Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Gurdon Rattles Murfreesboro, 28-6

Murfreesboro had two problems coming into the game with Gurdon Friday night.

First, it was homecoming for the Go-Devils, and, second, Gurdon was still fuming from the loss to Foreman a week earlier.

The end result was a 28-6 win for Gurdon, putting the Devils solidly in third place in the 7AA-West conference.

Now, the Devils are looking at this Friday's game on the road to Horatio with an eye on staying in third place with a win.

Regardless, Gurdon will be in the playoffs on the road and will be taking on a team from the 7AA-East.

At this point in the season, it would take a miracle for Junction City to be deposed from first place in the 7AA-East as the Dragons are 8-0 overall and 7-0 in league play.

In all likelihood, Gurdon will be on the road to Smackover in game one of the playoffs, as the Buckaroos are in second place and have a date with Camden Harmony Grove this week.

First, though, the Devils must get past the Lions.

Murfreesboro has had its problems with Gurdon the last three seasons as the Devils have basically owned the Rattlers, having posted a 31-6 win on the road last year.

The coin toss is about all the Rattlers won against Gurdon Friday night.

The kick was fielded by Justin Compton at the 25, who returned it to the 48, putting the Rattlers in good field position.

Murfreesboro looked to be moving down field for a score as the Rattlers managed to get to the Gurdon 37 before the Devil "D" stiffened and shut them down, forcing a punt.

The kick went out of bounds at the 16 where the Devil offense took control.

And take control it did as Brannon Hatley gained 16 on first down, getting Gurdon out of the shadows of its own goal and giving the offense some breathing room.

The Devils needed a total of nine plays to put the first touchdown on the board. It came on a Colby Pace to RaShaun Hopson pass from nine-yards out on fourth down.

Hatley, though, carried the bulk of the load in getting Gurdon in position to score. He ran the ball five times on the drive, chewing up huge chunks of yardage at a time.

In fact, on Gurdon's second offensive play, Hatley broke free and rambled from the Devil 32 to the Ratter 20 before being brought down.

Still, at the 4:08 mark in the period Gurdon held a 6-0 lead and was lining up for the point after. However, a flag, one of only 11 in the game, fluttered earthward and the Devils moved back five yards for illegal procedure.

This made the PAT a 25-yard field goal attempt instead of an extra point, distance-wise. It didn't matter as Eddie Fort kicked a line drive barely clearing the crossbar to put Gurdon up 7- 0.

Compton again fielded the kickoff, this time at the 30, but went backwards and lost two yards to put the Rattlers at their own 28.

Then it was one, two, three, punt as the Murfreesboro offense could get nothing going.

Hatley took the kick at the Devil 39, returning it to the 41 where Gurdon set up shop.

After a four-yard gain on first down, a bad snap resulted in Gurdon's only turnover of the night, as the Rattlers fell on the loose ball at the Devil 48.

Josh Wright carried three straight times on the drive. On his second carry Wright got to the Gurdon 37, but he met Jeremy Means on third down and was planted at the 43 as the first quarter came to an end.

The second period started with Darrick Lowery, who was rotated at quarterback with Jarrett Stark throughout the game, fumbling, picking the ball up and flipping a pass to Scott Stafford. Stafford was stopped at the Devil 41 for a two-yard gain.

An incomplete pass on third down saw the Rattlers punt the ball away once again.

This time the ball rolled into the end zone for a touchback and the Devils took over at the Gurdon 20 with 10:55 showing.

The Devils required a bit more than three minutes to find the promised land for the second time of the night.

Once again, Hatley was the workhorse, carrying five times on the drive. He ran three straight times, getting to the Gurdon 39 before Cody Cox gave him a breather.

Then it was the Pace-Hopson connection hooked up again on a screen. However, the Rattlers had the play smelled out forcing Hopson to bounce inside for a nine-yard gain on first down.

Hatley carried twice more to the 1 before Pace scored on a quarterback sneak with 7:16 left in the half.

The snap on the PAT try was high, either by accident or design, but regardless, Pace found Jason Simpson in the end zone for the conversion, giving Gurdon a 15-0 lead.

The ensuing kick was covered by Zac Stone at the Rattler 33, but an offside penalty against Gurdon on first down put the ball at the 38.

This proved to be Murfreesboro's only scoring drive of the night, as the Rattlers marched 62 yards in five plays for the touchdown.

Josh Holcomb was the only Rattler, other than the center and quarterback, to touch the ball on the drive. He went in from five-yards out with 5:47 showing. The PAT was no good, but Murfreesboro was on the board trailing 15-6.

Joe Plyler picked up the onside kick attempt at the Gurdon 34, returning it to the 39 for the Devil offense.

Hopson took a pitch to the 46 on first down, with Hatley reaching mid-field on second down.

Following an incomplete pass from Pace to Chris Thompson, Hatley fought to the Rattler 32 and gained three more on the next play.

Pace dropped back to pass on second and seven, saw the defense getting through and started scrambling only to slip at the 40.

It looked bad for the Devil offense as it was third and 18.

Once again, Gurdon went to the air, with Pace hitting Hopson with a middle screen. Hopson took it from there, finding a seam and sprinting to the end zone for his second score of the night.

The PAT sailed true giving the Devils a 22- lead with 2:14 left in the half.

The kick off, though wasn't as pretty as it went out of bounds, drawing a flag and giving the Rattlers a choice between having the kick done again or taking the ball at the 35. They took the latter option.

Holcomb took the ball on a sweep to Gurdon's 40 on play number one, moving to the 28 on the second play.

Murfreesboro managed to get to the 19 before having the offense stall out.

Stark attempted a pass on second down only to have it tipped and almost picked off.

Third down saw Stafford wide open in the back corner of the Gurdon end zone. The nearest Devil player was five yards away.

Stark tossed a perfect pass, hitting Stafford between the numbers for what looked to be a sure touchdown.

Had Stafford been able to catch the ball, the second half could have been entirely different. However, the ball hit between the nines (he's number 99) and bounced harmlessly to the turf.

This put the Rattlers in a fourth down situation. Stark connected with Holcomb on a screen, only to have Hatley try to bury the receiver beneath the field.

With 16 seconds showing, Pace took a knee to end the half with Gurdon in control 22- 6.

Neither team was able to maintain a consistent drive in the third period, which ended with the score unchanged.

The Devils received the kick to start the second half, but punted, for the first time of the game, after a drive stalled at the Rattler 47.

Murfreesboro took over at its own 31, but punted back to Gurdon after Lowery was sacked by Plyler at the Rattler 35.

This gave the Devils the ball at their own 46.

Gurdon did nothing to aid its cause as the Devils were flagged for holding on first down, moving the ball back 10 yards.

Hopson carried twice to the Rattler 43, getting hit late on his second run, though no flag was thrown.

Two more runs later, Hopson had Gurdon at the Rattler 39, only to see Pace get sacked at the 47 on third down and punt for the second and last time of the night.

The Rattlers took over at their own 20, but were flagged for clipping and wound up getting underway at their own 16.

Marcus Graham gave the Rattlers some breathing room to the 32 before Murfreesboro shot itself in the foot, losing two on the next play then being penalized for illegal procedure.

From there, the Rattlers moved backwards to their 26 as the third quarter came to an end.

Murfreesboro got period four underway by punting to the Devils, with Hatley fielding it at the 43, returning it to midfield.

Then it was Hatley to the Rattler 28, Cox to the 22 and Hatley to the 20, then to the 17.

On fourth down, the Rattlers were hit with an offside penalty, giving Gurdon a first down at the 12.

The Devils, though, were subsequently penalized for holding and moved back to the 23, where they wound up turning the ball over on downs with 6:15 left in the game.

It was three and out for Murfreesboro as the Gurdon defense was giving nothing but pain and grief to the visitors.

Hopson took the punt at the Rattler 44 and returned it to the 38. A late flag, called after the play ended, moved Gurdon back to the Murfreesboro 49 after the personal foul.

With 4:25 left in the contest, the Devils used all but 0.9 seconds in driving the distance and putting the final touchdown on the board.

The drive began with Cox gaining eight to the 41, then Hatley breaking loose to the 28.

A one-yard loss put Gurdon in a fourth and short situation, with Hatley again getting loose to the 16.

O.B. Moss got into the act with his only carry of the night, getting the ball three yards closer to the 13. Cox added five before Hatley capped the drive from eight yards out.

The PAT was wide right, but Gurdon held a 28-6 lead with less than 10 seconds left in the game.

Compton fielded the kick at the 25, returning it to the 31. The final Rattler play saw Stark hit Adam Horn at the 36.

Unofficial statistics show Gurdon dominated in all categories, including penalties.

The Devils were four of nine for 65 yards through the air, with two touchdowns, while the Rattlers hit three of 10 for 14 yards

The Devils punted twice for 58 yards, while Murfreesboro booted the ball six times for 160 yards.

Gurdon was flagged seven times for 55 yards in losses, while the Rattlers saw four fall for 15 yards.

The Devils managed to sack the Rattler signalcaller once, while Murfreesboro got to Pace twice.

Gurdon put the ball on the ground twice, losing it once, while the Rattlers fumbled once, but didn't turn it over.

In the first down category, Gurdon had 17, while Murfreesboro had 12.

The home team ran a total of 52 offensive plays, while the visitors had 41 snaps.

Gurdon's ground game was again potent as the Devils ran for 280 yards, while the defense allowed 147.

This gave Gurdon a total of 345 offensive yards, while the Rattlers had 161 yards.

Hatley carried the ball 27 times for 241 yards, and an 8.9 yard average.

Cox had five rushed for 22 yards, while Hopson carried the mail six times for 33 yards. Moss gained three on his lone carry. Pace, though, wound up with 19 negative yards because of two sacks.

In all, Murfreesboro ran the ball 31 times, while Gurdon had 43 rushes.

As it currently stands, Mineral Springs is atop the division at 8-1 and 7-0.

Foreman is next at 8-1, but is 6-1 in conference play.

The Devils fall in at third with their 6-3, 4-2 mark, while Murfreesboro is fourth at 5-4, 3- 3.

The rest of the conference looks like this: Stamps is fifth at 4-5, 2-4; Dierks is sixth at 3-6, 2-4; Horatio is 2-7 overall, but is tied with the Outlaws in league play at 2-4; and Lewisville again brings up the rear at 0-9, 0-6.

In last week's action, Dierks escaped Lewisville 35-20; Foreman edged Horatio 28-11; and Mineral Springs downed Stamps 29-14.

On Thursday, Lewisville will have its first chance of winning in three seasons as the Red Devils entertain Woodlawn, 2-7 in the 7AA-East, with a record only better than Strong and El Dorado WS Christian.

This Friday, though, Mineral Springs has an open date, while Dierks travels to Stamps and Foreman visits Murfreesboro.

Gurdon will end its regular season at Horatio, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m.