Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Go-Devils Sting Hornets, 19-0; At Home Friday

Two games, two wins, two routs.

This is how the Gurdon Go-Devil football team has begun its 1995 season on the gridiron.

Though Mineral Springs was favored to win Friday night at Gus Brown Field, the home Devils had other ideas and pitched a 19-0 shutout over the Hornets.

Visiting Mineral Springs won the toss, took the opening kick and began its first offensive set at the 30. Three plays netted nine yards, forcing the Hornets to punt.

Steve Anderson fielded the ball at his own 34, kicked in the afterburners and raced 66 yards to the promised land. The Hornet defense broke through on the point after attempt, but, with 9:39 left in the opening stanza, Gurdon held a 6-0 lead.

Kicker Joshua Thomas was pumped as he sailed the pigskin deep into the endzone for a touchback, forcing the Hornets to begin their second drive from the 20.

Defense took control of the game for both teams, as neither was able to mount an offensive attack for the remainder of the first quarter. However, the Go-Devils did force Mineral Springs to fumble, with a host of demons falling on the ball.

However, on its first possession of the second 12 minutes, the Hornet offense came to life and mounted its first serious threat. Taking over on downs at its own 24, Mineral Springs began to march steadily downfield using traps and counter plays to move the ball. Hornet quarterback Demar Green threw in enough passes to keep Gurdon's defense honest as Mineral Springs drove to the three.

Nick Hughes showed how strong he is when fullback Braden Atkins hit the right side of the line and appeared to be going in for the tying score. Hughes managed to get one hand on Atkins and literally pulled him to the ground. Gurdon's defense responded by stuffing the Hornet offense and driving it back to the 17, where the Go-Devil offense took over on downs.

Taking over with 1:54 left in the half, Brian McGalliard, Gurdon's signal caller, handed to Hughes to get his squad some breathing room. Hughes went up the middle to the 18. D.D. Sheppard added another yard on second down, but took a pitch to the 30 on third and eight. He added 16 more on the ensuing first down, and it appeared as though the Devils would add a second score as Mario Charles took a pitch from McGalliard and rambled to the one before being caught.

Still, Gurdon led 6-0 at the break.

Miscues and penalties stopped Gurdon as the Devils accepted the opening kick for the second half. A punt gave Mineral Springs the ball at Gurdon's 39.

Again, the Hornets swarmed offensively, moving toward the Devil goal line. Eight plays had Mineral Springs at Gurdon's eight, before a solid hit forced a fumble the Devils pounced on at the six.

With the Hornets coming close to scoring on two occasions, the Go-Devil offense knew it needed more than six points. On its second drive of the third quarter, it added to its lead.

Hughes got the Devils some breathing room with a seven-yard blast to the 13. Sheppard added two, before McGalliard managed a first down on a quarterback sneak. Sheppard then went for 10, with Hughes adding one. Sheppard took the mail from the 34 to the 40 before the Devils were aided by an offside call. Sheppard only needed two more plays to find paydirt, as he scored from the 11 with 12 seconds left. The try for two failed, but Gurdon led 12-0 at the end of three.

It was three and out for the Hornets. The ball was tipped on the punt, which led to a 17 yard effort and gave Gurdon the ball at its 45.

The Go-Devils were able to move the ball, but proved to be their own worst enemy, as penalties stopped the offense.

However, Gurdon's defense was up to the challenge, and, on Mineral Springs' second possession of the final stanza, picked off Green's pass. The ball was tipped by one Devil and intercepted by Wesley Buford at the 34.

The Devils needed two plays to cover the 66 yards for touchdown number three on the night. Hughes carried for five, before Charles swept in on a 61-yard romp. The PAT split the uprights, giving Gurdon a 19-0 lead.

For the remainder of the game, Gurdon's defense worked to preserve the shutout, and managed its second pick of the night, as defensive tackle Mark Crawley caught the errant pass at the 30 and returned it to the 37.

The Go-Devil offense ran four plays, moving to the Hornet 40, before taking a couple of delay of game penalties to run out the clock.

Statistically, Gurdon also whipped the Hornets. The Devils ran 46 offensive plays to Mineral Springs' 41. The hosts racked up 377 total yards, with only 10 coming through the air. The Hornets managed 209 yards, with 140 on the ground and 69 in the air.

McGalliard was two of three passing, for 10 yards. Green was five of 10 for 69 yards with two interceptions.

Gurdon punted twice for a total of 63 yards, and allowed no returns. Mineral Springs booted the ball three times for 77 yards, giving up 79 return yards and a touchdown.

The Go-Devils had no fumbles, while Mineral Springs coughed it up three times, losing it twice.

Penalty-wise, Mineral Springs had four for 15 yards, while Gurdon was hit 10 times with laundry floating to the ground for 55 yards.

Charles led Gurdon's ground attack with 163 yards on 11 carries, for a 14.8 yard per carry night. Sheppard was next, carrying the ball 17 times for 154 yards. His average was slightly more than nine-yards-per-carry. Hughes followed with 14 carries for 49 yards, averaging 3.5 yards-per-carry. McGalliard carried once for three yards, while Buford lost two yards on his only attempt.

These statistics are not official.

Gurdon remains in the friendly confines of Gus Brown Field Friday night as the Go-Devils host Central Arkansas Christian of North Little Rock. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.