Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Go-Devils Scorch Hornets (cont)

3, the Hornets ran three plays and were forced to punt.

The punt came to start the final 12 minutes. Antonio Gatlin fielded the boot at the 30, taking it to Gurdon's 49, where the Devils set up shop.

The Devils ran eight plays, moving to the Hornet five before Hughes lost the ball, with Mineral Springs recovering at the 8:10 mark.

However, the Devil "D" remained unmovable, forcing the Hornets to punt after three plays.

This time, the Gurdon offense moved to the one-yard line before being flagged for motion and getting sent back to the six.

The Devils were only able to move it back to the four before having to give the ball back on downs.

However, there was but 1:29 left and Devil fans were still holding their breath, as the outcome was far from determined.

There was no doubt what the home team would do, as the Devils went to their prevent defense.

The Hornets started moving downfield through the air, aided by an offside call against Gurdon, until Gatlin picked off a pass, returning it to the Hornet 34.

Unfortunately, while the crowd let out a collective exhale, it had to hold its breath again as the Devils fumbled on the very next play.

With the Mineral Springs offense, 36 seconds was enough time to get in field goal position at the very least. This kept Gurdon fans on the edge of their seats.

However, Harrell's first pass was almost picked off by Eric Allen. The second was complete to Jonathan Coulter, who attempted to lateral the ball to a teammate, but found, Cornish instead.

Gurdon used the final :17 up with Toland dropping to one knee and forcing the Hornets to use their final time out.

This game proved the Devils can overcome adversity, even when they create it.

The stats will bear this out.

Gurdon was seven of 13 in passing for 103 yards. The Hornets were nine of 17 for 150 yards but had a pair of interceptions as well.

Gurdon punted once for 36 yards and no return. Mineral Springs booted the ball twice for 61 yards, with a 19-yard return thrown in.

It was a relatively penalty-free game. Gurdon was flagged three times for 15 yards, while the Hornets never saw a flag thrown in their direction.

However, the Devils put the ball on the ground six times, losing four fumbles. Mineral Springs dropped the pigskin once, losing it.

On the ground, the Devils were dominant.

Hughes carried 17 times for 95 yards, or a 5.6 yard-per-carry average. Charles carried 16 times for an even 100 yards, or a 6.25 average.

Williams toted the ball seven times for 42 yards, or a 6.0 average, while Toland had three carries for a negative three yard total. However, two of these carries were when he kneeled to end the game.

Overall, Gurdon rushed the ball 43 times for 234 yards, or a 5.4 yard average.

The Hornets ran the ball 36 times for 133 yards, or a 3.7 yard average.

Gurdon ran a total of 56 plays, while the Hornets ran 53.

The Devils had 337 total yards, compared to 283 by Mineral Springs.

The Gurdon squad also managed more first downs than their hosts at 18 to 16.

While the Devils are the lone undefeated and untied team in the 7A West, they are tied in league play with Foreman as both teams are 1-0 in conference action.

Murfreesboro and Stamps are also unblemished in league play, though both teams have suffered two losses.

Looking at how the other 7A West teams fared in their games, Foreman clipped Dierks 19-18 in a rare Saturday contest.

Murfreesboro basically had the week off as the Rattlers humbled the winless Lewisville Red Devils 42-0. Stamps stung the Horatio Lions 32-14.

The league standings are as follows: Foreman, 1-0 in conference and 1-2 overall; Gurdon 1-0, 4-0; Murfreesboro 1-0, 2-2; Stamps, 1-0, 2-2; Mineral Springs, 1-1, 2-1-1; Dierks, 0-1, 1-3; Horatio, 0-1, 1-3; and Lewisville, 0-2, 0-4.

This week's action sees Stamps travel to Foreman, Lewisville visit Horatio and Mineral Springs tangle with Murfreesboro.

The Devils will host the Dierks Outlaws at Gus Brown Field Friday night.

Last season, Gurdon whipped the Outlaws 32-0 in what many considered to be the worst officiated game of the year.

Kickoff for the contest is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.