Goochland handles Fluvanna

PALMYRA — After absorbing Goochland’s Wing-T clinic in the first half, Fluvanna County threw one counterpunch — a 17-play, 72-yard, six-minute drive to open the second half.

It was the last blow the Flucos landed as Goochland rolled to a 33-7 victory.

“They just lined up and whopped us up front on both sides of the ball,” said Fluvanna coach Joel Gray. “They got on their blocks and stayed on them, and I’m not sure we stayed on ours.”

Goochland (1-2) had one negative rushing play all night and three incompletions in the passing game — everything else went for positive yards. The Bulldogs piled up 344 yards on 46 touches, averaging 7.5 yards per carry.

“For the first time in a long time we were able to execute on offense,” Goochland coach Joe Fowler said. “We don’t have any real stud guys but we have six or seven really good guys, and we feel confident giving any of them the ball.”

The Bulldogs spread the wealth all night, with five players rushing for more than 40 yards. Dustin Plummer led the way with 59 yards on six carries, including a pair of 8-yard touchdown runs. Eli Drinkard rushed for 57 yards on 11 carries and a touchdown. M.J. Cox chipped in with 51 yards on eight carries.

Goochland even got a little bit of a passing game going with Tyler Carter going 3 for 6 for 66 yards, which is an awful lot more yards than the Bulldogs usually get through the air.

“We had more success through the air than we’ve had in quite a while,” Fowler said. “Maybe ever.”

Fluvanna (1-2) didn’t get the same kind of success offensively, struggling to protect quarterback Ryan Foster throughout the night. The Flucos most frustrating point seemed to come after a snap sailed over Foster’s head and out of the endzone for a safety during the fourth quarter.

Still, when Foster had time he and Fluvanna’s receiving corps showed promise. The junior went 6 for 15 for 118 yards, including a fantastic 31-yard catch by Danny Edgell on a third down conversion just before the end of the first half.

Tyler Denby played well for Fluvanna on defense, piling up 13 total tackles and five solo stops. He also stepped in at quarterback when Foster left the game, hobbled, on the Flucos’ final drive.

Despite Denby’s efforts, Fluvanna couldn’t find an answer for the Bulldogs’ rushing attack, giving up big run after big run as Goochland marched methodically up and down the field.

“We were playing pretty soft out there on the edge,” Gray said. “They didn’t run anything we didn’t expect. We just didn’t solve it for a while — I don’t know that we ever solved it.”