Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Gurdon Go-Devils Fall 15-12

Football is a game of opportunities. The team making the most of their chances normally wins.

Gurdon had several opportunities to score Friday night, but mental mistakes proved to be more than the Devils could overcome. The end result was a 15-12 loss to Lake Village.

Time and again, the Devils found themselves deep in Beaver territory, but on only two occasions was Gurdon able to take advantage of this and score.

In the end, what proved to be the difference was Lake Village's ability to convert after a touchdown as both teams scored twice. The Beavers managed to convert, while Gurdon didn't.

The Beavers won the toss and found themselves trapped at their own 15 to start the game.

However, the visitors used the clock and a solid ground attack to drive the length of the field for the first score of the game.

The drive took 19 plays and ate up 8:47 of the first quarter.

The Beavers found themselves facing fourth down three times during the drive, disdaining the punt and earning a first down on both attempts.

Lake Village faced a fourth and nine on its own 32 the second time fourth down rolled around. The Beavers lined up in punt formation, but quarterback Lance Douglas winged the ball to Mario Rodgers at the 47, catching Gurdon's defense napping.

Still, the Devil defense fought, forcing yet another fourth down, this time at the Gurdon 37.

Unfortunately, an option keeper by Douglas gained six and kept the drive alive.

Six plays later, Phillip Cingolani went up the gut from the 11 for the score. The point after was good and the Beavers were up 7-0.

RaShaun Hopson took the ensuing kick at the 24, returning it to the Beaver 49, where the Devils offense set up shop.

Brannon Hatley got the first call, and two yards to the 47. Hopson added one on second down, and broke free on third, taking a pitch from Colby Pace 46 yards for the score.

The Devils were flagged for illegal motion on the PAT, making it a 25-yard field goal attempt. It ended up being no good.

Gurdon trailed 7-6 with 1:39 showing.

Eddie Fort, Gurdon's kicker, lined the kickoff at the front line of the Beaver defense, hitting Brian Scarborough in the chest with the ball.

The Devils recovered the fumble at the Lake Village 43.

At this point, the Beaver blitz became apparent, as the Lake Village team shot gap after gap to stymie Gurdon's potent ground attack.

Hatley, on first down, was stopped for no game, while Hopson lost five on second down. Third down saw Pace miss connection with Chris Thompson.

Opportunity number one resulted in Gurdon having to punt the ball away, but not before the Devils were moved back five yards for illegal procedure.

The Beavers took over at their own 35 with five seconds left.

The initial pitch wound up on the ground and under a member of the Devils at the 25 as the buzzer sounded ending period one.

Hopson lost two on first down to start the second period and the Pace-Thompson connection still wasn't working.

On third down, Pace threw the ball to Dennis Brown, only to see another incomplete pass.

A fourth down screen to Hatley lost five yards to the 32 and gave the ball back to the visitors.

Rodgers carried twice to the 49 before Cingolani entered Gurdon territory at the 46, but lost two yards on the next play.

This set up yet another fourth down for Lake Village. The ball was tossed to Rodgers, who scampered to the outside, down the sidelines and into the endzone for an apparent score.

However a flag and holding call nullified the touchdown and put the ball back at the Beaver 48..

Doulas hit Rodgers with a screen pass, but Rodgers slipped down at the 49, giving Gurdon the ball with 8:24 left.

Mental mistakes began to plague the Devils as they were hit three times in two plays with motion penalties, moving them all the way back to the Gurdon 35.

However, the Devils managed to overcome the problem as Pace hit Hopson who took the ball to the Beaver 34. The next Pace to Hopson connection put Gurdon at the one, where Hatley took it in for the second score of the night.

With 3:47 left in the half, the Devils were up 12-7. Coach John Pace had his charges try for a two-point conversion, but it was unsuccessful.

The Beavers moved from their 46 to Gurdon's 22 before turning the ball over on downs with 34 seconds left in the half.

The Devils managed to get three plays off, with Hatley breaking free on second down and running to the Beaver 30 before being brought down.

Unfortunately, halftime arrived with Hopson getting dropped for a four-yard loss.

The second half began with Hopson fumbling the kickoff at the 18, recovering it and putting Gurdon in good shape at the 47.

First down saw Hatley blast to the Beaver 29, but the drive bogged down then.

The next two plays netted a yard, before Pace was sacked for a 10-yard loss on third down.

The Devils punted, pinning the Beavers back at the 11.

Three plays gained two yards and forced the first Lake Village punt of the night. It was short, only getting to the 37.

Hatley took a pitch from Pace to the 25 to set the Devils up in possible scoring position yet again.

Hopson added four to the 21, and then the mental lapse hit as the Devils were nailed for motion on two consecutive attempts to get the play off.

This put Gurdon back to the 31 and forced the Devils to take to the air.

Pace and Hatley failed to connect on second down and the Pace to Hopson tandem misfired on third down, after the Devils had been called for offside. One of the players lined up wrong to bring on the flag.

Fourth down saw Gurdon punt to Rodgers at the 13, with a return to the 25. However, a flag brought the return back to the 10 as Lake Village was called for clipping.

Cingolani gave the Beavers some breathing room to the 13 before Douglas hit Rodgers with a screen to move the ball to the 25.

On first down, Rodgers found Jermaine Carroll behind the Gurdon defense for six. A two point conversion put the Beavers up 15-12 with 3:39 left in the third.

A short kickoff was fielded by Joe Plyler at the Gurdon 31 and returned to the 47, again giving the Devils good field position.

Hatley got to the Beaver 45, but saw his efforts nullified by a motion penalty.

This moved Gurdon back to its own 42. Hopson got the five back, plus a yard for good measure with a six-yard run.

He then was hit behind the line of scrimmage for a two-yard loss, before Pace scampered to the 50 on third down.

The punt on fourth down rolled to the 18, but flags brought it back. Offsetting penalties for roughing the kicker and illegal procedure forced the play to be done over.

This time, Rodgers was able to field the punt at the 14 and return it to the 21.

A flag added five more to the run as Gurdon was called for grabbing the facemask.

Time ran out in the third with Rodgers losing a yard.

A second down pass attempt failed to connect, while third down saw Justin Smith bat the pass to the ground, forcing a fourth down punt.

The boot sailed to the Gurdon 32, where it was fielded by Hatley, who could not advance the ball.

Hatley carried twice to the 37, before Pace found Hopson open on the home sidelines, firing a near perfect pass and watching as it bounced off Hopson's chest.

This forced the Devils to punt the ball back to Lake Village. The kick rolled to the Beaver 22, with the Devil "D" knowing it had to stop the visitors and get the ball back to the offense.

Smith tipped a middle screen away from Rodgers on first down, but Rodgers gained 14 on the next play.

Two plays later the Beavers were in Gurdon territory at the 44, before getting hit with a holding call, which moved them back to the Beaver 36 after being marked from the spot of the foul.

Again the visitors mounted an attack, moving to Gurdon's 27 before turning the ball over on downs with 3:50 left in the game.

Hatley moved past the 30 to the 31 on first down, then to the 45 on second down.

His third consecutive carry breached Beaver territory at the 41, while the fourth run got to the 37.

A pass from Pace to Hopson was incomplete, before Hopson reached the 10 on a rushing attempt.

However, the run was called back as Gurdon was flagged for holding.

This brought the ball back to the Lake Village 47.

Pace was sacked on a third down pass attempt, moving Gurdon back to its own 44.

The Devils had no choice but to go for it on fourth, but Pace's pass for Hopson sailed too high.

With 1:40 left in the game and no time outs left for Gurdon, the Beaver team simply ran out the clock and took the win.

Unofficial statistics show the Beavers running 57 plays to Gurdon's 37.

The two sides were close in rushing with Lake Village getting the edge at 187-160.

In passing, though, the Beavers were more dominant at 111-34.

This put the total yardage at 298 to 194 in the visitors' favor.

Gurdon punted five times for 147 yards, while Lake Village punted twice for 67 yards.

The Devils were penalized 10 times for 65 yards, while the Beavers were hit with eight flags for 75 yards.

Both teams fumbled twice, with Gurdon recovering its mistakes, while Lake Village lost both its bobbles.

However, Pace was sacked twice by the Beaver defense, with Douglas untouched behind the line of scrimmage.

Gurdon had nine first downs in the game, while Lake Village had 14.

Hatley was the horse for the Devils, carrying the ball 14 times for 131 yards.

Next up was Hopson with nine carries for 44 yards.

Pace had three carries for a negative 15 yards.

This week the Devils will remain at home, as they host the arch-rival Prescott Curley Wolves in the battle for the Times-Picayune Traveling Trophy.

This trophy is presented to the victor of the game by the Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times. To date, Prescott has taken the gold home three times to Gurdon's one.

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