Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Bearden Gurdon's Tenth Victim

Friday the 13th and the Gurdon Go-Devils proved to be too much for the Bearden Bears in the first round of the state football playoffs.

The Bears had to play in Gus Brown Stadium, where no opponent has won this season, and went home to prepare for basketball season as they were whipped 20-0.

This was the fifth shutout for Gurdon this year.

The game was played under less than ideal conditions, as a heavy drizzle fell all night, at times becoming a light rain.

Weather conditions contributed to several turnovers for both teams, but the Devils took advantage of Bearden mistakes, while not giving the Bears a chance to return the favor.

The Devils won the toss to start the game, with Chauncey Charles fielding the kick at the 15, returning it to the 29 where Gurdon's offense set up shop.

Gurdon showed the ability to move the ball, as two Charles carries had the Devils at the 45. However, play number three saw the ball on the ground, but a Gurdon player fell on it.

The Devils marched downfield, devouring chunks of yardage as they went to the Bearden 44 before coughing the ball up.

The Bears took control at their own 39 with 7:00 showing.

Bearden went to the air, ignoring the wet ball. The Bears moved into Gurdon territory at the 49, before being forced to punt.

The Devils, beginning at their own 27, started the drive by going the wrong direction. First down saw Charles lose 10 yards.

Eric Allen was sacked on second down, and again on third. Josh Griffin had to punt from the very back of the end zone, but got off a good kick as the Bears let the ball die at Gurdon's 43.

Four plays later, Bearden fumbled, with Gurdon falling on the loose ball at the Devil 25.

From there, it didn't take the home team long to put points on the board. Charles, who carried 26 times in the game, blistered the Bearden defense on first down with a 32-yard scamper to the Bear 43. Allen decided to keep the ball on the next play, and rambled the remaining distance for six points.

Griffin capped the drive by booting the ball between the uprights. With 11:19 left in the half, it was 7-0 for the good guys

This is how the score stayed for the remainder of the second quarter, as neither team could sustain a drive.

Both moved the ball up and down the field, but penalties or turnovers would stop them in their tracks.

Following the kickoff after Gurdon's first score, Bearden fumbled, with the Devils recovering at the Bear 14.

It looked like the beginning of a blowout, but the Bear defense stiffened and forced Gurdon, after moving to the 3, back to the 8 and give the ball up on downs.

The Bears showed the ability to move the ball on Gurdon's stingy defense, taking it from the shadow of their goal to Gurdon's 43 before the Devil "D" shut them down and forced another punt.

Halftime arrived with the players wet and muddy, the band not being able to play, the fans happy, but worried and Gurdon leading 7-0.

Bearden got the ball to open the second half, taking the short kick at the 32, but losing yardage to the 30 when a lateral from DeAndre Coleman to Josh Paul hit the turf.

From there, the Bears went back and forth, moving the ball into Gurdon territory, before getting flagged and being moved back by the officials.

In fact, Bearden kept the ball for 6:06 before being forced to punt.

Gurdon's defense didn't get much rest as the offense was unable to mount a drive.

After taking the punt at its own nine, though the Devils moved to the 26 on two plays, before stalling out and having to punt.

Rested or not, the Gurdon defense forced a Bearden punt three plays later.

The Devils began their second scoring drive from the Gurdon 38, moving to the Bearden 49 in two plays as the third quarter ended.

Gurdon could smell the win and continued life as the final 12 minutes got underway.

Two running plays got to the Bearden 46 before Allen found Griffin at the 30.

Four plays later, Charles was in the promised land, concluding an eight yard touchdown run.

Griffin's kick was wide left, but Gurdon held a 13-0 lead with 9:35 left.

It was three and out for the Bears as the Devil defense became the immovable object.

Charles fielded the punt at the Gurdon 41, and gave the Devils good field position at the Bearden 43.

Allen kept on first down, getting to the Bear 39. Charles added seven yards on the next play to give the Devils a first down at the 32.

A reverse to Demond Beasley moved the ball to the 28, but it was all for naught as Gurdon was flagged for holding.

This moved the Devils back 10 yards from the spot of the foul, but didn't slow the team down as Charles scored on the next play.

Griffin's kick was true and Gurdon held a 20-0 lead with 5:49 left.

Bearden's quarterbacks, Delenell Reid and Dustin Bowen had to run for their lives as the Devils declared it Bear season and went hunting for signalcallers.

Reid, after being sacked by Beasley at the Bearden 43, found Gurdon's Brannon Hatley in the secondary, though not intentionally.

Hatley picked the ball off at the Gurdon 40 and made it to midfield before being brought down.

Charles pushed the ball to the 35 on first down, as the Devils moved methodically downfield to the Bearden 8 before letting the clock run out.

Unofficially, Allen was one of three in passing for 16 yards. Bearden's quarterbacking tandem was four of 12 for 49 yards, and was picked off three times.

Gurdon punted three times for 109 yards with the Bears losing seven yards in return attempts. Bearden booted the ball five times for 136 yards, allowing 13 yards in return.

For the first time this season, the Devils found a way to cut down on penalties. Gurdon was flagged twice for 15 yards. Bearden, though, saw laundry fall seven times for 65 yards in losses.

The Devils led in first downs, 16-10, while both defenses recorded three sacks each.

The two teams fumbled five times apiece, with Gurdon losing three and Bearden losing two.

The Bears ran more plays than Gurdon, 49-46, but did less with them. Gurdon led in total offense 280-183.

Gurdon's potent ground attack netted 264 yards, while the defense gave up 134.

Charles' 26 carries in the game added 189 yards to his season's total. Hatley ran the ball six times for 27 yards.

Allen ran 10 times for 44 yards, while Beasley ran once for four yards.

Gurdon rushed a total of 43 times, while the Bears ran the ball 37 times. The Devils averaged 6.1 yards per carry, and held Bearden to 3.6 yards a carry.

In other playoff games concerning teams from the 7AA West, Mineral Springs made an early exit by falling to Harmony Grove 22-8.

Horatio also bowed out quickly as