Millbrook (5-5) vs. Goochland (9-1)

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By Jeff Nations -- jnations@nvdaily.com

When: Tonight, 7:30 p.m.

Where: Monticello High School, Charlottesville

Who to watch: Millbrook -- Jordan Hartman, junior, RB (801 yards, five TDs); Josh Casagranda (385 yards, five TDs); Boomer Kaczmarzewski, sophomore, DB (50 tackles, three INTs); Byron Tavers, senior, WR (18 catches, 190 yards, one TD); Carter Barnett, senior, LB (96 tackles, three sacks); Goochland -- Willie Ezell, senior, RB (714 yards, seven TDs); Dustin Plummer, junior, RB (895 yards, 12 TDs); Matthew Henley, senior, QB (22-for-51 passing for 392 yards, four TDs); Divontea McLaughlin, sophomore, DE (27 tackles, five sacks); Patrick Clore, sophomore, LB (75 tackles).

Whatever the outcome of tonight's Group AA, Division 3 quarterfinal matchup between Millbrook and host Goochland, it's a good bet neither coach will have any complaints about poor field conditions playing a factor.

Already drenched this week by heavy rainfall and with more likely on the way, Goochland athletic director Bryan Gordon made the decision to shift the game to Monticello High School's artificial turf. Both Millbrook coach Reed Prosser and Goochland coach Joe Fowler support that decision.

"For a big event like a playoff game, you want to play on a proper surface and not one really sloppy because of weather," Prosser said. "It gives both teams a fair chance to show what they can do."

What Goochland can do is run the ball, and run it with devastating effectiveness. Prosser describes the Bulldogs as "a very effective and very efficient football team," and the numbers back that up.

Goochland, operating on offense out of a base wing-T with a healthy helping of Navy and Georgia Tech-inspired flexbone formations tossed in, has been a model of balance running the ball with four backs all within 10 carries of each other. Halfbacks Dustin Plummer and fullback Willie Ezell have done the most with those carries this year, combining for 19 touchdowns.

"I'm of the mindset that I don't want to put all my eggs in one basket," Fowler said. "I think it's hard for a kid to carry the ball 200, 300 times in a season and stay healthy, so we spread it around."

Playing in the pass-happy Jefferson District, Goochland -- which made the jump to Group AA just this season -- has often operated out of a 3-5 defensive front. That will likely change against the ground-oriented Pioneers.

Prosser, who said his team must control the line of scrimmage, anticipates a pivotal matchup between his 3-4-based defense and the Bulldogs' ground game.

"They're a run-first team," Prosser said. "We've done particularly well at stopping the run, especially the last few weeks. It will be interesting to see how that matches up."