Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Murfreesboro Rattles Go-Devils; Gurdon Now Third

Murfreesboro was able to do something no other team has done against Gurdon all season  drive the ball against the Devil's defense.

The Rattlers mounted three long drives to hand Gurdon a 20-13 loss.

This was a game Gurdon should have won and needed to win in order to finish second in the conference. Now, the Devils will likely finish third and be on the road for round one of the playoffs.

With the exception of the two scoring drives, the Devils seemed to be flat. Most certainly, it wasn't the same team that beat Foreman a week earlier.

The game opened with Gurdon winning the toss and deferring until the second half. The kick was squibbed to midfield, where it was covered by Will Davis.

Murfreesboro ran three plays, gained six yards and punted to the Gurdon 3. However, the Devils could have had the ball further upfield, but it hit between O.B. Moss and Lee Marks near the 20, rolling to the 3 before being downed.

Moss carried twice, moving the ball to the 10, before the Devils were flagged for illegal motion.

Moving the ball back five yards only inspired the team as the offensive line opened a gaping hole in the Rattler defense. This allowed Moss to sprint literally the length of the field for a 95-yard touchdown.

The point after made it 7-0 Gurdon with 9:00 minutes left in the opening quarter.

Murfreesboro stormed back, taking the kick at the 17, returning it to the 25 where the Rattlers set up shop.

From then on, Gurdon was fed a steady diet of Josh Holcomb, with a touch of Justin Compton thrown in, along with a dash of Marcus Graham.

Holcomb carried five times in the seven-play drive, scoring on a 38-yard run with 6:45 left in the first. The PAT was no good and Gurdon led 7-6.

It looked as if the Devils would respond in kind on the next drive. Joe Plyler fielded the kick at the 28, returning it to the 42, giving Gurdon good field position.

The Rattlers jumped offside to move the ball to the 47 and make life seemingly easier for the Devils.

In fact, Gurdon ran off eight plays, moving to the Rattler 5 before the drive fizzled out.

However, the Devils also proved to be their own worst enemy on the drive as Gurdon was flagged twice for procedure penalties, forcing the team to overcome lost yardage.

Cevin Lasiter carried the bulk of the load on the drive, with help from Moss and K.P. Meeks.

The Devils drove to the Murfreesboro 22 as the first quarter ended. Picking up where they left off in the second, the Devils moved to the 12 with a five-yard run by Moss after an offside call against the Rattlers.

Three running plays moved the ball to the five. On fourth and three, Colby Pace missed connection with Joe Plyler, giving the Rattlers the ball on downs a the five.

Murfreesboro moved to its 21 before the Gurdon defense shut the Rattlers down, forcing a punt.

Lasiter fielded the ball at midfield and went no further.

This was great field position for the Devils, right up until the offense took the field.

Right off the bat the Devils were flagged for illegal procedure and lost five yards making it first and 15.

Three plays later, Gurdon had made it to its own 46 and punted. The punt went out of bounds at the Rattler 32.

Murfreesboro again used Holcomb almost exclusively to get to the Rattler 45, where its drive stalled and Gurdon got the ball back on another punt.

It was three and punt for the Devils, as Gurdon was unable to keep Matt Graham out of the backfield. Graham disrupted the offense's timing enough to prevent the Devils from mounting another drive in the half.

But, the punt bounced into and off of Jack Matthews at the Gurdon 45 and was recovered by the Devils at the 43.

A new series of downs didn't help as Gurdon was immediately hit with a flag for clipping, moving the ball back to the 28 with 40.6 seconds left in the half.

Pace kneeled twice to run out the clock, but the Rattlers got nasty and penalized for a personal foul. This moved the ball to the 37, where Pace kneeled a third time.

Halftime arrived with Gurdon holding a narrow 7-6 lead.

Moss took the second half kick at the 16, returning it to the 36 as the Devils got the ball to begin the third quarter.Murfreesboro was able to do something no other team has done against Gurdon all season  drive the ball against the Devil's defense.

The Rattlers mounted three long drives to hand Gurdon a 20-13 loss.

This was a game Gurdon should have won and needed to win in order to finish second in the conference. Now, the Devils will likely finish third and be on the road for round one of the playoffs.

With the exception of the two scoring drives, the Devils seemed to be flat. Most certainly, it wasn't the same team that beat Foreman a week earlier.

The game opened with Gurdon winning the toss and deferring until the second half. The kick was squibbed to midfield, where it was covered by Will Davis.

Murfreesboro ran three plays, gained six yards and punted to the Gurdon 3. However, the Devils could have had the ball further upfield, but it hit between O.B. Moss and Lee Marks near the 20, rolling to the 3 before being downed.

Moss carried twice, moving the ball to the 10, before the Devils were flagged for illegal motion.

Moving the ball back five yards only inspired the team as the offensive line opened a gaping hole in the Rattler defense. This allowed Moss to sprint literally the length of the field for a 95-yard touchdown.

The point after made it 7-0 Gurdon with 9:00 minutes left in the opening quarter.

Murfreesboro stormed back, taking the kick at the 17, returning it to the 25 where the Rattlers set up shop.

From then on, Gurdon was fed a steady diet of Josh Holcomb, with a touch of Justin Compton thrown in, along with a dash of Marcus Graham.

Holcomb carried five times in the seven-play drive, scoring on a 38-yard run with 6:45 left in the first. The PAT was no good and Gurdon led 7-6.

It looked as if the Devils would respond in kind on the next drive. Joe Plyler fielded the kick at the 28, returning it to the 42, giving Gurdon good field position.

The Rattlers jumped offside to move the ball to the 47 and make life seemingly easier for the Devils.

In fact, Gurdon ran off eight plays, moving to the Rattler 5 before the drive fizzled out.

However, the Devils also proved to be their own worst enemy on the drive as Gurdon was flagged twice for procedure penalties, forcing the team to overcome lost yardage.

Cevin Lasiter carried the bulk of the load on the drive, with help from Moss and K.P. Meeks.

The Devils drove to the Murfreesboro 22 as the first quarter ended. Picking up where they left off in the second, the Devils moved to the 12 with a five-yard run by Moss after an offside call against the Rattlers.

Three running plays moved the ball to the five. On fourth and three, Colby Pace missed connection with Joe Plyler, giving the Rattlers the ball on downs a the five.

Murfreesboro moved to its 21 before the Gurdon defense shut the Rattlers down, forcing a punt.

Lasiter fielded the ball at midfield and went no further.

This was great field position for the Devils, right up until the offense took the field.

Right off the bat the Devils were flagged for illegal procedure and lost five yards making it first and 15.

Three plays later, Gurdon had made it to its own 46 and punted. The punt went out of bounds at the Rattler 32.

Murfreesboro again used Holcomb almost exclusively to get to the Rattler 45, where its drive stalled and Gurdon got the ball back on another punt.

It was three and punt for the Devils, as Gurdon was unable to keep Matt Graham out of the backfield. Graham disrupted the offense's timing enough to prevent the Devils from mounting another drive in the half.

But, the punt bounced into and off of Jack Matthews at the Gurdon 45 and was recovered by the Devils at the 43.

A new series of downs didn't help as Gurdon was immediately hit with a flag for clipping, moving the ball back to the 28 with 40.6 seconds left in the half.

Pace kneeled twice to run out the clock, but the Rattlers got nasty and penalized for a personal foul. This moved the ball to the 37, where Pace kneeled a third time.

Halftime arrived with Gurdon holding a narrow 7-6 lead.

Moss took the second half kick at the 16, returning it to the 36 as the Devils got the ball to begin the third quarter.This gave Gurdon a total of 259 offensive yards, while the Rattlers managed 10 more at 269.

The Devils had 41 running plays, gaining 6.1 yards each time, while the Rattlers ran 47 times for 5.47 yards a rush.

Meeks ran the ball nine times for 137 yards, or a whopping 15.2 yards per carry average. Most of this, though, came on his 95-yard touchdown run.

Lasiter carried 17 times for 66 yards, while Marks ran seven times for 13 yards.

Meeks carried three times, gaining five yards, while Pace had four shots for four yards. Jake Plyler ran once for 23 yards.

In spite of the loss there was a bright spot for the Devils. Sophomore John Watson stepped into the lineup and played a solid game at linebacker for Gurdon. Watson replaced a player removed from the team for disciplinary reasons.

Gurdon, 6-3, 4-2, is now third in the 7AA West behind Mineral Springs, 8-0, 7-1, and Murfreesboro, 7-2, 5-1.

Foreman will finish fourth in the conference with its 5-4, 4-2. record, while Horatio is fifth at 3-5, 2-4. Sixth in the league is a surprising Lewisville team at 4-5, 2-5, followed by Dierks, 3-6, 1-5, and Stamps, 0-9, 0-6.

Teams in the 7AA West will meet opponents from the 7AA East in the opening round of the state playoffs, beginning Friday, Nov. 10.

At this point, Junction City and Rison have 7-1 conference records, though the Dragons season record is better at 8-1 compared to Rison's 7-2. There is a tie for third place between Camden Harmony Grove, 7-2, 6-2, and Hampton, 7-2, 6-2.

This Friday, Nov. 3, will settle all issues. El Dorado Westside Christian, 0-8, 0-8, will be at Hampton. Bearden will be at Hermitage, Smackover travels to Camden Harmony Grove, Junction City is on the road to Norphlet and Strong will be at Rison in the 7AA East.

In the 7AA West, Murfreesboro goes to Foreman, Stamps is at Dierks, and Horatio will be at Gurdon.

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Go Devil Stadium.