Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Devils win big against Knights

Despite a first quarter full of fumbled balls, the Gurdon Go-Devils showed their strengths on Friday, Sept. 20, as they rolled over the Centerpoint Knights 40-0 in the teams 7AAA conference opener.

Gurdon Head Coach John Pace was happy with the win but said he knows his team has tougher challengers waiting further down the schedule. He said some of the mistakes made in the game Friday night must be corrected if the team will be successful in the coming weeks.

We had a lot of turnovers in the first quarter that probably kept us from putting a couple more touchdowns up there, Pace said.

The team travels to Prescott this week for what is usually the most anticipated game of the season.

We play a good football team next week, Pace said of Prescott. Theyve got a lot of speed. Weve got to do a better job of stopping that speed.

Friday nights game began with Centerpoint receiving the ball. The Knights got two first downs before being forced to punt after an eight play drive.

The Go-Devils got a first down on their first offensive play of the game after a hand-off from quarterback Zack Duncan to Jeff Henry. The first score of the game came on the next play when senior Andrew Franklin ran the ball in 45 yards for a touchdown.

The extra point attempt was no good.

The Knights failed to get a first down on their next possession and punted on fourth and four.

Gurdon ended up turning the ball over on down during the next drive, but on Centerpoints second play of the succeeding drive, Duncan intercepted the ball and brought it back to the 43 yard line. Two plays later junior OBryan Bell ran 38 yards for another touchdown.

Bell was also successful running the ball into the end zone for the two point conversion.

The second quarter began with Centerpoint at third and two from the 50 yard line. The Knights were later forced to punt, but Gurdon was called for roughing the kicker, and the personal foul gave the Knights an automatic first down.

The Knights made it all the way to the 20 yard line before fumbling and recovering the ball. The fumble pushed the Knights back to second and 22. A field goal attempt was no good.

The Go-Devils took back over at their own 15 yard line. Bell carried the ball to the 40 yard line on the next play. A few plays later, Gurdon fumbled the snap, and Centerpoint recovered the ball on the 34 yard line.

On the very next play Centerpoint fumbled the ball, and Gurdon recovered near the point of the original turn over.

Franklin had an eight yard carry before the Go-Devils fumbled the ball again on second and two. Centerpoint recovered near their own 51 yard line.

The Knights were eventually forced to punt the ball back to the Go-Devils, and Duncan was sacked in the backfield on the next play.

The half ended with no other significant plays and no other points being put on the board.

The second half began with excitement as Henry carried the ball 40 yards for a touchdown. The extra point kick was no good. The score was brought to 20-0.

The Knights didnt keep the ball long before punting it back to the Go-Devils.

Gurdon made yardage with a pass down to senior Brady Vandiver at the 10 yard line. A penalty against the Go-Devils brought the ball back to the original line of scrimmage.

The Go-Devils ended up punting on fourth and 21.

The Knights couldnt retain possession as Duncan picked off a pass at the 31 yard line. The Go-Devils got the ball to the 20, and Franklin had a 14 yard carry to the six.

Bell once again found his way into the end zone on the next play with 4:46 remaining in the third quarter. A pass to the end zone for a two point conversion was incomplete.

The fourth quarter began with the Knights turning the ball over on down. The Go-Devils made their way down the field with ease. On a quarterback keeper, Ethan Jones carried the ball five yards for a first down. On the next play, a pass from Jones to junior Princeton McPeak was complete to the end zone.

Two point conversion was no good, and the score was 32-0.

After the kick return, Centerpoint made good progress for a few plays as they fought to put points on the board. The drive, however, ended in the Knights turning the ball over on down at the 49 yard line.

Sophomore Keonta McClelland got his hands on the ball in the next play and ran 48 yards into the end zone. McPeak made the successful two point conversion, and the score was 40-0.

Centerpoint was not successful in moving the ball during its final drive.