Goochland does its level best in Group AA

Goochland High School grew enough in recent years to move up in its Virginia High School League classification from Group A, Division 2 to Group AA, Division 3.

According to the VHSL division breakdown, Goochland is the second-smallest Division 3 school in Region II. Three schools in the Jefferson District, Goochland's new league, scheduled the Bulldogs as homecoming opponents.

Goochland has advanced into postseason play every year since 2004. The Bulldogs went undefeated and won the Division 2 state title in 2006.

What were Orange County, Monticello and Fluvanna County thinking?

"We are half the size of a few of the teams in the district enrollment-wise, so I don't blame them for scheduling us," Goochland coach Joe Fowler said.

The Bulldogs (3-1 in the district, 6-1 overall) won those three games. The loss was to Charlottesville, which just happened to be Goochland's homecoming opponent. That's four homecomings in a row, and it prompted Fowler to confess he and the Bulldogs had seen enough queens crowned.

"We are fortunate to have a very experienced senior class that has played in some big games over the past few years," Fowler said. "That experience is paying dividends."

Louisa County (3-1, 5-2) comes to Goochland tonight for a 7:30 kickoff. Lions coach Mark Fischer said he wouldn't schedule the Bulldogs for homecoming.

"They are as good a running team as I've seen. They are 6-1 and strong contenders for the playoffs. We're putting in extra hours preparing for these guys," Fischer said.

The counties are neighbors. The schools played a longtime series going through the 2004 season. Goochland won that meeting to end a five-game losing streak to the Lions.

Now that both are in the Jefferson District, Fischer sees "the start of something pretty neat. A cool rivalry, not a hatred rivalry. The schools have such a close proximity, and the players know each other."

Both teams prefer to run. Goochland's Dustin Plummer, Willie Ezell, Desmond Athey and David McKenna have combined for 1,786 yards and 18 touchdowns. Louisa leading rushers -- Glen Cosby, Andre Mealy and Anthony Hunter -- have combined for 1,045 yards and nine TDs.

Both teams will throw, but . . .

"If I'm running for 300 yards, do I need to throw?" said Fischer, who guided the Lions to a state Division 4 runner-up finish in 2006. "We'd like to throw more. We have some fun routes, but the situation hasn't presented itself."

Fowler says the biggest challenge stemming from the move up "is facing teams that have so much depth at all of the key positions. In Group A, you could sometimes find a few weak spots on some teams, but at the Group AA and AAA level, they don't have as many soft spots to exploit.

"We will have to play almost perfectly to beat [Louisa]. They are playing with a lot of confidence, but we feel like we have a chance."

Contact Arthur Utley at (804) 649-6559 or .