Central High School’s young varsity football team faced a difficult challenge Friday night to start its James River District schedule, and the highly-regarded Goochland High School Bulldogs ended up dealing the Chargers a 27-7 home loss.

Will Thomas, Central head coach, said his team’s offense “didn’t play very well. We’ve been playing pretty decent lately.”

But the Chargers committed four turnovers Friday, including an interception, a fumbled snap and two fumbles by a running back.

“You can’t beat good teams like that,” Thomas said.

The Bulldogs generated 71 offensive plays, while Central finished with only 42.

The Chargers’ run game was quieter than usual, though Dontae Crowder still had a strong game, carrying the ball 19 times for 150 yards and a touchdown. T’zion Wilkerson had 10 carries for 53 yards, Darryl Jones had five carries for nine yards and Gee Ragsdale had one carry for two yards.

Noting a key positive for Central, Thomas said, “Our defense played, I thought, the best it’s played all year.”

The Chargers had six players with double-figure tackle totals. Khamell Roberts led the way with 17 tackles, Ragsdale had 16 tackles, including six solo tackles, Tae Ragsdale had 13 tackles, including two solo and four tackles for loss, Jackson Parsons had 11 tackles, two solo and one for loss, Ben Spencer had 11 tackles, one solo, and Darryl Jones recorded 10 tackles, three solo, and he also blocked two extra-point attempts.

The Chargers (0-3) will visit Buckingham County High School next Friday at 7 p.m.

“It’s going to be tough,” Thomas said of the impending showdown with the Knights. “We watched them on film, and it almost looks like the Buckingham of old — good-size kids, big kids, tough kids, with a lot of good skill players.”