Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Devils roll over Mt. Pine, 39-0

Gurdon rolled into Mountain Pine Friday night to compete against the Red Devils.

It was Gurdon who would end the game as the dominant group of Devils, with a convincing 39-0 win.

Brandon Sanders and Eric McCuistion returned from injuries and were captains along with Michael Testa. They would help both the offensive and defensive lines, who showed a big improvement from previous games.

Mountain Pine won the toss and decided to kick. Davion Williams made a nice return, but it was called back because of a flag. After another kick Gurdon took over at its 36.

Jamelle Lacy started the game off the right way with a 19-yard gain. Marcel Johnson added seven more on the next carry. However, Mountain Pine stopped the next two runs and Gurdon was forced to punt.

Hunter Johnson punted the ball down to the five to corner the Red Devils deep in their own territory. The Gurdon defense dominated the run on the first two plays and on third down Hunter Johnson nearly intercepted the ball thrown by Tony Sales. Mountain Pine was set to punt and the snap went sailing over the punter's head and out of the end zone for a safety, giving Gurdon a 2-0 lead.

The Red Devils were forced to kick off from the 20 yard-line and Gurdon recovered the squib kick at midfield. Lacy started the drive with a 17-yard carry, but the drive ended when Williams fumbled and Mountain Pine recovered.

Shaun Keefe and David Louton ran for a first down on two plays. However, Robert Plyler drug the runner down seven yards behind the line on the next play. Courtney Berry made the sack to push the Red Devils back six more yards. On third down Sales dropped back and found Drew Short for a big gain, but Short fumbled and Gurdon took over at its 20.

Lacy started the drive with two runs for 30 yards, but fumbled on his next run, and Mountain Pine took the ball back.

Sales found Louton through the air for 22 yards. The Go-Devils stepped up the defense on the next three plays and Mountain Pine had to punt. Camron Kennedy returned the punt to the Gurdon 14. Lacy and Williams both picked up first downs on consecutive plays, but the Go-Devils could not pick up yardage after that and punted the ball away.

Mountain Pine would return the favor after the defense forced them to go three and out.

After a few short runs and a facemask call against Mountain Pine, Gurdon was on the Red Devil 41. The Go-Devils were penalized for holding and could not get the offense going. Gurdon went for it on fourth down, but the gamble didn't pay off and Mountain Pine took the ball back on downs.

Sales found Short on a pass for 10 yards and then another for 37. However, the momentum shifted on the next play when they fumbled and Gurdon recovered.

Lacy took the ball 36 big yards on the next play. Marcel Johnson added six more yards and then Lacy took the ball for another big gain of 30. Hunter Johnson finished the drive with a 16-yard touchdown run. The Go-Devils went for the two-point conversion and were successful with a run by Lacy, making it 10-0.

Gurdon kicked off and the defense shut down Mountain Pine again. The Go-Devils ran out the clock with a few short runs and at the end of the half it was 10-0.

Mountain Pine started at its 42 after the kickoff to start the second half. The Go-Devil line put constant pressure on Sales to make him throw a series of incomplete passes. Mountain Pine punted and Gurdon took over on its 29.

Marcel Johnson, Hunter Johnson and Lacy put together an outstanding drive on the ground. They drove down to the Mountain Pine 25 where Lacy finished the drive with a touchdown to start a flurry of third quarter scores by the Go-Devils. The extra point hit the uprights and was no good.

Gurdon kicked off and Mountain Pine started on its 33. A big run by Louton moved the Red Devils 24 yards. Mountain Pine looked poised to score as they drove down the field, but that came to an abrupt halt when Williams intercepted a pass and ran the ball all the way down to the Mountain Pine 20.

An illegal block call against the Go-Devils took away Williams's run, so Gurdon took over on its 18. That would not stop Williams though. After a big 31-yard gain from Lacy, Williams streaked past the Mountain Pine defense for a 40-yard touchdown run. Quarterback Calvin Nolan added two points with a keeper and the score was 24-0.

After the kick, Mountain Pine started on its 35. A short run by Louton started the drive, but the next play quickly ended it. Cantrell Green tipped Sales's pass and intercepted the ball. He then took it down the sideline for 40 yards and a touchdown. Nolan connected with Ben Gooding for two more points and Gurdon led 32-0 with 2:53 left in the third quarter.

Mountain Pine would try to get its offense going, but Gurdon was too strong defensively. The Go-Devils shut down the run and Berry found the quarterback again for a sack. The Red-Devils tried to convert on fourth down but couldn't and Gurdon took over.

Two false start penalties and a fumble ended The Go-Devils drive. Mountain Pine tried again to get things going, but Gurdon put a stop to it. The Red Devils turned the ball over once more on downs. Back-up quarterback Jesus Prado came into the game and handed the ball to Hunter Johnson who gained 18 yards on two runs. Then Prado scampered 21 yards for another Gurdon touchdown. Plyler added another point with the kick and the score was 39-0.

Mountain Pine failed to get things going and turned the ball over. Gurdon then ran out the clock to end the game.

Head Coach John Pace gathered his players around after the game and told them to build on the win. "Our kids played hard," Pace said. "We have endured injuries. Our offensive line played a lot better. We played with confidence."

Pace looks ahead to next week's conference opponent Murfreesboro. "Murfreesboro is like us. They are young and have speed. The team who hangs on to the ball and executes should win."

The game will be at Murfreesboro and begins at 7:30.