By Liz Keller / Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor
GOOCHLAND – The defense and special teams made all the difference for Goochland in its showdown with private school power Fork Union on Friday night.
The Bulldogs blocked a pair of punts and recovered a fumble to set up consecutive scores to build a sizeable halftime lead.
From there, Goochland never looked back en route to the stunning 40-14 victory over the defending VISSA Division 1 state champions.
“I thought we had a chance, but I thought we had to be perfect to have a chance,” an elated Goochland coach Joe Fowler said after the game. “Sometimes [footballs] bounce to the right, sometimes they bounce to the left, and sometimes forward, but tonight it kept bouncing back to us. And I know that we were fortunate to have a lot of breaks go our way. But we’re not going to let that diminish the excitement right now.”
Goochland (2-0) got off to a strong start, forcing the visitors to punt on their opening drive. The Bulldogs took advantage of the short field to get on the board first as Patrick Clore made his way up the middle for a 10-yard TD run.
However, Fork Union responded on its following possession with a three-play drive highlighted by an 83-yard pass play from Christian Hackenberg to D.J. Randle El to tie the game.
Goochland clamped down defensively, and on FUMA’s following drive, blocked the punt. Andrew Gee fell on it to put the Bulldogs in great field position.
GHS wasted little time capitalizing, and Jake Martin ran in the end zone untouched from three yards out to give his team the lead.
The Bulldogs continued to apply pressure and blocked the Blue Devils’ following punt as well. Dasheem Norris picked up the loose ball to give the hosts the ball back deep in FUMA territory.
It took just two plays for Goochland to score again as Clore scored his second TD of the night on a 7-yard run. The senior carried the load on the ground, rushing for a game-high 73 yards on 14 carries.
Goochland created another opportunity minutes later after Fork Union fumbled on the first play of its next drive. Norris came up big again, recovering the ball at the 12-yard line.
Cody Johnson later punched it in from the 1-yard line as the Bulldogs extended the lead to 27-7.
“We’re going to ride [the defense] all year long. They’re so aggressive and they play so hard,” Fowler said. “We started lifting and getting in the weight room about three years ago like we never had before. And this is the first group of kids that have come through our new weight program for four years, and it’s making all the difference in the world. It’s great that we’re stronger and it makes us better players, but we so much more durable than we used to be.”
Not to be outdone, Goochland’s kicking game was equally impressive. Goochland cushioned its lead with field goals from Vanderbilt-bound senior kicker Colby Cooke from 28 and 31 yards, respectively. He and teammate Thomas Meadows, who is headed to Purdue, combined for seven touchbacks in the game. Meadows’ first punt came in the third quarter and pinned Fork Union inside the 15-yard line.
“When you score that many points and block two punts — they just literally shoved it right down our throats,” Fork Union coach Micky Sullivan said. “We had chances and we didn’t execute and then we got behind and we did not respond to adversity well. And that’s what you have to do if you have to play from behind.”
Goochland, which had success in the air in its season-opening win over Fluvanna last week, went back to its ground game against the Blue Devils, piling up 224 rushing yards as nine different players carried the ball on the night.
However, Johnson hooked up with Martin for a nifty 14-yard TD to put the icing on the cake.
Fork Union (0-2) added a late TD with another pass play from Hackenberg to Randle El (47 yards). Hackenberg threw for 225 yards and Randle El was his favorite target, as he hauled in six catches for 213 yards.
The Blue Devils visit Powhatan next Friday while the Bulldogs face another tough non-district test next Friday at Monticello, this time against a former Jefferson District foe that knocked the Bulldogs out of the Region II playoffs in 2010.
