It was the tale of two opposing forces with distinct differences.  One was a slick and sleek Lamborghini speeding down the highway.  The other was a grind it out Chevy suburban.  The Lamborghini had its moments but the Chevy eventually won out as The Goochland Bulldogs (9-1, 6-1) knocked off previously undefeated Western Albemarle (9-1, 6-1) 23-0 last Friday. The Warriors came into the contest ranked No. 6 in the Group AA poll but the victory allowed Goochland to claim a share of the Jefferson District title. 

  Goochland, who made the jump to AA football in the Jefferson District this year, overcame early turnovers and eventually took control of the game.  The Bulldogs got their first points on a safety after, to the chagrin of the capacity home crowd, they fumbled the ball away twice on their first two possessions.

  “When we fumbled the kickoff and then we fumbled the ball on the one I was like, ‘Here we go’,” said Goochland head coach Joe Fowler. “But the defense made a great play and stopped them.  We were able to get into half time without shooting ourselves in the foot anymore.  And then we came out the second half and was able to push the ball down the field a little bit.”

  Goochland pushed the ball down the field the entire game via of their four-headed rushing attack.  The power game came from Desmond Athey (14 carries for 91 yards) and David McKenna (14 carries for 84 yards).  They helped the Bulldogs control clock and dominate the time of possession. 

  “We call them the clock-killers,” Fowler said. “We start feeding them the ball and we just eat up some clock.”

  Fowler came into the contest with the plan of testing Albemarle’s defensive line via his rushing attack. “We said all week we didn’t know if anyone had lined up and hit them in the mouth,” he said. “We are smash mouth.  That is what we do.  We made a conscience effort that we were going to run right at them.  We thought that was our strength and it might be their weakness.”

  While Athey and McKenna did all the heavy inside lifting, the other half of the attack did the outside running and scored the touchdowns.  Wing back Dustin Plumber (13 carries for 48 yards, 1 TD) was stopped for most of the game but scored a 13-yard touchdown for Goochland’s final score. 

  However, it was other wingback, senior Willie Ezell, who broke the game open in the third quarter.  With Goochland only up 2-0, Ezell broke to the short side of the field, tip-toed the right side line and scurried 81 yards for a touchdown.

  “I wanted to win and my team wanted to win,” said Ezell, who finished with 129 yards rushing on just eight carries. “Big plays in big games, I had to make a play and make people miss.  I had to do what I had to do and get down there.  I was so proud of our offensive line.  It was the best game they ever had.”

  No one, including Coach Fowler thought the defense would shut out Western Albemarle’s vaunted passing offense.  The defense picked off Warriors’ quarterback Stephen Schuler three times. 

  And while Ezell broke the game open it was linebacker B. J. Clark who provided the back-breaker by picking off a Schuler pass and racing 84 yards for a touchdown.

  “Heck they scored nine points on their own,” Fowler said of his defense. “Coach Summitt just got him in the right spot and B. J. just made a great play.  Just amazing.  Dan Summitt our defensive coordinator all night long and all year long has dialed our kids in.  That’s what it comes down to on Friday nights.  The kids making plays.  Tonight they came through.”

  The task ahead for the Bulldogs is very simple according to the players.  When Ezell and defensive back Brandon Henry were asked what’s next they had only one answer.  The state championships.  People have doubted them including some in their own school. “We know what we can do so we just had to show them,” said Henry, who finished the game with two interceptions. “They got to believe it now.  If they don’t then, ‘Oh well’.  The States is all we want now.  The team we have this year I feel can go anywhere.”

  Goochland moved to No. 9 in both this week’s TD Top-10 High School Poll and the Virginia Group AA Poll. The Bulldogs will host Millbrook (5-5) this Friday at 7:30 in their regional opener. A win would most likely take the Bulldogs to Handley High School in Winchester, Va. to face a Judges team that is currently undefeated and ranked No. 5 in the state.

Western Albemarle ..................0 0 0 0 —  0
Goochland…............................ 2 0 14 7 — 23
G—Safety (Jordan tackled Davis in end zone)
G—Ezell 81 run (Cooke kick)
G—Clark 84 interception return (Cooke kick)
G—Plummer 13 run (Cooke kick)
RUSHING:  Western Albemarle — Schyuler 8 carries, 39 yards, Davis 2-3, Diehl 2-3. Goochland — Ezell 8-129, Athey 14-91, McKenna 14-84, Plummer 13-48, Henley 6-22, Clark 1-minus 6.
PASSING:  Western Albemarle — Schuler 10 completions, 27 attempts, 3 interceptions, 125 yards. Goochland — Henley 0-4-1-0.
RECEIVING:  Western Albemarle — Ward 5 receptions, 51 yards, Losco 3-46, Kuzjak 2-28.