Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Fan Remembers 1987 Gurdon Go-Devil Squad

The following article was sent to The Gurdon times by Mark Trout, a graduate of Gurdon High School, now of Magnolia. It was submitted in the first person and left that way, as an opinion column.

Trout played on the champion-ship Go-Devils team of 1987.

I still consider it one of the best games I ever saw. In part because it was an exceptional game between Gurdon and Farmington, but a large part of it stems from being a Go-Devil fan.

The year was 1987, and like the current Gurdon football team, this squad had not been to the playoffs in a number of years--since 1979.

No one was expecting a great year when the season began, but there was reason to be optimistic. After all, the 1986 team had finished second in the conference, and with the expection of David Lacy, the entire backfield was returning for '87. Chris Harper would be expected to pick up where Lacy left off; Thomas Allen was the big, bruising fullfack; Larry Marion was only a junior, but no one doubted the talent he possessed at quarter-back; and Kenneth McClelland and Jeff Rutherford were the two newest members of the Go-Devils' wishbone attack.

The year began ordinarily enough. Wins over Smackover, Lake Hamilton and Stamps were offset by losses to Pulaski Oak Grove and Fordyce.

Midway through the season, the team looked far from chamionship caliber. In fact, they looked just plain average.

The test of the season was coming up: the Go-Devils had to face Junction City and one of the best backs to ever play in the conference in Ron Meadows.

Gurdon jumped out to an early 14-0 lead when Marion threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to James McNeil and a 19-yard scoring strike to Carlton Ollison. The Go-Devils defense didn't stop Meadows, but they led him to only 117 yards. Meanwhile, Harper proved the star running back of the game with 177 yards, including a 77-yard touchdown run to help Gurdon win 28-14.

It was the win that gave the Go-Devils the confidence and momen-tum they needed to win the con-ference and advance to the playoffs. The season included big wins over Gary Segrest's Nashville team (29-14), and, like this season, a huge win over rival Prescott in front of the biggest crowd of the year at Gurdon (49-14).

The win over Prescott was one everyone was hoping for, but no one really expected. Afterall, the Curley Wolves, who were unde-feated in the conference, had dashed Go-Devils' dreams for a number of years. 1979, the last time Gurdon had earned a playoff berth was also the last time they beat Prescott. (Editor's note: The Go-Devils also made the play-offs the following year as well as two years ago.) The game was another blowout, but this time Gurdon's favor. Chris Harper ran wild, gaining 224 yards and two touchdowns, including a 70-yard scoring run, and McClelland added 91 yards.

Gurdon finished in a three-way tie for the conference with Prescott and Fordyce, but gained the playoff spot.

In the first round, Gurdon would be at home against a team few had heard of, the Farmington Cardinals from 1AA. The fans expected an easy game. What they got was the most exciting game of the season.

It looked easy early on. Gurdon built a 20-0 lead: Marion connected with McClelland for a 58-yard pass, Harper scored on a 20-yard run, and Marion hit Michael Hatley for a 7-yard score.

But the early celebration quickly turned to concern and then fear that the season was coming to an end. The Cardinals picked up a loose ball and returned it 68 yards for a score before halftime, and cut into the Gurdon lead again with a 90-yard punt return early in the third quarter.

Gurdon answered with a 65-yead scoring run by Harper to take a 26-14 lead, but it wasn't enough to make the Cardinals quit. They added seven more points in the third quarter to close to within 26-21. And the team from northwest Arkansas finally took the lead, 27-26, with only 7:48 remaining.

The post season looked like it could be over for Gurdon as quickly as it began. The Go-Devils, however, found a way to come back. The team drove to the Farm-ington 48-yard line. With 2:25 remaining, Marion pitched back to Harper, who was always a scoring threat. But this time, instead of running the sweep as he had so many times during the year, Harper dropped back and threw a perfect spiral to McClelland, who caught the ball for the winning touchdown.

The Go-Devils went on to defeat Greenbrier (21-6) and Dardanelle (23-13) before losing in the state finals to McGehee (40-13).

The team featured a number of stars that season. In addition to Marion, Harper, McClelland, Allen and Rutherford, the team also featured Carlton Ollisosn, James McNeil, Paul Robertson, Brad Harris. Brett Kuhn. Keff Overton, Kenny Spruill, Joey Ledbetter, Buford Dickens, Micky Ford, Cleve Clark, Ricky Clark, Jerry Jarris, Scotty Stricklin, Bryan Roe, Chris Shaver, Michael Hatley, Jason Burns, Paul White, Bobbie Moore, Shun Gulley, Steve Allen, Jimmy Ledbetter, Victor Gulley, Darnell Marks, Brad Hurst, Travis McNeil, Kevin Jester, Dana Gentry and Kevin Davis.

While remains to be seen how far the 1997 Go-Devils will advance, the players on the team are creating memories for themselves and their fans that will last forever.

by Mark Trout