Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Gurdon Go-Devils Begin Season With 19-14 Win Over Fouke

Gurdon faced three opponents to open the 1999 football season.

Two of the Go-Devil foes were tough while the third was incidental.

One of the most difficult adversaries was the weather conditions. The heat and humidity took its toll as Devil after Devil went down with cramps.

The second hard contender the Devils had to face was the officials, as there were missed and questionable calls against Gurdon all night long.

Fouke, though, the team Gurdon played on the field, was the easiest of all with the Devils posting an opening season 19-14 win, though the game wasn't this close.

The Panthers started the game with some trickery, as Gurdon had won the toss and elected to receive. Fouke's kicker pooch kicked the ball, which was bobbled by Devil hands and ended up under a home player.

The Devils, for years, have been known for their vaunted defense. Moving against Gurdon's front line has been anything but easy, as Fouke found out.

Three snaps, the first being fumbled, and it was time for the Panthers to punt.

Gurdon's first possession started deep in Go-Devil territory at the 10.

The Devil offense sputtered on the first drive, losing two yards on three plays and had to punt.

The boot sailed to Brandon Attaway at the Gurdon 46, he returned the punt to the 27 where Fouke set up shop.

Once again Gurdon's defense dug in, though it did bend as the Panther offense moved to the eight before turning the ball over on downs.

Being in the shadow of its own goal line didn't set well with the Devil offense as it kicked out the jams.

Brandon Hatley gave Gurdon some breathing room with a seven yard run to the 15.

Quarterback Colby Pace picked up 19, putting Gurdon at the 34. Then the Panthers made a mistake. The Devil front line opened a small hole for Rashaun Hopson. It was all he needed.

Hopson hit the hole at full speed, with the Panther defense left setting up on blocks, at least this is how it appeared when they were chasing him. Sixty-six yards later it was 6-0 Gurdon with 4:12 left in the opening period.

The point after split the uprights to make it 7-0 for the visitors.

The touchdown failed to ignite Fouke's offense.

The ensuing kick was picked up by Kenneth O'Malley at the 22 and returned to the Panther 38.

Fouke's offense ran three plays, moving to their 43 before punting again.

Hatley bobbled the punt at the 21, but picked up the errant pigskin and managed to get to the 28.

He picked up four on first down, with Hopson adding two on the second play of the series.

The Devils wanted to see if Fouke's defense had learned anything from the last offensive set and ran Hopson over the left side again.

Again the hole opened, and again he was off to the races. One thing Fouke's defense did learn was they couldn't catch Hopson from behind.

Another 66-yard sprint gave Hopson his second score of the night and season, while putting Gurdon up 13-0 with 0:28.5 in the first. The Devils tried for a two-point conversion, but were unsuccessful.

O'Malley took the kickoff at the 14, returning it to midfield.

One play later, the buzzer sounded ending period one.

Period two opened with Fouke facing a second and nine at the Gurdon 49. The Panthers were able to move the ball a bit better, getting to the Devil 35 before turning it over on downs.

Fouke's biggest problem of the night, other than Gurdon, was the players are not fleet of foot. Even when a Panther had an open hole, the lack of speed allowed the Devils to get there first and close it.

Foot speed is not a problem for Gurdon.

Until this series, the game had gone smoothly with the officials hardly noticeable. However, this changed and the zebras made their presence known.

Hatley, on first down, gained two to the 37. Gurdon fumbled, but recovered on second down, losing two to the 35. Pace gained five on third and 10.

Fourth down arrived with Gurdon in punt formation. As the ball was snapped, a yellow hankie fluttered to the ground. The Devils were penalized 15 yards for having 12 men on the field.

The problem with the flag is Fouke actually had a dozen players on the gridiron at the time, not Gurdon. The other problem is this penalty normally garners a five-yard call, not 15.

But, the officials can't be questioned about such things and their word was law.

Again the teams lined up for the punt, but the snap sailed over the punter's head and into the end zone.

Before a Gurdon player could fall on it for a safety, a Panther managed to gain control for a touchdown with 6:50 left in the half.

The PAT was good, after the Panthers were moved back five yards for delay of game, and Fouke had cut Gurdon's lead with the score now 13-7.

Once the first flag was pulled, the laundry began falling from the heavens. Gurdon wound up being hit with 10 penalties, while the Panthers were flagged twice in the contest.

These penalties were the only things keeping Fouke in the game during the second half.

The Panthers got another break as Gurdon was nailed with a roughing the kicker call on the PAT attempt and the ball was moved to the Gurdon 45 for the kickoff.

Fouke tried an onside kick, but the ball failed to go the required 10 yards.

This set the Devils up on their own 40. However, Gurdon was unable to mount a drive and had to punt after three plays.

Fouke took over at its 42 after a high, short punt took a favorable bounce for the Panthers.

However, the Gurdon defense stiffened only giving up nine yards in four plays as Fouke turned the ball over on downs once again.

This set up Gurdon's final score of the night.

Hopson gained three to the Fouke 48. A penalty on the next play put Gurdon at the 37.

Pace connected with Dennis Brown to the Fouke 35 and a first down. O.C. Webster aided in the cause for two more with Gurdon calling its first time out with 0:59.1 left in the half.

Webster returned carrying twice to the 17 before Gurdon again called time.

Once play resumed, the refs hit Gurdon with a motion call, moving the Devils back five to the 22.

It didn't matter as the play of the game came next.

Pace dropped back, winged the ball to the end zone. Jake Casteel appeared to have intercepted Pace's pass, only to find Hopson behind him, reaching around, stealing the pigskin and scampering into the end zone for six.

The try for two failed, but Gurdon led 19-7with 0:25.4 left in the half.

The first half ended with Fouke gaining three yards.

Neither team scored in the third quarter, though Gurdon continually threatened, only to see its drives stalled because of penalties.

Fouke tended to shoot itself in the foot with fumbles to keep it from moving the ball consistently.

The two squads battled between the 20s during the third 12 minute period.

Gurdon was flagged three times in the quarter, while Fouke turned the ball over twice on fumbles.

Things got closer than Gurdon fans wanted in the final period as the Panthers managed their second touchdown of the night, again with the help of the officials.

The fourth quarter opened with Gurdon on the Fouke 49 and moving.

The Devils made it to the 35 before a clip call moved them the wrong direction. In trying to get the yardage back, Pace was picked off by Attaway, who returned the interception to Gurdon's 49.

Gurdon's defense was holding the Panthers before a flag for a phantom personal foul put Fouke at the Devil 25, giving the home team a first and 10 instead of it being fourth and two.

Quarterback Justin Jones scored on a naked bootleg the very next play. The PAT was good and Gurdon's lead was down to five at 19-14 with 8:58 left.

From there, though, neither squad could maintain a drive. Gurdon's problems were still flags, while Fouke's biggest headache was the Devil defense.

As time wound down, Fouke, on its last drive, was backed up to its nine after being flagged for clipping.

Jones took to the air as there was only 1:30 left in the game. He first hit O'Malley for a gain of 15 to the 24.

He missed O'Malley on second down and kept for two on third down. Fourth down saw Gurdon called for a legitimate interference call as the defender arrived a wee bit before the ball did.

This put Fouke at the 41 with 0:47.3 left in the game.

Hopson almost picked off Jones' next pass, with the second down attempt falling to the turf.

On third and 10, Jones found a receiver, only he was wearing number 22 and a white jersey. Webster picked off the pass, returning it to Gurdon's 38.

Pace took a knee to end the game and keep the win intact.

Unofficial statistics show Gurdon won most areas of the game  including penalties assessed against.

Pace was two of five in the air for 26 yards and one interception. Jones went to the air 10 times, completing two for 26 yards and having one picked off.

Both teams punted three times. Gurdon's three went for 75 total yards, with Fouke having 19 yards in returns. The Panther's three sailed for 108 yards, while Gurdon only returned one for eight yards.

On laundry day, Fouke was hit twice for 14 yards, while Gurdon saw the hankies fall 10 times, moving the Devils back 115 yards.

Neither defense was able to catch the opposing quarterback in the backfield for a loss in the contest, therefore there were no sacks.

Neither team held on to the ball particularly well either. Gurdon put the ball on the ground five times, losing one fumble. Fouke, though, lost three of the four fumbles it made.

The Devils doubled Fouke in first downs at 12-6.

Overall, Gurdon ran 45 plays to 43 for Fouke. The Devils rushed for 286 yards, while allowing 91.

Gurdon's total offensive effort for the game was 314 yards, while the Panthers managed 117 overall.

The Devil ground game saw 40 rushes net 286 yards, for an average of 7.15 yards per carry.

Fouke rushed the ball 33 times for 91 yards, or 2.76 yards a carry.

Hopson led the Devil ground attack with nine carries for 146 yards and two touchdowns.

Hatley carried the mail 17 times for 77 yards, while Pace ran it five times for 33 yards. Webster carried four times for 19 yards as well.

The Devils are a young team, make no mistake about it. Many of the errors made during the game came from the lack of experience.

However, Gurdon's gridiron warriors tried to learn from each miscue and make Fouke pay in return.

As the season progresses, the Devils will get better and better. Barring more injuries, Gurdon could well be in the hunt for its third conference title in a row.

Gurdon will be at home Friday night, inaugurating their new home on Highway 67 South.

The Devils will host the Lake Village Beavers with game time set for 7:30 p.m.

However, fans are urged to arrive early for the pre-game dedication ceremonies and visit the new concession stand to pick up commemorative souvenirs of the event.

Last year, Gurdon helped inaugurate Lake Village's new stadium by whipping the Beavers 30-8.

Lake Village will be looking to return the favor Friday night.