Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Go-Devils Defeat Lewisville 40-6

Lewisville would have had a better chance against Gurdon if the game had been basketball.

It wasn't and the Red Devils were scorched 40-6 Friday night at Go-Devil Stadium.

Gurdon's first string played the entire first half and part of the third period before Coach John Pace emptied the benches. In fact, anyone wearing a purple jersey and gold hat got in the game.

For a blowout, the game was less than interesting. In fact, the officials commented on how boring the game was because Lewisville posed no threat to Gurdon.

The contest looked better on paper than in reality, but only because Gurdon scored quickly and often.

The game began with the Red Devils winning the toss and electing to receive. Eddie Fort's squibber went between the legs of Lewisville's Cedric Davis, who fell on the loose ball at the 14.

Cleveland Hamilton carried the bulk of the work for Lewisville, carrying twice on the opening drive for eight yards.

Third down saw Gurdon flagged for offside, giving Lewisville a first down at the 27. First downs were about all the Red Devils had to celebrate for most of the game, as Gurdon's defense stymied them throughout.

Following the penalty, Jason Ross's pass was picked off by his counterpart Colby Pace. Pace intercepted the pass at the Lewisville 34, returning it to the 11.

One play later Brannon Hatley was in the end zone and Gurdon led 6-0. There was 10:08 still left in the opening period. The point after made it 7-0 and the rout was on.

Once again, Davis mishandled the kickoff and found himself gang tackled at the Lewisville 21.

Gurdon held the Red Devils to four yards on three plays, but a penalty for improper equipment allowed Lewisville to keep the ball.

It didn't matter, except for the time of possession, because four plays later Gurdon got the ball on downs at the Lewisville 40.

Gurdon required a total of four plays to push its second touchdown across. Cody Cox gained seven on first down, with Hatley running the ball twice to the 3 before Pace went in on a sneak.

The PAT was good and Gurdon held a 14-0 lead with 5:24 left in the period. One of the more amazing facts in the game was Gurdon connecting on four of six point after tries.

Gurdon's third kickoff of the night was mishandled and rolled into the end zone for a touchback, putting Lewisville on its own 20.

Three plays saw the Red Devils move backwards four yards and punt the ball to Gurdon.

Taking over at the Lewisville 38, the Devils appeared to be on their way to score number three of the period.

Cox gained four on first down before RaShaun Hopson coughed up the ball. Lewisville recovered the fumble at its own 26.

The Red Devils moved to their 37 as the period ended.

Lewisville began driving the ball down field against Gurdon, getting to the Devil 31 before a third down fumble slowed the drive. Ross was flushed out of the pocket on fourth down, gaining six but winding up short of a first down.

In order to keep Gurdon from almost scoring at will, the Red Devils tried to tackle the ball and not the runner. This was not a good idea with Hatley carrying the mail.

Four runs by Hatley moved the ball to the Gurdon 49 before Pace connected with O.B. Moss for the touchdown.

Again, the PAT split the uprights and Gurdon led 21-0 with 6:07 left in the half.

Davis bobbled the kickoff once more, but managed to pick up the loose ball at the 15 and get to the 18 before going down under a wave of purple and gold.

From there it was one, two, three, kick and Gurdon's offense was back on the field again.

The punt sailed to the Gurdon 48 where Hatley picked it up on the bounce, broke right and ran to the Lewisville 36 before being brought down.

A holding call on first down moved the ball back 10 yards, but the penalty didn't slow Gurdon down enough to matter.

After Pace missed connection with Joe Plyler on a first down pass, Hatley and Cox went to work on the ground game.

Hatley gained 15 to the 28, with Cox adding four on the next play. The third play of the short drive saw Hatley stopped at the 20.

On second down, Hatley took the ball, broke through containment and scored to put Gurdon up 27-0 with 1:35 left in the half. The fourth straight PAT was good and the Devils were up 28-0.

Lewisville moved from its own 33 to the Gurdon 47 before the Devil defense began pushing them back. The half arrived with the Red Devils at their own 44.

The score could have been much worse, but it is possible Gurdon was looking ahead to the Foreman game this week, as the outcome of the Devil-Gator game will play a significant role in the playoffs.

Period three began with Plyler fielding the kickoff at the 30 and returning it to the 46.

Hatley needed one play to score 17 seconds into the second half. This time, the point after kick was wide left, but Gurdon still led 34-0.

Davis failed to wipe his hands clean during the halftime break as he fumbled the kick at the 22. However, the ball was booted around with Lewisville recovering it at the 29.

An incomplete pass and two-yard run set up a third and long for the Red Devils, but Fort introduced himself to Ross in the backfield, forcing a punting situation.

Hatley fielded the boot on the bounce at the Lewisville 49, returning it to the 36.

Cox rambled to the 17 on first down, before Moss lost eight on the next play. Gurdon was hit with a holding penalty, pushing the Devils back to the 32.

Pace and Hopson failed to connect on a pass attempt, but the Red Devils were hit with an interference call on the next play when Pace tossed the ball in the direction of Dennis Brown.

This put Gurdon at the 17 again, with Cox gaining 11 on a counter and Pace going in on an option.

Fort's try for point after went wide right this time with Gurdon still up 40-0 with 7:38 showing. Last season, Gurdon posted a 40-0 win over Lewisville there in the slop as the game was played in a deluge.

Coach Pace had already began going to the bench, but at this point started making wholesale substitutions, walking up and down the sidelines asking who had been in.

Lewisville started to drive on the "Death Squad", as the second string defense is called, but with Hopson in the secondary, Ross made the mistake of throwing in his direction.

Hopson made the pick at the Gurdon 45, returning it to the Lewisville 20.

Unfortunately, the Devils fumbled the ball on the next play with Lewisville recovering at the 15.

Both teams swapped punts as the third quarter came to a close with the score 40-0.

The final 12 minutes began with Lewisville in possession at its own 24. This proved to be the Red Devils's only scoring drive of the night.

Hamilton broached Gurdon territory on two plays, getting to the Devil 49. The Red Devils fought to the Gurdon 35, where, on fourth down, a facemask call kept the drive alive.

Three plays later Hamilton scored from the five. The PAT was no good, making the score 40-6 with 6:46 left in the contest.

The Red Devils did what they could with what they had, but Lewisville really didn't have much to begin with.

For the remainder of the outing, the two teams battled back and forth with neither showing a serious scoring threat.

Unofficial stats show the game to be closer than it was. Gurdon was one of five in passing for 49 yards and a touchdown.

Lewisville was two of eight in the air for 36 yards, but the Red Devils were picked off twice.

Gurdon punted twice for 70 yards, while Lewisville booted the ball five times for 157 yards, giving up 20 return yards.

The Devils led in penalties, getting flagged seven times for 60 yards in loss, while Lewisville was penalized four times for 30 yards.

Turnovers kept the game closer than it was as well, with Gurdon fumbling three times, losing them all. Lewisville put the ball on the ground seven times, but recovered them all.

Gurdon's quarterbacking corps was untouched in the backfield, while the Lewisville signal caller was sacked once.

First downs were close as Gurdon edged Lewisville 14-13 in this category.

Overall, the home team ran 34 plays, while the visitors snapped the ball 55 times.

Gurdon had 237 yards rushing on 29 plays for an 8.2 yard per run average. Lewisville ran the ball 47 times for 137 yards or a 2.9 yard average.

This gave Gurdon the edge in total yardage 286-173.

Hatley was the leading rusher, as is no surprise, with 147 yards on 11 carries, or a 13.4 yard per run average in the game. He also scored three times.

Cox gained 47 yards on five carries, while Pace gained nine on two, both for touchdowns.

Lee Marks carried three times for 16 yards, while Webster ran for 19 yards on five carries.

This sets up Friday night's game against Foreman, with Gurdon hitting the road. Last year, the Devils made luggage out of the Gators 39-6, but both are different teams this season.

The Devils have also got to be ready for the game as Mineral Springs handed Foreman its first league loss, 28-6, last Friday.

In other 7AA West games, Dierks clipped Horatio 28-23 and Murfreesboro slipped by Stamps 14-9.

Looking at the conference standings, Mineral Springs is alone at the top at 6-1 overall and 5-0 in conference action. Next is Foreman at 6-1, 3-1; followed by Gurdon, 5-2, 3-1; Murfreesboro, 5-2, 3-1; then Stamps, 3-4, 1-3; Dierks, 2-5, 1-3; Horatio, 1-6, 1-3; and Lewisville, 0-7, 0-5.

In other league games this week, Dierks will be at Mineral Springs; Stamps will travel a long way (five miles) to play Lewisville; and Horatio and Murfreesboro will play in a rare Saturday contest.

Kickoff for the Gurdon-Foreman game is set for 7:30 p.m.