Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Junior Devils look good in jamboree

The Junior Go-Devils of Gurdon battled it out on Monday night, Aug. 23, against Norphlet's Leopards at a Gurdon pre-season jamboree.

Junior Go-Devils Coach Hank Lewis said, even though the final score was 12-8 Norphelt, he felt good about the team's overall performance.

"We won the first half (8-6) and showed a lot of what it takes," he said. "I was really surprised with our offense and defense. There was a lot of effort out there."

Last year's record was 3-2-1, with the junior Devils destined to play conference foes Springhill and Fouke for a shot at playing the other half of the conference and the championship game of 2004.

As to the Monday jamboree, Coach Lewis said the scoring was done by O'Bryan Bell, who ran in a touchdown and succeeded in the 2-point conversion.

During the three quarters of the opening jamboree, the junior evils had 21 carries for 209 yards. They threw three passes complete, for 17 yards. Ethan Jones, an eighth grader and quarterback, was a quarterback for the first time in junior high and he passed the ball to Mario Walker, who caught it for a completed pass. Lewis said his new quarterback "did good."

"Our offensive line did a great job," Coach Lewis said. "I see a lot of talent in the eighth graders. Our team overall, did very well."

Coach Lewis said the big thing now is to get the team ready for the Prescott rivalry game, which for junior high school will be played at Gurdon, 7 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 2.

The line-up for this year includes: Jeff Henry, ninth grader, quarterback/linebacker, 5-9, 150 pounds; Kendall Harper, ninth grader, offensive line, 5-11, 220 pounds; Marcus Williams, ninth grader, offensive and defensive line, 5-10, 225 pounds; Brian Duncan, ninth grader, offensive and defensive lines, 5-9, 190 pounds; Chris Young, offensive and defensive line, 5-11, 240 pounds; Taurean Gulley, ninth grader, tied end and defensive tackle, 5-6, 185 pounds; Steven Aruther, ninth grader, tied end and defensive end, 5-8, 140 pounds; Mario Walker, ninth grader, running back and defensive end, 6-2, 170 pounds; Nick Harper, ninth grader, wide receiver and defensive back, 5-2, 120 pounds; Dustin Curry, ninth grader, wide receiver and defensive back, 5-8, 120 pounds; Coty Marks, ninth grader, wide receiver and defensive back, 5-3, 125 pounds; Ryan Gosney, ninth grader, wide receiver and defensive back, 5-6, 110 pounds; O'Bryan Bell, eighth grader, running back and linebacker, 5-9, 160 pounds; Caleb Jones, eighth grader, wide receiver and defensive back, 5-4, 125 pounds; Ethan Jones, eighth grader, quarterback and defensive back, 5-11, 130 pounds; K.B. Keeling, eighth grader, running back and defensive back, 5-5, 105 pounds; Pierce Lowery, eighth grader, offensive line and defensive end, 5-11, 165 pounds; Casey McNabb, eighth grader, wide receiver and defensive end, 5-9, 140 pounds; Princeton McPeak, eighth grader, running back and defensive back, 5-8, 150 pounds; Evan Rutherford, eighth grader, offensive and defensive line, 5-2, 150 pounds; Justin Smillie, eighth grader, running back and linebacker, Donte Stephens, eighth grader, offensive line and defensive tackle, 5-10, 220 pounds; Robert Powers, eighth grader, wide receiver and defensive back, 5-3, 115 pounds; and Jeremy Hammonds, eighth grader, defensive line and defensive tackle.

As to this year's schedule, after Prescott the junior Devils will be at home on Sept. 16, playing Spring Hill in Gurdon at 7 p.m. Game time throughout the schedule remains at 7 p.m. On Thursday, Sept. 23, the junior Devils will travel to Fouke. They will play at home the next week, on Thursday, Sept. 30. On Oct. 7, the junior Devils will play Fouke again, this time on the Gurdon field at home.

On Oct. 14, the junior Devils travel to Spring Hill. Then on Thursday, Oct. 21, the team will be in the conference playoff.