Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Gurdon Go-Devils play hard but Hornets win, 13-12

The Gurdon Go-Devils went to Mineral Springs ready to play football on Friday night, Sept. 8, but Gurdon lost a heartbreaker, 13-12.

The Hornets held their one-point lead through most of the second half of the game, with both teams being at a stalemate in the fourth quarter.

In the first quarter, Head Coach John Paces Go-Devils got the beginning kick-off with junior Kendall Harper, #9, doing the honors.

The first quarter was back and forth with neither team scoring. However, Gurdon did have good confidence against Mineral Springs, with passes being completed and the team looking alive.

The Go-Devils made the first touchdown before the half, leading 6-0. But Mineral Springs found their wings.

Mineral Springs scored a touchdown with 9:28 minutes in the first half. It was 6-6 and the Hornet fans went wild.

The extra point was good and the Mineral Springs Hornets were ahead 7-6.

Pace said Mineral Springs ranked fifth in 7AA, and the Hornets have an excellent ball team.

The Mineral Springs Hornets made another touchdown, leaving the score at 13-6, with 7:12 left in the first half.

The halftime score remained 13-6, Hornets over Go-Devils.

Once again, Gurdon showed a lot of ability to shut down a team before it ran away with the score.

The boys from Gurdon were not sluggish, as some said they were in the second half against Jessieville last week.

The Go-Devils found a heart in the last half of the ball game.

The Devils came back in the second half like they had something to prove. Gurdon got back in business with 4:58 left in the third quarter after the Hornets fumbled.

The Go-Devils were alive and moving the ball down the field before the end of that third quarter.

Lonnie Lacy, #5, scored on a walk around play, making it 13-12 with 6:35 left in the third quarter. The Hornets were still leading the Go-Devils.

The Go-Devils went for the 2-point conversion, but it was a fumble flag on the play. The Hornets held onto the lead at 13-12.

Going into the fourth quarter, the Mineral Springs Hornets were still ahead with13 points, while the Gurdon Go-Devils remained at12.

The Go-Devils were at the 32-yard line with 9 minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Then with 8:46 in the game, the lightening line of Gurdon came in and the Go-Devils got another chance at possessing the ball because the Mineral Springs coach threw his hat up into the air.

Gurdon got 15 yards out of the penalty. There was 8:23 seconds left in game. Then Mario Walker, #18, had a good solid run of 5 yards.

But the scoring was over for both teams.

The Go-Devils wound up with 172 yards, passing and rushing. Looking at a few of the tackle statistics, #3 Jeff Henry had one tackle, Harper, #9, had three and a half tackles, Justin Smillie, #33, had one assisted tackle, one unassisted tackle, and a recovered fumble.

Overall, the Go-Devils defense came to the plate and did well. Smillie has a broken bone in his hand and still played effectively as a linebacker.

Cody Caldwell, #61, was in on just about every special tackle there was in the Mineral Springs game.

The Go-Devils hung in there. They ran the ball fairly well most of the game.

The Go-Devils had a more positive attitude about them then when they played Jessieville last week. If this Mineral Springs game had been played at Gurdons stadium, it is very possible the Go-Devils would have beat the Hornets by two touchdowns.

Gurdon went man to man with the Hornets.

The heartbreaking loss puts the Go-Devils 0-2 for the season. Gurdon will be away again on Friday, Sept. 15, when they travel to Bearden.

Coach Pace said the Bearden Bears will be another top competitor, but the Go-Devils will continue to improve and be ready for some more action.