Wilson Memorial’s offensive system is an acquired taste. Saturday in the Group A, Division 2 semifinals against Goochland, the Hornets were facing off against a connoisseur in Bulldogs head coach Joe Fowler, a dedicated Wing-T disciple.
“The whole time I’m watching I’m thinking wow, this is awesome I just hope we stop them one time,” Fowler said. “I love watching the way those guys play because it’s my thing. This year we’re a little bit more on the edge but I love the grind it out game.”
The Hornets run a packed-in version of a double wingback, double tight end offense that includes shortened splits between each offensive lineman. While most offensive lines line up with at least two or three feet between each player, Wilson has what appears to be a foot. That style essentially turns the offensive line into a wedge — a five-man human snowplow. It’s a brutal system to play defense against because it’s a system intended, quite simply, to wear you down. The game’s one-on-one matchups are like knife fights in a phone booth — there’s just no room to operate.
That’s when you need a special weapon. Not the typical weapons a coach wants in a defense like marauding linebackers and rangy, playmaking safeties, though they don’t hurt. Against a system like Wilson’s, Goochland needed a battering ram. A wedge buster.
The Bulldogs needed Scotty Pearce. Five-foot-nine, 190-pound Scott Pearce.
In Goochland’s 3-5-3 defense, Pearce is the middle linebacker, but he’s certainly not the most heralded of the group. Goochland has Region B player of the year Jess McLaughlin. There’s also two-way star Nathan Adams, a collegiate prospect who has been a force throughout the year, occasionally taking away an entire side of the field as teams refused to run at him.
But it was Pearce, who has been solid all season, who seemed to spearhead the attack Saturday. The junior, who was an honorable mention All-JRD pick, moved forward as a down lineman on a big chunk of plays and from either spot — at linebacker or with his hand on the ground — spent the entire game smashing into and punishing Wilson linemen while working toward Memorial’s two talented ball carriers, Connery Swift and Malik Rucks.
“They’ve got some big linemen but we were very prepared for it,” Pearce said. “We were ready. We just had to shoot our gaps and man up on them because they were stronger than us. But we got them at the point of attack.”
Pearce was up the task. He had five tackles and he was a big reason that Adams had 10 stops as Pearce absorbed linemen and freed up his teammates. Pearce’s fierce play helped open up small cracks in the Wilson front as he relentlessly attacked the Hornets.
“He’s getting faster as the season goes on, I swear he is,” Fowler said. “He runs as well as anybody.”
His versatility and willingness to handle the dirty jobs like trying to disrupt Memorial’s line is a huge asset for Goochland’s defense.
“We’ve just got physical kids,” Fowler said. “It’s the stuff we did in February and March and April in the weight room. We were kind of able to meet them at the point of attack with our linebackers.”
Goochland didn’t break down on Saturday like the Memorial offense usually forces teams to — the Bulldogs got better as the game wore on. Wilson marched 80 yards on 22 plays over a span of 12 minutes and eight seconds on its first drive and punched the ball in for a touchdown. It was methodical and painstaking. At times it seemed like it would never end. But the Bulldogs face a potent, power-oriented offense every day in practice, so they didn’t get rattled.
While Wilson scored again in the first half, after the break the Bulldogs got down to business. Goochland forced two punts, picked up an interception and forced a turnover on downs, ending four of the Hornets’ five second half drives. It was a terrific effort considering Wilson’s explosiveness on offense all year — the Hornets came into the semifinal averaging more than 37 points per game. It proved that no matter what the challenge is that’s laid out in front of the Goochland defense, the Bulldogs are up to the task.
Now Goochland has one more test on the docket. Gretna, Saturday at 4:30 in Salem.
Expect all 190 pounds of Pearce and the rest of the Bulldogs to be ready.
