Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Go-Devils remain undefeated

The Gurdon Go-Devils have advanced to 2-0 on the season after soundly defeating the Mineral Spring Hornets 33-6 on Friday, Sept. 7. The game was played at Go-Devil Stadium in Gurdon.

Go-Devil Head Coach John Pace said after the game that it took the team a few minutes to get warmed up once on the field.

We came out kind of slow, he said. Thats because we practiced kind of flat this week.

Pace was very satisfied with the performance of the Go-Devil defense during the game. The Hornets were held to only one score, and it was not made until well into the fourth quarter.

Our first line defense had a real solid performance, he said. I feel real good about our first line.

Despite the performance against Mineral Springs, Pace said the Go-Devils have a lot to do this week to prepare for the Sept. 14 non-conference match-up with Bearden. He said the Bearden team has a lot of speed and several returning starters and are a very strong team.

The game will be held in Gurdon, and Pace said that should help a lot. Our home crowd really, really helps us. The guys just feed off of the energy.

On the field Friday night, the game began with Gurdon kicking off to Mineral Springs. The ball sailed into the end zone, and Mineral Springs started first and 10 at their own 20 yard line.

Go-Devil Andrew Franklin made one of the first big defensive game of the game a few plays later when he ran the Hornets out of bounds preventing a large gain by the visiting team.

Go-Devil Kendall Harper broke up a later pass, and on the next play, the Mineral Springs quarterback tripped over his own feet in the backfield forcing the team to punt on fourth and 14.

During the Go-Devils first offensive drive of the game junior OBryan Bell gave the team its first large gain taking the ball 12 yards for a first down. Bell and senior Jeff Henry continued to make gains for the Go-Devils, but senior quarterback Zack Duncan was sacked in the backfield for a loss.

The Go-Devils were later penalized for delay of game and proceeded on fourth and 25. A pass attempt was incomplete, and Gurdon turned the ball over on down.

The first quarter ended with Gurdon once again in possession of the ball, but neither team had points on the board.

The first score of the game came after an exciting drive that saw both teams penalized  Gurdon once for holding and Mineral Springs for encroachment and a facemask penalty. Henry carried the ball to the six yard line where it brought up first and goal. On a quarterback keep, Duncan made it to the two yard line. The score on a two yard run by Bell into the end zone with 6:10 remaining in the first half.

An attempt for an extra point was no good.

Duncan made the next touchdown after recovering a Mineral Springs fumble and running it into the end zone. The Go-Devils went for a two point conversion that was not successful.

After the return, Mineral Springs had made it all the way to the Go-Devils six yard line, and a five yard false start penalty pushed them back five yards. The ball was fumbled with Gurdon recovering and running it all the way back for a touchdown. An illegal holding call on the Go-Devils forced officials to call the touchdown back, but Gurdon retained possession of the ball.

Several plays later Franklin made the next touchdown for the Go-Devils from the two yard line with 34 seconds remaining in the half. A successful two point conversion put Gurdon ahead 20-0 at the half.

The Go-Devils returned from the locker room ready to extend their lead, and the opportunity came up about half way through the third quarter when Bell made a seven yard dash into the end zone. The extra point attempt was not successful, and the score was 26-0.

On a quarterback keeper, Duncan ran the ball in for a touchdown with 1:40 left in the third quarter. The PAT by senior Kendall Harper was successful, bringing the score to 33-0.

The ball went back and forth between the teams for most of the fourth quarter, but Mineral Springs was determined not to leave empty handed. With 5:08 left to play the Hornets put their first points on the board with a touchdown. The football hit and bounced off of the uprights on the extra point attempt, and the score was 33-6.

The Go-Devils fumbled the ball on their own 35 yard line late in the game, and Mineral Springs took possession. Pace called a time out and put in the second line defense to give them playing time.

The entire defensive line sacked the Hornets quarterback for a two yard loss on the next play, and senior Go-Devil Brady Vandiver got the quarterback sack on the next attempt.

Mineral Springs turned the ball over on down, and the Go-Devils ran the remaining time off of the clock.