What’s the best way to rebound from your first district loss in five years?
Louisa County came up with a pretty good answer: hold your opponent to 21 yards of total offense, force two turnovers while committing none, and claim a share of the Jefferson District title for the fifth-straight season by beating county-line neighbor and perennial playoff contender Goochland by a clear and convincing final of 31-10.
“There was a lot of trash talking [because] I know a lot of those boys and they know me,” said Louisa lineman Elijah Brooks. “It’s always fun to play against your friends. They played hard but we just came out with a better team and better discipline.”
Beyond the smothering defense and grinding ball-control offense exhibited in the second half, the Lions’ special teams chipped in by tackling the Bulldogs’ punter in his own end zone after an errant snap and tallying a 29-yard field goal, a week after two attempts sailed wide.
“Hats off to the D, man, they flew around,” said Louisa County coach Will Patrick. “Great assignment football. I thought we really got after the quarterback on the first few drives. I thought we really contained [Towles]; he had one nice run and we kind of shut down anybody else running the ball.”
Goochland won the toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff, which seemed like a good call after a return out to the 42. However, senior quarterback C.J. Towles got stuffed for a first-down loss, and then his pass deep down the right side ended up as an interception after Louisa’s Jaylen Beach won a jump-ball battle with the Bulldog receiver.
“We’ve been working at high-pointing the ball all week and [Beach] made a great play,” said Louisa senior Landon Wilson.
The Lions’ offense picked up a couple of first downs but stalled at the Goochland 40; however, field position began tilting in their favor after Wilson’s 36-yard punt was downed at the 4.
The teams battled on through a scoreless first quarter with the Bulldogs twice going three-and-out and Louisa advancing into Goochland territory but failing to convert a fourth-and-7. Two minutes into the second quarter, the Lions reached the 33 but had to punt after Dylan Myers sacked Wilson for a big third-down loss. After the Bulldogs’ third straight three-and-out, the first points went on the board when the snap sailed high over punter Tyler Black, who managed to retrieve the ball in the back of the endzone but could not get off a kick before Louisa defenders converged on him for a safety.
“When I saw it go over his head, I saw red like a bull and ran as fast as I could,” said Brooks. “The excitement of knowing that we scored points on defense was amazing.”
After a good return of the ensuing free kick setup Louisa’s offense at the Goochland 42, the Lions marched down in seven plays, including a third-and-9 conversion when Wilson fired to Jordan Smith to pick up 15. Wilson capped it with a 2-yard keeper to make it 9-0 with 5:31 left in the half.
Goochland got a much-needed spark when Aidan Allen returned the kickoff 42 yards to the Louisa 33. The Bulldogs’ offense finally moved the chains wehen senior running back Gabe Liptak picked up 5 yards to convert a third-and-2. Two plays later, Towles escaped the backfield and weaved through the Lions’ second and third levels for a 19-yard touchdown.
“That really showed how elusive [Towles] was, so we just had to take the next step and be real stingy with every yard we gave up,” Brooks said, as the Lions pinned in the Bulldogs’ quarterback for minus-9 yards over the remainder of the game.
With Louisa’s lead cut to 9-7 and only 2:17 left in the half, the home crowd had to feel pretty good about the Bulldogs’ position. But Wilson and company had other ideas, especially after the kickoff bounced out of bounds. Starting at the 35, the Lions were in Goochland territory again after two Wilson completions. With 0:25 left and facing fourth-and-5, Wilson called his own number and powered ahead for six yards. Two plays later, a deep shot drew a pass interference flag to move the ball down to the 30 for a final play.
“We were going to send Jordan (Davis) on a go and we knew they were going to spy him, so I just put it up there for Deano to catch,” said Wilson as senior Stephen Dean made the grab and dragged a foot along the left side of the endzone for a touchdown.
“The first game he messed up his knee and he’s finally back and made a huge impact right away,” said Wilson of Dean, who had four catches in the first half for a total of 56 yards, good enough to lead all receivers on the night.
To make things worse for Goochland, since they chose to receive the game’s opening kickoff, Louisa’s offense was on the field again to start the third quarter. It was time for one of those vintage Louisa drives, which stretched 16 plays, drained more than six and a half minutes, and covered 68 yards.
“Our fullback Troy Fischer really opened up some holes and our guards were able to sustain some down blocks and not let their linebackers creep through from the backside,” said Patrick. “We got down to the 2 and that holding call set us back, but Caden [Lundy] stepped up.”
Lundy, the Lions’ junior kicker, drilled a 29-yard field goal to open an 18-7 lead.
“Having a nine-point swing, honestly, that was big,” said Patrick, as Louisa bookended halftime with scores without Goochland’s offense touching the ball.
Once again, the Bulldogs’ kick return unit provided a spark. This time, it was Towles who ran it back to the Louisa 36. But the Lions’ defense surrendered little. Towles had to spin and dive on fourth-and-2 to move the chains by the length of the football. Four plays later, Black hit a 39-yard field goal to make it 18-10 late in the third.
That would not be enough for Goochland to keep pace, as Louisa next marched 63 yards in 12 plays, draining nearly six more minutes of game time. The Bulldogs thought they had a stop near midfield, but Wilson rolled right out of punt formation and fired to Smith for a crushing first down. On another fourth down, Wilson hit Beach for a 22-yard touchdown.
“We probably tired out a little bit,” said Goochland coach Alex Fruth of the Bulldogs’ defense in the second half. “It’s tough when they have long drives to go right back out there. It makes it a lot easier for their offense to get in a groove and find a pattern to get positive yards.”
Now trailing 25-10 with 7:24 left in the game, Goochland’s offense went to the air. After two incompletions, Sam Klapak intercepted Towles’s third-down pass and returned it to the 3 yardline. Austin Talley iced the game for Louisa with a touchdown run on the next snap.
Smith led the Lions with 15 carries but totaled just 56 yards as the Bulldogs keyed on him. He also caught two passes for 25. Sophomore Adam Mills took advantage and tallied 35 yards on eight rushes. Wilson completed 10-of-18 passes for 113 yards and added 85 yards rushing on 14 attempts.
Louisa (8-2) awaits its matchup in the Region 4D bracket, which will be released by the VHSL on Sunday.
“Playoff football is different,” Patrick said. “Cold weather in November, let’s go out and execute and take care of the ball. Ball control, keep explosive kids off the field like we did tonight with Towles.”
For the Bulldogs, Towles finished with 8 yards on 13 rushes and completed 5-of-14 passes for 21 yards. Liptak added 10 yards on five carries.
Goochland (5-5), per unofficial projections, earned the #4 seed in Region 3B and will host Culpeper County in the quarterfinal round next Friday.
