Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Season Nearing For Gurdon Go-Devils

High school football players are sweating in the August heat preparing for the upcoming season.

These valiant young warriors are working hard getting ready to do battle for the honor of their schools, while hoping for a championship season.

With this comes the inevitable prognosticators, making their predictions on where various teams will finish come the end of the season.

A statewide publication noted for its preseason picks has predicted Gurdon's Go-Devils to finish third in the 7AA West this year. While a third place finish would guarantee the Devils at least one trip on the road to the playoffs, the predictions are likely to be proven wrong.

The Devils finished the 1999 campaign with a respectable 7-4 mark, losing 10-6 to Smackover in the opening round of the playoffs.

However, Gurdon began the season without most of its starting offensive line from 1998, as several of the players had been injured. In addition, the team's top receiver blew out a knee and was sidelined the entire year as well.

From the outset, it looked as if the Devils would be lucky to be competitive at all. But, the team proved to be more than just competitive, as the players left everything on the field each Friday night and came close to finishing second in the district behind Mineral Springs.

According to the so-called "experts", the 7AA West is supposed to finish the year in this order: Mineral Springs, Foreman, Gurdon, Horatio, Murfreesboro, Dierks, Stamps and Lewisville.

Gurdon Coach John Pace was forced to use a lot of young players during the 1999 season. This gave them valuable game experience along with the confidence which comes with winning regularly.

In addition the Devils will be getting several players back this year who were injured last season. This means depth with experience.

But, Gurdon lost its backfield and the duo of Brannon Hatley and RaShun Hopson will be hard to replace. Senior quarterback Colby Pace could find himself handing off to senior Oliver Webster, who has 4.7 speed in the 40-yard dash, and senior Chris Thompson, with 4.75 speed.

Sophomore K.P. Meeks, 5-9, 170, could see action at fullback.

Overall, the Devils see eight back from the 1999 offense and eight back from the defense.

Those returning to the team from injuries last year include Jamie Stonum, 6-3, 240, and Kyle King, 5-9, 235. Both had good off seasons in the team's first spring practice.

Coach Pace may open the attack up somewhat offensively because of the new running backs, but the Devils will still operate from the multiple I formation.

Son Colby threw for 983 yards last season as quarterback, and picked off five from opposing quarterbacks as free safety.

His experience on both sides of the ball can only benefit the entire team for the Y2K season.

Pace could be spelled under center by Walter Hart, Jesse Haak and Jake Plyler at times during the year.

John Watson, Kevin Lasiter and Dorsey Kelly have shown talent as possible wingbacks and receivers, giving Pace a target to throw to, while Joe Plyler will return as tight end, giving him a more experienced receiver in the secondary.

Quarterback protection and getting holes opened shouldn't be a problem with the return of senior Greg Rhodes, who may be moving from guard to tackle. Matt Dickerson is also back and will likely play guard, with Adam Clark also returning to the offensive line.

Eddie Fort could either play fullback or guard at times during the season, to go with his duties as placekicker.

Defensively, Jeremy Means returns for his senior year. Means began living up his moniker last season, making those with the ball regret running his way at the end position. Joe Plyler will anchor the other end, and is again expected to provide solid, dependable service.

The linebacking corps will be anchored by senior Lee Marks, who led the team in tackles last season with 97. Cody Cox was next with 85.

The corners this year are expected to be Webster and Thompson because of their speed, while Pace will return at free safety.

Gurdon returns a ton of experience with 20 seniors on the team and more linemen than the Devils have had in years past.This will allow the offense to open holes for the ballcarriers, while giving Pace plenty of time to find receivers in the secondary.

The only down side to the team this year is a lack of game experience at running back and receiver.

Don't look for this to be a handicap, though, as large, gaping holes will give the runners plenty of experience, while having time to throw will help the young receivers.

In addition, Foreman will be coming to Gurdon this year. Last season the Devils were cheated in a 29-20 loss to the Gators in Foreman. Protests to the Arkansas Activities Association fell on deaf ears, with the loss putting Gurdon third in the district.

The Devils haven't forgotten how Foreman's coach was tossed out of the game at halftime, yet remained outside the field house calling plays on a hand-held radio in direct violation of AAA rules.

As the players and fans recall, Gurdon was first hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct call at the break, with Foreman's Coach Michael Hudgeon's coming out onto the field and arguing with the officials. This drew an unsportsmanlike call against him. However, he returned to the field to argue with the referees and was "ejected."

The next ripoff came at the end of the third quarter when officials penalized Foreman for grabbing a facemask at the end of the period, yet failed to give Gurdon a free play as a period can't end on a defensive penalty.

Yes, fans, the Gators and new coach Van Nelson will be visiting Go-Devil field.

The "experts" have Foreman picked to finish second this year after a 9-2 record in 1999.

Foreman will be a tough team, returning six starters on both sides of the ball.

The Gators will have quarterback Cedric Cursh back under center. Cursh squats 400 pounds, dead lifts 600 and runs a 4.5 40.

Also returning is senior halfback Jeffrey Baugh, who could be spelled by senior Richard Baker and soph Wayne Shoals.

Mark Miller is back at split end.

Lawrence Cursh is expected to move to tackle this season, while Justin Bearden will likely go to the guard position.

Heath Linville will see action at the senior level for the first time, but did play on an undefeated junior high team. Michael Avila will also see time at guard, competing for minutes with Cedric Wilson.

Defensively, Tedric Easter, the offensive center, will anchor the line with Derrick Parker and Wilson. Bearden will move from tackle to linebacker with Avila.

While Foreman returns experience and quickness, the Gators lack depth and have some tough games on the road.

Mineral Springs is expected to be the class of the league again this year.

The Hornets lost two games last year, one at the first of the year and the other in the playoffs.

Mineral Springs' first loss was to Prescott in a game Hornet Coach Rick Hickenbottom used to test different offenses and defenses. From there the Hornets reeled off 10 straight wins before falling to Carlisle, 20-6, in the state quarterfinals.

This year the Hornets have six back on offense and defense.

But, the losses include all-state tailback Harold Johnson, who scored 25 touchdowns and ran for 1,724 yards, all-conference tackle Columbus Swopes, along with corner Marcus Jones and end Kevin Erwin.

Returning, though, is quarterback Michael Oden, who will be backed up by sophomore Max Kirby (15-1 in junior high).

Also back is fullback Arthur Bennett, who ran for 1,098 yards, averaged 7.8 yards a carry and scored 11 touchdowns last season.Mineral Springs' defense gave up 9.1 points a game in 1999, and only allowed Gurdon to score six points and 85 yards offensively.

Most of the defense returns, with the aforementioned exceptions.

While the Hornets return an exceptional backfield, the defense is suspect at guard and the corners. Depth could be a problem as well.

From this top three, the rest of the league will be fighting for the fourth spot to see any post-season action.

The "experts" have Horatio tabbed to fill this gap, and it's as good a choice as any with the other teams being Stamps, Dierks and Lewisville, three squads without winning records for years.

The Lions finished sixth last year with a dismal 2-8 record. But, the team returns seven from the 99 offense and eight from its defense.

Horatio was a strange team last year, beating Murfreesboro 20-6 and leading Gurdon 24-12 at the half before finding a way to lose 27-24.

The Lions led Dierks 23-14 in the fourth quarter, only to lose 28-23 as the Outlaws scored twice in the last 12 seconds.

Part of the problem Horatio has had could be a frequent change of offenses. This year the team will be running the Wing-T, its third different offense in three years.

Senior Stephen Barnes is expected to move from receiver to quarterback for this offense.

The team, though, does return plenty of strength and experience, while still being slow and coming off a horrible season.

Horatio's biggest question will be which team will show up  the one with the talent, or the one that finds a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory?

Murfreesboro may be a surprise team this year and could be the fourth place finisher, depending on what Horatio does.

Last year the Rattlers ended the season 5-6 under first-year coach Roger Featherston, and eked into the playoffs.

In its losses, the Rattlers were outscored 213-44, including a 59-0 beating by Junction City in the playoffs.

The Rattlers will be replacing Jarrett Stark at quarterback, with seniors Darrick Lowery and Alan Floyd battling for the job. A soph, Adrian Wesson, will also be in the hunt.

Josh Holcomb returns for his junior year after giving Gurdon fits in rushing for 130 yards in 1999.

The offense will run from the Pro-I formation, while the defense will be a 4-4 set. Each side of the ball returns five starters.

This means experience on both sides, with plenty of bodies expected to see action for the Rattlers. However, the team has shown nothing in the way of speed.

Unless something drastic happens, Dierks, Stamps and Lewisville will be little more than cannon fodder for the rest of the league.

Dierks lost Coach Brad Reese late in the year, but replaced him with a hometown boy, David Bennett, who coached Prescott last season to a trip to the AAA semifinals.

Bennett inherits a team with neither size, speed or tradition. In fact, the last Dierks team to do much of anything was the one he was on in 1982. The Outlaws finished 99 with a 3-7 record tied for sixth.

There will be four starters returning for both offense and defense, but, overall, the team lacks size and winning tradition.

Stamps is picked above Lewisville, but this is no surprise.

In 99 the Yellow Jackets finished with a respectable 5-5 mark, tying them for fourth.

The Jackets return six starters from offense and five from the 99 defense, which should help new coach Martin Herman, who came out of retirement to take the helm.

Herman had coached 21 years at nearby Lewisville, and sees talent in his new team.

But, the Jackets, while being big and fast, have a tradition of folding because of the lack of discipline and mental toughness when the going gets rough.

Lewisville won its first game in three years last season, beating a pathetic Woodlawn team. Otherwise, the Red Devils were little more than a practice game for their opposition.

The Devils return nine from the 99 offense, and 10 from the defense, but have little else to look forward to.

While the numbers may be up at Lewisville, the team still has little in the way of depth and faces a killer schedule against the likes of Mineral Springs, Gurdon and Foreman in the 7AA West.

The season officially kicks off Friday, Sept. 1, across the state.