Bulldogs roll past Mustangs

Just about every team in the Jefferson District, it seems, scheduled Goochland for homecoming when the Bulldogs moved from Group A to Group AA this season.

Perhaps these teams in the JD will pick a new homecoming opponent for next season.

After defeating Orange last week at its Homecoming game a week ago, Goochland (5-1, 2-1 JD) did the same Friday evening to Monticello (2-4, 1-3), running for a whopping 313 first-half yards en route to a stunning 59-34 victory.

The only homecoming game that Goochland has lost this season, oddly enough, was its own. The Bulldogs fell to Charlottesville in their JD debut 23-6 two weeks ago. Next week, they have a chance to spoil their opponent’s homecoming for the third consecutive week at Fluvanna County, who is just 1-2 in the JD.

“At homecoming against Charlottesville, there were so many distractions going on,” Goochland coach Joe Fowler said. “We said, ‘You know what? Now we have to go play at three other Homecomings, and those kids are gonna face those same distractions.‘”

As Monticello went into its Homecoming celebration at halftime,running back C.J. Page had run for 155 yards, surpassing his career high for an entire game. The Mustangs, though, had already given up 312 running yards, 207 of them to Goochland running back Dustin Plummer as Monticello trailed 39-13 at the half.

Plummer’s first four carries went for 202 yards, and his 225 yards at game’s end were a career high.

“He’s got the best vision of any running back I’ve ever seen,” Fowler said. “We’re right behind him on the sidelines, and we can see the hole, but all of a sudden out of nowhere he’s through it.”

In the midst of an overall dismal performance by the Mustangs, Page set his new career rushing best at 193 yards.

The first play from scrimmage encapsulated a first half of frustration for the Monticello defense. Goochland ran a counter play to the right side for Plummer, who went 73 yards untouched to the end zone just 21 seconds into the first quarter.

“We were at the point of attack sometimes,” Monticello coach Brud Bicknell said, “but sometimes we just didn’t have anybody there.”

The offense for Monticello was equally poor to start the game. After Page picked up three yards on first down, the Mustangs were fortunate to go three-and-out as quarterback Garrett Mullaney had his next two passes nearly picked off.

Mullaney, who only recently became Monticello’s full-time quarterback, completed just 1 of 8 passes for 1 yard, with two interceptions. Though punter Kevin Archer sent a 59-yard punt to the Goochland 19-yard line on the next play, the Bulldogs would easily roll to the end zone with every play coming on the ground from a host of tailbacks, capped by an 11-yard TD by running back Desmond Athey.

Page, though, would lead Monticello back into the game – at least for a short while. On Monticello’s next play from scrimmage, Page ran off-tackle to the left and went 72 yards to the end zone.

Goochland then drove another 80 yards on its next drive for to push the lead to 21-6, but Monticello again answered. After a big kick return by E.J. Johnson placed Monticello at the Bulldog 28 yard-line, the Mustangs again put the ball in Page’s hands. Following a 13-yard gain to the right side, Page powered six yards to the end zone to keep the Mustangs involved.

Goochland, though, would convert another 80-yard drive for a TD, and add a two-point conversion to go up 29-13. And this time, the Mustangs wouldn’t respond - instead they shot themselves in the foot.

Behind Page and a pass interference call, Monticello drove to the Goochland 8-yard line. On second down, though, a high snap sailed over Mullaney’s head, and was finally recovered by Monticello for a 24-yard loss.

“We have faith in our snapper,” Bicknell said. “For whatever reason, it was the one bad ball.”

Then, two plays later, Mullaney’s screen pass on 4th & 23 was picked off by linebacker Willie Ezell, and taken 65 yards to the end zone.

“We had a feeling they might run the screen right there,” Fowler said. “[An assistant coach] said, ‘Watch the screen, watch the screen!’ and sure enough, they ran it.”

“It ended up being a 14-point swing,” Bicknell said. “I think we’re still in the game at that point.”

That sequence sealed Monticello’s fate. Goochland added a first-half field goal and two second-half touchdowns to push the score to 53-13 before Monticello’s offense became productive. Both of those touchdowns came on rare passing plays from Goochland quarterback Matthew Henley, who completed all six of his passing attempts for 102 yards.

With the score 53-27 in the fourth quarter, a kick return for a TD by Goochland on a reverse to Austin Chenault added insult to injury, though Fowler said that the play was “cooked up” by his players, and that he did not mean to run up the score.

“We’re not out here to run the score up on anybody,” Fowler said. “That’s not how we play.”

Goochland ended with 340 yards rushing, which wound up being less than Monticello’s 412 yards on the ground. In addition to Page’s production, Monticello running back Jesse Ayers became the third rusher to reach triple-digit yards, powering for 119 yards on 15 carries, while fullback Nate Valadez rumbled for 51 yards and two touchdowns. The majority of the Mustangs’ offensive production, though, came with the outcome no longer in doubt.

For Monticello, last night’s game was the lowest point of a season that was already in a tailspin. But, Fowler said he was proud that his team “hung in there” against Goochland, and he is passing along the same message for the rest of the season.

“I think that we still have an opportunity to get better and compete,” Bicknell said. “That’s what our goal’s gonna be.”

Goochland, meanwhile, has certainly shown that it belongs in the JD. The Bulldogs’ winning ways had Fowler wondering what it would be like if the move from Division 2 to Division 3 hadn’t been made.

“We feel like if we were a single-A team right now, maybe we could be a state contender in Division 2,” Fowler said. “Who knows? Maybe we could be a state contender in Division 3.”

As Goochland looks to spoil another Homecoming at Fluvanna, Monticello will face unbeaten Western Albemarle.