| By Gaylen Duskey
realfang@citlink.net
Paul Goodrich rushed for 346 yards and four touchdowns Friday night to lead
visiting Calhoun to a 27-26 LKC victory over Doddridge in a game that wasn't
decided until the final buzzer sounded.
Doddridge came within two yards of rallying to beat the Red Devils but a
47-yard field goal attempt by Todd Dilger was only about 45 yards long. Had
Doddridge not been called for intentional grounding on the play before -
setting the team back five yards - Dilger would have had enough distance for
the winning points.
As it was a five-yard penalty on Doddridge proved to be the difference on a
night when a plethora of penalties against Calhoun kept the Bulldogs in the
game.
Calhoun was whistled for 12 penalties for 120 yards, which is bad enough.
But two of those penalties kept Doddridge scoring drives alive on fourth
down. Another negated a great defensive stand when the Bulldogs were forced
to punt on a fourth-and-25 situation. But the most harmful of all was the
penalty that negated a 50-yard touchdown run by Goodrich
Had Calhoun not been shooting themselves in the foot with a repeating
rifle - at least as far as penalties went - the game would not have been as
close as it was.
On the other hand Doddridge was flagged only six times for 35 yards and none
of the penalties hurt except the last one.
Not that Calhoun completely handed the Bulldogs because it did not allowing
Doddridge quarterback Lee Curtis to complete 17 of 32 passes for 315 yards
and four touchdowns, including three to Troy Wilsoncroft and one to Dilger
of 76 yards.
But penalties hurt the Red Devils and kept Doddridge drives alive on
occasions when they did manage to corral Curtis, including the Bulldogs'
first drive of the game.
On that one the Bulldogs rode the mistake to a 7-0 lead when Curtis hit
Wilsoncroft with a nine-yard pass.
The Bulldogs made it 14-0 moments later when Curtis and the 6-5 Dilger
teamed up for a 76-yard touchdown.
But that touchdown seemed to serve as a wakeup call for the Red Devils.
Goodrich got Calhoun on the board with a 50-yard gallop near the end of the
first quarter.
He brought the Red Devils closer midway through the second quarter when he
scored on a 23-yard run, but the Red Devils failed on the two-point
conversion leaving Doddridge on top by one.
The Bulldogs increased the lead when another penalty-aided drive culminated
in another Curtis to Wilsoncroft pass, this one from eight yards out right
before the half. The extra point attempt failed.
Calhoun regained the lead in the third quarter when Goodrich's 16-yard run
capped off a long, smash-mouth drive. His run for the extra points gave
Calhoun a 21-20 lead.
Doddridge was not done passing and Calhoun was not done getting penalties
and another Bulldog drive - this one set up by a roughing the kicker
penalty - ended up with Curtis hitting Wilsoncroft once again from nine
yards out.
Following that Calhoun did what it did well all night and methodically
hammered the Doddridge front wall with an unrelenting ground game. This
drive was capped with Goodrich's fourth touchdown of the game, this one a
short four-yard run.
Doddridge did not lie down and die and with time running out the Bulldogs
found themselves facing a turning clock at their own 35-yard line. They
decided to spike the ball but it did not work and they were called with
intentional grounding setting them back five yards.
The extra five yards made the difference as Dilger's field goal try came up
about two yards short.
With the win Calhoun goes to 3-0 on the season heading into next Friday
night's game at Clay. Doddridge is now 0-2.
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