Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Devils post first win, 14-0

An 0-2, wounded Gurdon team visited Spring Hill Friday for their first conference game of the season, with a 14-0 victory over the Bears.

The Go-Devils struggled with the young football program all night.

Spring Hill won the toss and received the ball as cows grazed the pasture just beyond the field. The Bears made a nice return to the 45.

They then made a first down with runs from Justin Rosenbaum and Caleb Askew. Running back Chris Smith gained 12. It was all for nothing though, because on the next play the Bears fumbled and Gurdon junior Courtney Berry recovered to give the Devils the ball.

The Devils drive started with an eight-yard run by Jamelle Lacy. An illegal motion call on the following play put Gurdon back five. Lacy gained back four yards on the next play and then Davion Williams picked up 12 to give the Devils a first down. Lacy ran for seven yards next, but a fumbled handoff put Gurdon back three yards on the next play. On third and seven Lacy picked up nine more yards for a first down on the Bears 37.

An illegal motion penalty slowed the drive and then a fumble on a pitch ended it.

Spring Hill took over, and Smith picked up 20 yards to start the drive. A sideline-warning penalty against Gurdon and runs by Askew and Rosenbaum gave the Bears another first down. However, their momentum was stopped by Lacy who picked off quarterback Stanley Kimbell.

Runs by Williams and fullback Hunter Johnson in the shotgun formation helped Gurdon pick up first down yardage to end the first quarter.

Lacy started the second quarter the right way for the Go-Devils. He began with a short gain, then broke free for a 54-yard touchdown run, his first of the season.

A flag on the extra point attempt would put Gurdon out of kicking range, so Williams took the ball eight yards on the quarterback keeper to make the score 8-0.

Spring Hill started on its 25 after the kickoff. The Devils defense stopped Askew in his tracks on the first play. An incomplete pass and a short run set up fourth and two despite an offsides call against Gurdon.

The Bears tried to make Gurdon jump offsides and couldn't so they called a timeout. Spring Hill still tried to go for the first down, but Kenneth Harper and Marcel Johnson shut down Smith on the run.

The Devils took over with good field position. Lacey and Williams picked up nine and then Hunter Johnson picked up the first down. Williams followed with another eight yards. Quarterback Calvin Nolan pitched out to Williams for three more.

The Devils lost five on the next play and Marcel Johnson picked up three. On fourth and goal from the six, Gurdon faked a field goal, but Michael Brown could not complete the pass and Spring Hill took over.

The Bears picked up a first down on three straight runs. However, Berry made it in the backfield and sacked Kimbell on the next play.

Kimbell found Rosenbaum for a 21-yard gain later in the drive. He would go to the air one time too many though, and was intercepted by Hunter Johnson.

The Devils would go three and out and were forced to punt. They then held Spring Hill from scoring as the half ran out.

The Bears came out with some trickery and recovered an onside kick. However, it did not pay off as the Devil defense stepped up and forced a Spring Hill punt.

Gurdon started on its 19 and could not get moving on first and second down. Lacy broke free on third down though and picked up 18 yards. He ran three more times, but could not pick up a first down and Gurdon was forced to punt.

The first two plays of Spring Hill's drive were plagued by penalties and a tough Gurdon defense. That set up third down and 15. Sophomore lineman, Harper then laid a hard hit on the runner who fumbled the ball that Harper recovered.

The Devils had good field position, but could not get the running game going on the drive, and turned the ball over on downs.

The Bears offense was not going anywhere either. A loss on a run and two incomplete passes forced them to punt.

Gurdon took over on their own 35. Hunter Johnson was stopped for no gain on the first play. Williams broke free down the sideline and all the Bears could do was watch the back of number five's jersey as he ran 75 yards for a touchdown.

The extra point was no good and the score was 14-0.

Spring Hill would try to get things going, but were shut down. They turned over on downs, but Gurdon would not succeed on offense either and were forced to punt.

After a short punt, the Bears took over on Gurdon's 21 yard line. They could not capitalize on the field position though, as they fumbled with Marcel Johnson recovering.

Lacy and Camron Kennedy would pick up a first down on three runs. The run was shut down on the next three plays though and Gurdon punted the ball down to the Spring Hill 44.

With time ticking down in the game, the Devils would shut down the Bears again. Berry got a second sack on Kimbell, and Kentrell Green ended the game with an interception. The new team of Spring Hill gave the Go-Devils competition that many had not predicted. "It was a hard fought win," said Head Coach John Pace.

"We were beat up. We have offensive players missing. I'm proud of our kids."

Gurdon will get ready to travel to Mountain Pine for another non-conference game next week.

"They've got more speed than Spring Hill," Pace said. "It will depend on how many players we can get back."