The Gilmer Bobcats steamrolled the Union County Panthers for their first win of the season.
GHS hosted the game last Friday to continue its nonregion football schedule, and Union did not have an answer for the Cats on either side of the ball. Gilmer dominated the line of scrimmage and scored three unanswered touchdowns through a half.
The Bobcats promptly added two scores in the third quarter for a sound 33-0 victory.
Head coach Paul Standard assessed the Bobcats’ performance following their loss to Fannin County a week prior.
“I’m so proud of our kids and how they responded to a bad situation last week,” he said. “They could’ve come in this week and felt sorry for themselves. The coaches weren’t going to let that happen, and the players weren’t going to let themselves do that. I’m just so proud of them.
“We had a great week of preparation. Union might not be as strong as they’ve been, but they’re still a good team and well coached. With the exception of some penalties we’ve got to fix, I thought our kids played a complete game. The defense got a shutout, and there was no doubt about it.”
The shutout was Gilmer’s first since Sept. 2 of the 2022 season against Murray County. GHS limited Union to a paltry 109 yards of offense. Of the Panthers’ seven drives, three ended with Bobcat interceptions. UCHS was also held on downs twice and punted twice.
Linebackers Memphis Lewallen (10 total tackles), Douglas Callihan (9) and Peyton Chancey (7) led the way defensively.
The Bobcats shared the ball on offense. The top four ground gainers included quarterback Issac Rellinger (64 yards), Callihan (62), Wyatt Stokes (49) and Hunter Britain (47). Fullback Stokes was the only Bobcat with double-digit carries, and he had 14 on the night.
UCHS went three and out to begin the game, and Gilmer’s first of three straight touchdowns started at the Panthers’ 47-yard line. Callihan took an option pitch to the left for a 24-yard gain to begin the game. Rellinger and Stokes handled the next four rushes to move GHS to Union’s 7.
Two plays later, Callihan took an 8-yard sweep around the left end for a touchdown. Carter Gearhart added the extra point for a 7-0 lead with 4:46 left in the opening quarter.
UCHS was able to gain a pair of first downs and advanced to Gilmer’s 41. On the eighth play of the drive, cornerback Kyle Cowart broke up a Union pass and safety Bo Cronic was there to intercept the ball. Cronic’s long return was negated by a blindside Bobcat block.
Starting from its 10, GHS embarked on an 18-play touchdown drive that took 8:32 off the clock. The possession began with nine straight runs for four first downs. Facing third and 14 from Union’s 43, Rellinger completed a first down pass to Callihan down to the 29. A roughing the passer penalty added 15 more yards.
Five plays later, Grant Ballew took a pitch around the left corner for a 5-yard touchdown. Gearhart’s extra point was blocked, and GHS led 13-0 with 3:28 left in the half.
Union then opted to go for it on fourth down from its 31, but the third incompletion of the drive gave the ball back to Gilmer.
This time Rellinger swapped the first four rushes with Britain. Callihan tested the left edge once again, and the 12-yard sweep resulted in six points. Gearhart extended Gilmer’s lead to 20-0.
As the Panthers desperately attempted to move downfield with only 17 seconds left in the half, Cowart’s interception dashed their efforts.
Gilmer’s offense scored more points to begin the third. Callihan’s 16-yard run moved GHS to its 47. Gilmer then went to the air, and Rellinger passed to a wide open Rhett McGregor down the middle of the field for a 48-yard pick up.
Following a 5-yard setback, rushes of 4 and 2 yards by Stokes added six more points to Gilmer’s tally. The six-play possession covered 70 yards. GHS was flagged for illegal procedure when it lined up for the extra point before Gearhart’s kick smacked the left up right.
The score moved GHS ahead 26-0 2:50 in the half.
Callihan intercepted a pass on the second play of Union’s next drive, but it was nullified because of pass interference away from the ball. The drive stalled three plays later at Union’s 32.
Gilmer needed just one play for its fifth touchdown. Britain took a hand-off across the right, cut inside the block of lineman Logan Hightower and sped away from the Panthers to pay dirt.
Gearhart’s kick was true, and the Cats went up 33-0 with 6:02 remaining in the third. Britain came up with a big play defensively on the third play of Union’s next drive. He intercepted a deep pass and returned it to midfield.
GHS started to put reserves on the field, and the drive was ruined by Gilmer’s second chop block penalty of the game. Callihan’s lone punt pinned the Panthers at their 4.
A running clock was used in the fourth quarter as both teams put their backups in the game.
The win improved Gilmer’s record to 1-1. For the second week in a row, the Cats were penalized for double-digit infractions. GHS committed 12 penalties in week one, and the Bobcats were called for 13 versus Union.
“On our first drive, we scored and the defense never let up,” Standard said. “Hopefully, our defense is now at the point where we thought they could be. They flew around and played hard. We’ve got to check our injuries and get ready for that team from down south. We’re going to practice Monday just like we did this past Monday.”
Kickoff at Pickens (2-0) Friday is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Junior varsity
The junior varsity scored a touchdown on every possession and rolled to a 38-8 win over North Murray.
Gilmer fullbacks Madden Hopkins and Landon Ledford and wingback Jett Burrell ran over and around Mountaineer defenders last Thursday. Ledford scored from 2 yards out on Gilmer’s opening drive, and GHS led 8-0 after five minutes of play.
Hopkins reached the end zone on a 10-yard run on the Cats’ second possession and added the conversion. He also walked into the end zone from 2 yards away for Gilmer’s third touchdown. After his two-point conversion, GHS led, 24-0.
NMHS punted on its first possession, and its next two ended on downs. The Mountaineers’ fourth drive concluded with an interception by Bobcat McCoy Sutton.
Gilmer knelt to kill the clock to end the half. The Cats opened the second half with another touchdown drive. Burrell took the ball across the goal line on a 7-yard run.
The Cats’ final possession of the game ended with a highlight run by Hopkins. He broke loose on a dive play, and a Mountaineer eventually caught him near the goal line, but Hopkins shed the defender on the 67-yard touchdown run.
NMHS scored at the end against Bobcat reserves to cut their loss to 30 points.