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Region 2A championship, No. 3 Poquoson (10-2) at No. 1 Goochland (12-0) at Fluvanna County, 7 p.m.

The basics: It’s a rematch from last year’s Region 2A championship, one that the Islanders won 21-10 last year. Poquoson wound up falling to Lee in double overtime the next week, the latter of whom fell to Appomattox that allowed the Raiders to take home a third-straight state title. Those Raiders still linger but the winner of this game won’t see them unless it’s the state title game. We’re down to the elite eight. No. 1 Radford plays No. 1 Appomattox, No. 5 Richlands plays No. 3 Graham and No. 1 East Rockingham plays No. 2 Central Woodstock in the other Region final. The winner of this game at Fluvanna gets either East Rock or Central. Poquoson got here by taking down No. 2 Amelia 24-14. Goochland handled No. 4 King William 21-0. So what makes this game different from last year? Just a little bit of roster turnover. These are a pair of Bulldog and Islander defenses that are just stingy. In cold weather, expect them to set the tone. It’s Wing-T on Wing-T offensively.

Key matchup: Goochland’s linebacking corps takes on Poquoson running back Colten Hicks. The Islanders’ back is familiar. He’s got 1,117 yards from scrimmage with 16 total touchdowns and 869 and 14 of those in the rushing game. It’s no secret what’s going on here. The Islanders are going to count on a solid offensive line and Hicks to be the bell cow. It’s up to Goochland’s Sam Brooks, Kindrick Braxton and Justin Woodson to find a way to keep Hicks to short gains and nothing more. Goochland is fortunate that the line up front with Jacob Massey, Khalil Holman and Jamal Carter are really good at getting in the backfield. That should allow the linebacking corps to fly to the ball, to fill the gaps. This is going to be Goochland’s toughest test since they faced Amelia to close out the regular season. They fought through a weird game in that one. This shouldn’t be weird but rather just two likeminded units mashing into each other. Hicks is the focal point of the the attack on both sides.

 

Who to watch: Goochland receiver/running back Perry Snead-Johnson. While quarterback Devin McCray dictates the flow of this offense, and Quincy Snead and Connor Popielarz are going to get plenty of touches, it will be the jet sweeps from Snead-Johnson and the throws that McCray makes to his most reliable target that likely provide the biggest game breaking moments when Goochland isn’t on the grind. If McCray and Snead-Johnson can connect, this defense can get the job done on the other side of the ball. The Bulldogs play really tough with a lead. It’s just a matter of getting it.


The line: Goochland by 1. For a team that’s a little more athletic than physical, getting to play on the field turf is huge here. Look for Bulldogs coach Alex Fruth to be creative in a game where he probably has to be to get more than a pair of touchdowns against another state championship level defense here. Fruth has the options here starting with McCray to do just that.

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