Randolph-Henry High School’s varsity football team knew it was in for a formidable challenge when it faced host Goochland High School on Friday, and the Bulldogs improved to 8-0 with a 51-8 victory over the Statesmen.

“We played hard; we didn’t play tough, though,” Randolph-Henry Head Coach Zach Orlando said. “We took the easy way out too many times, and that’s something we stressed to the kids. We had guys kind of almost dodging things and not running into the wreck, so to speak.”

The Statesmen were playing without star senior fullback/defensive end Tyrie Blow-Tydings once again, and they will do so for the remainder of the season.

“He’s got a torn ACL,” Orlando said. “He’s done. So, that’s a big loss.”

The coach noted that the defensive line played well against Goochland, but his linebackers and defensive backs showed key room for improvement.

Orlando said that toughness on either side of the ball has been lacking for the last two weeks.

“We’ve got kids that when they get the ball, they run hard, but when they’re asked to block, that same kind of effort is not put into place,” he said. “And so that’s going to be a point of emphasis this week.”

Shining for Randolph-Henry on Friday was senior wide receiver/defensive back Hurley Noblin. On offense, he had three catches for 10 yards and a touchdown. On defense, he led his team with nine total tackles, including four solo tackles.

“I thought Hurley’s been extremely solid ever since we had to sit him down a game,” Orlando said. “It kind of put everything into reality for him and let him know, ‘Hey, look, this thing can be taken away from me.’ And ever since that moment, he’s played very, very solid, and he’s actually probably been the most consistent player we’ve had over the last three weeks.”

Orlando also highlighted the play of senior halfback/defensive back Derius Marable, who racked up 181 returns yards.

“He had a really good game on Friday,” the coach said. “ He had over a hundred yards in kick returns. He had two plays that were good, big-yardage plays compared to everything else we did.”

Junior running back Treymon Roberts led the Statesmen in the run game with 18 carries for 69 yards.

Freshman quarterback Peter Jones went 6-for-14 passing for 23 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

Randolph-Henry (0-8) hosts the Buckingham County High School Knights (3-5) on Friday at 7 p.m.

“They’re just like the vast majority of the James River District,” Orlando said of the Knights. “Really, outside of Goochland, anybody was somebody that we felt like we could compete with. You’ve got your upper echelon teams in Amelia and Nottoway, but Buckingham’s right there in the mix. They’re a very similar team to a Prince Edward, maybe a notch above Bluestone. They’re about like Lunenburg, so somebody we can compete with, and we feel good about it, and we’ve just got to come out and play. And the biggest thing we’re missing is we’re not blocking and we’re not tackling, and you can’t play football without those two things.”