Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Gurdon Go-Devils Win 19-0 Over 7AAA Foe

Gurdon's football season got off to an inauspicious beginning Friday night as the Devils fumbled away the opening kick.

While this was a potential disaster, the Devils rebounded and blanked Fouke 19-0.

The game began with the threat of rain in the air, and fans hopeful the heavens would open allowing the rains to fall and break the heat wave. While it didn't rain, north winds cooled the temperature, making it bearable for fans and players alike.

Gurdon showed its mettle early as the Panthers pooch kicked the opening kickoff and a collision between Jake Plyler and Jeremy Means left the football on the turf where it was recovered by Fouke.

However, Gurdon's defense stuffed the Panthers, not allowing a first down and sacking quarterback Chris Garrett on fourth down at the Fouke 49.

Then the punishment began as the Devils opened with Eddie Fort carrying up the gut for six.

Gurdon ran nine plays, moving the ball to the Fouke nine, and overcoming a clipping penalty, only to have the drive end with a the second fumble of the night.

The Panthers recovered the loose ball at their own 14, but couldn't find a solution to Gurdon's defense and punted after three plays.

The punt, a sickly looking thing, went to Cevin Lasiter at the Panther 46 and was returned to the 30.

Gurdon wasted no time in scoring on this drive. The Devils ran three plays, starting with a 16-yard run by O.C. Webster, followed by an eight-yard blast by Fort, who followed fellow fullback Cody Cox. It ended with Colby Pace going in from the two with 4:02 showing in the first.

The point after made it 7-0 and Gurdon never looked back.

The kickoff went to Caleb McAdams at the 8 and was returned to the Fouke 25.

The Panthers managed to move the ball to midfield before the drive stalled out and they were forced to punt again.

This boot, again a sickly looking thing, rolled out of bounds at the Gurdon 24, after covering only 26 yards.

Cox, on his first carry, gained two yards and was buried under a dogpile. The officials said he fumbled and gave the ball to Fouke. This was the last Gurdon turnover of the game.

Even with excellent field position, the Panthers couldn't penetrate Gurdon's defense and turned the ball over on downs after four plays.

The Devils were fired up and began marching toward the Fouke goal line once again.

In three plays Gurdon moved from its 31 to midfield. Fort put the Devils in Fouke territory with a punishing six-yard rumble, adding four more yards on a run up the middle with three Panthers hanging on him.

Lasiter gained three before the bottom fell out for the Devils. Gurdon was hit with a facemask call, moving them back 15 yards to their own 45.

Pace hit Dennis Brown with a screen pass for three yards, but slipped while scrambling on the next play, losing 10. He spiked the ball in frustration, bringing on a 15 yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.

This forced Gurdon to punt, with Pace's boot rolling untouched for 38 yards, putting Fouke at its 40.

The Devils were then hit with an offside call, giving Fouke five more yards, before McAdams was able to gain three.

However, Gurdon began punishing Panther runners even more, forcing a fumble, recovered by the Devils at the Gurdon 48.

Fired up again, the Devils marched the 48 yards in six plays to make it 13-0.

Once again, Fort was used to discipline the Fouke defense in the drive. He took a pitch for two yards, before being the recipient of a middle screen for 20. His third time touching the ball on the drive gained four more yards before Pace hit Plyler for the score.

A bad snap on the PAT attempt left the score at 13-0, with 2:05 to go.

McAdams took the ensuing kick at the four, returning it to the 21 before being brought down.

Fouke managed to hold onto the ball for the rest of the half, but moved backwards on two motion penalties.

Halftime arrived with the Panthers fumbling, but managing to fall on the ball at the buzzer.

The second half began with the Panthers finding a way to move the ball downfield consistently.Fouke started at its 25 and utilized McAdams running between tackles to march to Gurdon's 25.

Garrett met Means behind the line of scrimmage for a loss of yardage, with a motion penalty making Fouke's job tougher than it already was.

On second and 17, Garrett hit Daniel Larey at the Gurdon 18, but Cox stripped the ball, forcing a fumble the Devils recovered.

Fort took the ball on a sweep to the 37 giving Gurdon's offense some breathing room.

O.B. Moss took a pitch to Fouke's 27 before the Panthers were able to catch up with him and bring him down.

Gurdon's offense consistently moved to the Panther seven before Moss was hit for a yard loss.

Pace fired to Fort at the goal line, only to have the receiver unable to handle the pass.

However, Fort fought his way to the five on third and goal. Lasiter went wide on fourth down, getting as close to scoring as possible without crossing the plane of the goal line. Had his toenails been longer he would have had a touchdown.

But, the officials said he was out at the one-inch line, putting Fouke's back up against the wall.

The Panthers ran three plays before the third quarter ended with them at their own six and trailing 13-0.

Fouke punted to get the final 12 minutes underway, with the ball rolling dead at the Panther 38.

O.C. Webster got the chance to show what he could do on the next drive, and got Gurdon to the Panther 27 in two carries.

Pace kept on an option, moving the ball to the 13, but missed connection with Plyler on a first down pass attempt.

The Panthers smelled out a sweep to Moss, catching him for a seven-yard loss back to the 20. An incomplete pass on third put Gurdon in a fourth and long situation.

Coach John Pace sent the field goal team out for a 37-yard attempt. Fort's kick was long enough, but veered off to the left, giving Fouke the ball at its 20.

The Panthers went to the air to try and score to keep from being shut out in the first game of the season.

Garrett, though, found himself running for his life trying to avoid the Gurdon rush.

Fouke did manage to move to the Gurdon 43 before the bottom fell out of the drive. A bad snap forced Garrett to pick the ball up and throw it without being set.

Brown, ever the opportunist, picked off the lame duck pass at the Gurdon 20, returning it to the 29 with 7:46 left in the game.

The Devils, though, were unable to move the necessary 10 yards for a first down and had to punt for the second time of the night.

Pace's punt was again allowed to roll dead, this time at the Panther 27 for a 42-yard effort.

Means again introduced himself to Garrett, forcing another bad throw that was almost picked off.

An option to Larey on second down had him meeting Means at the 28, putting the Panthers in a third and long situation.

Garrett, again under a heavy rush, fired downfield, this time hitting Brown between the 2 and 3 on his jersey. Brown took the ball all the way to the promised land for Gurdon's final touchdown of the night.

The Devils attempted a two-point conversion, but a pass attempt went awry. Still, with 4:31 showing, Gurdon held a 19-0 lead.

Fouke's Coach Cary Rogers knew the outcome had been determined at this point and sent in the scrubs to get some game experience.

His second team offense had no better luck against Gurdon's defense than the first team.

Eric Thomas, the replacement quarterback, also met members of the Devil "D" as he was sacked by Moss for a four-yard loss on fourth down.

Gurdon was gracious hosts as the Devils ran four offensive plays and turned the ball back over to their visitors.

The graciousness was short-lived as the Devil "D" forced the seventh fumble of the night and fell on it with 0.43.9 seconds left.

With the second string in, Gurdon, Plyler tossed the ball to Lasiter for a five-yard gain to end the game.

The statistics were lopsided in Gurdon's favor in most categories.

The Devils were six of 12 in passing for 73 yards and a touchdown.

Fouke was 0-12 with two interceptions.

Gurdon punted twice for 80 yards, averaging 40 yards per punt.

The Panthers punted three times for 88 yards, with one returned 16 yards. Fouke averaged 29 yards per punt.

In penalties, Gurdon's aggressiveness again showed as the Devils were flagged seven times for 65 yards, while Fouke saw laundry hit the ground three times for 15 yards.Gurdon sacked the Panther quarterback three times, while Pace was caught behind the line of scrimmage once. Though he wasn't actually tackled had nothing to do with his being sacked, as the slip resulted in negative offensive yardage and he was touched down by a Fouke player.

The Devils posted 15 first downs, while giving up 10.

Gurdon fumbled three times in the game, losing all three.

Fouke put the ball on the ground seven times, losing three.

The Panthers were close in one other category, number of plays ran. Gurdon had 49, Fouke had 48.

Gurdon's ground attack netted the Devils 213 yards, while the Panthers had 142 yards rushing.

Overall, Gurdon had 286 offensive yards, while Fouke netted 142.

Fouke rushed the ball 36 times for 142 yards at an average of 3.9 yards a carry.

Gurdon ran the ball 37 times for 213 yards, or a 5.8 ypc average.

The Devils' ground game was led by Fort's 13 carries for 73 yards. He averaged 5.6 yards each time he touched the ball.

Next up was Webster with seven carries for 58 yards, or an 8.3 ypc average.

Pace and Lasiter each rushed the ball five times. Lasiter gained 20 yards for a 4.0 average, while Pace gained 23 yards for a 4.6 average.

Cox had two carries for five yards, with Lee Marks rushing once for a yard.

Moss ran the ball four times for 33 yards, at an average of 8.25 yards a run.

Prior to the kickoff, those present were asked to take a moment of silence in remembrance of Kim Adams who died last week. Adams was to have been the Devils mascot this season.

Gurdon's next opponent will be the Hot Springs Lakeside Rams Friday, Sept. 8, at Go-Devil Stadium.

The Devils met the Rams in seven-man football during the summer, posting wins at each meeting. However, this isn't seven-man football and the AAAA Rams will be looking to give the AA Devils a home loss.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.