Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Go-Devils Season Ends With Loss

By JOHN MILLER

There will be no football playoffs for Gurdon this year.

The Go-Devils ended their regular season with a 36-14 loss to the Horatio Lions Friday, Nov. 8 at Gus Brown Field.

Gurdon found itself short handed for the game, as one player had been removed from the team for what was reported to be unsportsmanlike behavior, while others simply quit in protest.

Still, there was a game to play. The Devils won the opening toss and deferred until the second half.

On the first possession for Horatio, the Devil defense was impenetrable. Three plays later, the Lions punted to Tonio Gatlin at the Gurdon 28.

He returned the punt to the 32 where the Devils set up shop.

Kaleph Williams took the handoff from Eric Allen, carrying to the 37 before losing the ball. However, the Devils recovered the fumble at the 35.

Mario Charles was stuffed for no gain on second down, but a flag moved the ball 15 yards closer to the Lions' side of the field as Horatio was nailed for illegal use of hands.

Five plays later, including another fumble recovered by Gatlin, the Devils scored. Williams took the handoff from Allen at the 26, broke through the line and raced to the promised land for the touchdown.

The point after attempt was wide, but Gurdon held a 6-0 lead with 7:42 left in the first period.

Then the bottom fell out.

Joey Patrick fielded the kick at the three, taking it to the 20 for the Lions.

Horatio utilized a ball-control offense, with help from Gurdon penalties, as the Lions marched downfield for the game-tying score.

The Lions ran 16 plays in a drive that took up all but six seconds of the period. The score came when Jeff Risner went in from the one.

At no time in the game did the Lions try for a standard point after during the game. After each score, Horatio attempted a two-point conversion.

Following their first touchdown, the Lions line up for two, with Coy Williamson missing Dustin Stone in the end zone. However, Gurdon was flagged for a facemask, giving Horatio a second chance, which they took advantage of and led 8-6.

Eric Hatley fielded the kick at the 23, but caught the ball on one knee. The Lions helped the Devil cause by jumping offside on first down, giving Gurdon the ball at the 28.

But the Devils were unable to mount a drive and were forced to punt when Allen was sacked at the 15.

Gurdon's luck held (as bad luck does) with the punt only covering 10 yards to the Devil 25.

With excellent field position, the Lions wasted little time in scoring their second touchdown of the night.

In fact, Horatio only needed three plays to cover the distance, ending with Jeremy Patrick scoring from the nine. Again the two-point conversion was successful and the Lions led 16-6.

Penalties kept Gurdon from moving the ball on the next possession, as the Devils started from their 39.

Gurdon moved to the 43 and went for a fake punt on fourth and six, only to see Josh Thomas stuffed at the line for no gain, giving Horatio the ball.

First down saw Joey Patrick carry to the 20, as well as two flags float gently to the turf. Both were facemask calls against Gurdon, moving the ball to the 10 as the penalty was assessed after the play.

Chad Wagner put the finishing touch on the two-play drive for the score. The PAT was again good, with Gurdon being flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct.

On the ensuing kick, another flag for unsportsmanlike conduct was tossed at Gurdon, pushing them from the 37 to the 24.

The Devils ran two plays before coughing the ball up at their 25 when M. Charles lost the handle after a wicked hit.

Five plays later, Horatio was again in Gurdon's end zone with another touchdown. Jeremy Patrick scored this one from 12-yards out.

This time, however, the try for two failed, but the Lions led 30-6 with 3:16 left in the half.

Gurdon ran three plays and punted, but the Lions only had time for one play before the buzzer sounded ending play in the first half.

Both squads scored their final touchdowns in the third period.

The Devils took the opening kick, but were forced to punt. Gurdon was also nailed for a late hit on the punt as the receiver was down when the Devil fell on him.

This gave Horatio the ball at the Lion 46. It took the visitors 11 plays to cover the remaining 54 yards, with Steven Wagner connecting with Chad Wagner from three yards out. The try for two was again no good, but the Lions led 36-6.

Gurdon managed to put a drive together on its next possession after Thomas fielded the kick at the 28 and carried to the 41.

The Lions were penalized five yards for being offsides. This was followed by Chauncey Charles taking a pitch from Allen getting outside and racing toward the Horatio end zone for six.

Even Gurdon's try for two was exciting as Allen passed to Terry Cornish, who tipped the ball to M. Charles.

Neither team did much of anything for the remainder of the contest, though the Lions had the ball in Gurdon territory as the clock wound down.

The unofficial statistics didn't favor Gurdon either. The Devils were one of six in passing for eight yards, while Horatio was two of five for 29 yards and a touchdown.

Gurdon punted twice for 43 yards, while the Lions booted the ball twice for 76 yards.

Fumbles again plagued Gurdon as the Devils put the ball on the ground five times, losing it once. Horatio fumbled once, but recovered it.

Penalties did the home team no favors as the Devils were flagged 10 times for 86 yards, including three major penalties inside the 10 yard line. Horatio was penalized five times for 35 yards.

The Lions ran 49 plays to Gurdon's 36, accumulating 15 first downs while allowing the Devils only seven.

Gurdon had 183 yards in rushing on 30 carries, but gave up 246 on 44 attempts.

The Devils posted a total of 189 yards, while allowing 275.

Williams was the leading ground gainer for Gurdon with 73 yards on seven carries. M. Charles gained 41 yards on 13 carries. C. Charles carried the ball once for 54 yards.

Gurdon finished fifth in the 7A-West conference with a 3-6 overall record and 3-4 league mark.

Murfreesboro, with a 10-0 regular season mark and 7-0 conference mark, heads to the playoffs to represent the division.

Other teams managing post-season play include Mineral Springs, 8-1, 6-1, Horatio, 8-2, 5-2, and Stamps, 6-4, 4-3.

The Yellowjackets travel to Bearden, winner of the 7E-West, while Horatio visits Rison. Mineral Springs will play host to Smackover, while Murfreesboro will be at home against Strong.

In 7A-West action, Gurdon finished ahead of Dierks, 3-7, 2-5; Foreman, 1-9, 1-6; and Lewisville, 0-9, 0-7.