Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Go-Devils Lasso Outlaws In 7AA West Round-Up

An ugly win is still a win, and Gurdon's 13-6 victory over Dierks Friday night was definitely ugly.

The Devils improved to 3-2 on the season and 1-1 in conference action, putting them third in the playoff race at this time behind Mineral Springs and Murfreesboro.

There was no way the Outlaws should have played Gurdon this close, but injuries and shifting players to different positions have taken their toll on the team.

Still, it looked as if the Devils would break the game open early after picking off an Outlaw pass on the second play from scrimmage.

O.C. Webster made the interception at the Gurdon 25 after the Outlaws had made it to their own 44 a play earlier.

Two runs by O.B. Moss had the ball at the 35, before Jeremy Means lost a yard. The drive stalled when a bad snap had the ball on the ground and quarterback Colby Pace falling on it at the 29.

His third down pass to Jake Plyler fell incomplete and Gurdon had to punt. Dierks let the ball roll to the Outlaw 45.

Dierks gained nine on first down, with five added on the second play after Gurdon was flagged for grabbing a facemask.

Two Outlaw passes hit nothing but turf, and a third down running play lost six yards to midfield, forcing Dierks to punt again.

Moss fielded the kick at the 24 with 7:00 showing in the period.

Once again, the Devils managed a first down on two runs, before a muffed snap put the ball on the ground, with Gurdon recovering the errant pigskin. The bobble was enough to halt the fledgling drive, forcing Gurdon to punt once again.

This time the Outlaws took over at their 33.

Three plays later Dierks returned the favor, with Moss fielding the ball at the Gurdon 33.

The Devils were 67 yards from the promised land with 3:03 left in the opening period. The team had had its chances to move the ball, but stopped itself.

This wasn't the case on the third drive.

Moss gained seven yards on two runs, before Dierks helped the effort by jumping offsides, putting the ball at the 45.

Moss then broke free to the Outlaw 46, before Pace hit Joe Plyler, who made it to the 35 as time expired.

The second quarter began with Cevin Lasiter pushing the 31, and Webster sweeping to the 22.

Pace made it to the 12 on a near-perfect bootleg, with Moss going in from the two three plays later.

A bad snap from center cost the Devils a shot at the extra point, but Gurdon still led 6-0 with 8:56 left in the half.

Starting at the Outlaw 33, Dierks went nowhere fast and punted after three plays.

Gurdon began at its 41, moved downfield to the Dierks 30 before losing ground and having to punt.

Pace's boot rolled into the end zone for a touchback, placing the ball on the 20 for Dierks.

At this point the Outlaws opened up their passing attack, throwing screen after screen and moving effectively down the field toward what appeared to be the tying score.

Dierks ran 13 plays, making it to the Gurdon 6 before having to turn the ball over on downs. Devil fans breathed a sigh of release when the pass attempt fell harmlessly to the ground with 1:08 showing.

Gurdon was conservative, happy to run out the clock and go in at halftime with the score 6-0.

The Devils received the kick to open the second half, with Jake Plyler fielding it at the 30, moving to the 39 before being brought down.

However, from there, Gurdon moved backwards and was forced to punt, with Dierks getting the ball at the Outlaw 40.

Dierks made it to the Gurdon 44 before Pace picked off a pass at the 15, returning it to the Outlaw 49 with 9:12 in the third.

It was three and punt for the Devils as Gurdon's offense never really got on track during the game.

However, the Dierks receiver took his eye off the ball, which bounced up and hit him. Gurdon recovered the fumble at the Outlaw 9.

It seemed inevitable the Devils would punch one in from point blank range, but this didn't happen.

Lee Marks gained five to the 4 on first down, and this was as close as the Devils got to the end zone on the drive.

Second down saw Gurdon flagged for illegal motion and moved back to the 9.More flags slowed the Devils on third down, and Pace missed connection with Jason Simpson on fourth and goal, giving Dierks the ball at the seven with 4:38 to go.

Once again the Outlaws started moving the ball toward Gurdon's end zone.

A counter play on first down got Dierks out of the shadow of their own goal line at the 22.

Jeremy Means saved a touchdown after a completed pass, by dragging the receiver down by the back of his jersey at the Outlaw 42.

Dierks marched to the Devil 13 as the third quarter came to an end.

The final 12 minutes began with the Outlaws looking to score with a second and six.

The opening play resulted in a fumble recovered by Dierks, but the Outlaws made it to the 1 before the drive stalled and Gurdon took over on downs with 8:23 left in the contest.

Marks gained five to give Gurdon some breathing room, before Moss exploded to the 30.

However, Pace's pass was picked off at the Gurdon 42 and returned for a touchdown.

With 5:52 remaining, the score was tied 6-6. A bad snap by Gurdon resulted in the point after being blocked.

Marks took the kick at the 25, lost the handle, with the ball picked up by Cody Cox, who returned it to the 32.

Giving up the score fired the Devil offense up.

Lasiter gained 9 on first down, adding three on second down. His third straight carry resulted in Gurdon being at the Dierks 44.

Moss took over gaining 13 on two runs before a counter to Jake Plyler resulted in a 31-yard touchdown run.

With 3:43 to go, Gurdon now led 12-6. The PAT sailed high into the night sky, barely crossing the cross bar to make it 13-6.

While being annoying all evening, the Dierks announcer became even more so as he told the fans the Outlaws were still in the game and had played Gurdon tough to this point.

His words proved to be less than prophetic as the short kick was fumbled by a lineman and recovered by Joe Plyler at the Gurdon 49.

Staying conservative and working the clock, Gurdon ran three plays on the ground and punted to the Dierks 32.

The Outlaws came out firing passes, only to be intercepted on third down by Pace, with the ball returned to Gurdon's 47 with 0:47 left.

Three knees later the game ended with the Devils taking home a much needed conference.

Statistically the game was closer than it should have been.

Gurdon ran 53 plays while Dierks had 57 snaps.

The Devils gained 213 yards, with Dierks gaining 188.

Both squads fumbled three times, with Gurdon recovering its mistakes and Dierks losing two.

Neither quarterback was sacked in the contest, though both were harried by the defense.

Gurdon earned 15 first downs, while allowing 12.

The Devils punted five times for 134 yards with no return yardage surrendered. Dierks had three punts for 83 yards and no returns.

The major difference was in the offensive attack used. Dierks was 13 of 26 through the air for 124 yards and getting three picked off. Gurdon threw seven times, completed two with one intercepted and gained six yards.

In rushing Gurdon dominated, running the ball 46 times for 207 yards. The Outlaws ran 21 times for 64 yards.

Moss led the Gurdon ground attack with 17 carries for 87 yards. He was followed by Lasiter, who carried the ball 13 times for 56 yards.

Overall, eight different members of the Devils ran the ball during the game.

In other games of interest to Gurdon's post-season hopes, Foreman blanked Stamps 41-0; Mineral Springs shut out Murfreesboro 34-0 and Lewisville, the biggest surprise in the league, trounced Horatio 22-7.

The current standings in the 7AA-West show Mineral Springs along at the top with a 4-0 overall mark and 3-0 in league play.Foreman is second at 3-2 and 2-0.

Gurdon, Murfreesboro and Horatio are tied for third with 1-1 conference marks. The Devils and Rattlers are 3-2 on the year, while the Lions have a 2-2 record.

Then comes Lewisville at 3-2, 1-2, followed by Dierks, 2-3, 0-2, and Stamps, 0-5, 0-2.

In conference play the Hornets have scored 90 points while giving up 8. Foreman has outscored its opposition 63-0 in league play, while Gurdon has been outscored 14-13.

The Rattlers have put 22 on the board, but given up 34, with the Horatio Lions having outscored their foes 56-38.

Lewisville has been outscored in conference play 77-30, with Dierks having scored six and allowed 35, with hapless Stamps managing 6 points and giving up 90 in two league games.

Action continues Friday night in 7AA-West action as Dierks makes the trip to Murfreesboro; Mineral Springs goes to Horatio and Foreman entertains Lewisville.

Gurdon will play Stamps in the homecoming contest for the Devils. While the kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Go-Devil Stadium, fans need to arrive early for the homecoming festivities.