, Buckingham answered quickly, this time with Tariq Gough taking the ensuing kickoff 81 yards to the house. After a failed 2-point convert, the game was tight at 14-12 until Jefferson’s big play on special teams.
“The ball took a good bounce, I hesitated at first but then saw this whole swarm of black jerseys to my right and I said, ‘Oh I can get over there,’” Jefferson said. “I knew my teammates were going to make some good blocks for me. So it was just one of those things, you’re in the moment, you pick it up and you go.”
The 52-yard return for a touchdown simply lit a spark on the Bulldogs sideline. And after the Knights fumbled, Goochland looked poised for a runaway when Chenault and Miles connected on a 14-yard touchdown pass to put the game at 27-12 going into the third. But Buckingham, behind it’s two-headed rushing monster in Ragland and Gough, simply would not go away.
“We dug ourselves a big hole there at the end of the first half, but I was proud of the way our boys showed some character by coming out in the second half and making some plays,” said Buckingham coach Craig Gill.
Ragland and Gough combined to make it 27-19 late in the third with Gough punching in a 1-yard score. Jefferson answered the call and capped the next Goochland drive with a 12-yard rushing touchdown. Less than a minute later, Ragland and Gough put the Knights at the Bulldogs goalline with Ragland breaking through with a 1-yard score and then Gough converting the 2-point play to make it 34-27 with 9:23 to play.
“We could have folded tonight but we didn’t, we kept coming back,” Gill said. “But it’s a game of inches and they kept getting first downs by a couple of inches and we weren’t taking care of the ball. You can’t do that against a team this good.”
But as furious as the end of the third and beginning of the fourth was, the Knights simply could not catch up as the Bulldogs went to work on the clock and would not turnover the ball over. On a 30-yard run from Marcus Burton, Goochland was able to get the insurance touchdown it needed with 6:27 to go. And after the Bulldogs defense answered the call on fourth down, Jefferson and the rushing attack picked up a pair of first downs to melt off the rest of the clock.
On the night, Jefferson finished with 178 rushing yards on 22 caries. Minor added 73 yards on 14 carries. As a team, Goochland had 354 yards on the gound.
For Buckingham, Ragland had 186 yards on 18 carries. The junior also had an interception playing safety. Gough finished with 110 yards on 13 touches. The two combined to average 9.25 yards per carry as they rushed for 296 yards but on just 32 attempts. On defense, Hunter Edwards led the way with 15 tackles, nine on his own.
Buckingham (3-1, 0-1) will look to rebound against Randolph-Henry on the road on Friday at 7 p.m.
Goochland (4-1) travels to Central Lunenburg also on Friday at 7 p.m.
