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Golden's Standout Ground Attack Allows Gulf To Shine

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By RICK HARMON

Tribune correspondent

Published: November 20, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - Gulf football coach Jay Fulmer swears he didn't know running back Adrian "Bubba" Golden when Fulmer was told the former Ridgewood athlete had moved into his district and would be playing for the Buccaneers.

"When Leon Orr, the team's tight end and defensive end told me Bubba was coming, I said, 'Who's Bubba?'" Fulmer said. "I truly had no idea who he was talking about."

Fulmer, and the rest of the county, know now.

Golden, who was a backup last year at Ridgewood, has rushed for 2,197 yards this season on 184 attempts and has scored 31 touchdowns. The 5-foot-8, 175-pound junior saw what it was like to be a featured back as the backup to Byronell Arline, who broke the county's records for rushing yards (2,188) and touchdown (36) last year.

Golden broke the rushing record and still has a chance to eclipse the touchdown mark, depending on how far Gulf can advance in the playoffs. The Buccaneers (9-1) earned their second postseason appearance in three years and will travel to St. Cloud (9-1) on Friday in the Class 3A-Region 4 quarterfinals.

Golden's statistics are impressive on many levels. He led the Bay area in rushing yardage, yards per attempt and touchdowns. Statewide, he's second in yards, third in yards per attempt and second in touchdowns. On the national level, he ranks 35th in yardage, eighth in yards per attempt and is tied for 22nd in touchdowns.

All rankings are based on those schools reporting statistics to MaxPreps.com.

So exactly how did Golden end up at Gulf? He participated in spring practice and the summer 7-on-7 drills with Ridgewood, but in August, his family moved into Gulf's district.

"When we moved to Holiday, my grandmother said she couldn't take me back and forth to school, so I would have to ride the bus," Golden said. "So I had to go to Gulf."

Golden knew some of the players, including Orr, his cousin. Orr was his biggest promoter to Fulmer.

"I asked Leon, 'Is he good?' and Leon said, 'Coach, I think he's better than David Williams,'" Fulmer said. "I said he's going to have to prove that. David was pretty good. And I told Leon that we already have a tailback. Tevon Gamble is our tailback."

Offensive coordinator Brian Wright eased Golden into the lineup. Golden only rushed for 76 yards against Mitchell and 85 the next week against River Ridge. But beginning in Week 3, he rushed for 200-plus yards in every game but Week 10, a 168-yard performance in the Bucs' 21-20 loss to Pasco.

"When I saw him on the practice field the first time, I thought about several things," Fulmer said. "One, I knew this was going to help us to have that 1-2 punch. And two, I thought Ridgewood would be upset because Golden is a talented player and with Sterling Ross at Ridgewood, they would have had that good 1-2 punch. Not many teams can afford to lose a player like that."

Ridgewood's loss was Gulf's gain.

"Tevon breaks his leg in the fourth game against Wiregrass and if Adrian hadn't been here at that time, it would have been rough replacing Tevon," Fulmer said. "I think Will Burbridge would have done an adequate job, but then we would have had to replace him at fullback. It would have been a domino effect. It's not like we're loaded with kids. We dressed 25-26 most of the season."

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