The Gilmer Bobcats rolled into Blue Ridge with a rushing attack that could not be stopped.
GHS faced rival Fannin County last Friday, and junior Bobcat fullback Peyton Chancey delivered punishing runs into the heart of Rebels’ defense. He led the way with 211 rushing yards and three touchdowns, and GHS ran for 410 on the night.
While Fannin showed promise at the beginning of each half, the Bobcat defense made crucial stops and intercepted two passes to put the offense back on the field for touchdown drives. GHS strung together three touchdowns in both halves to lead early and pull away for a 42-24 victory.
“We had some great individual efforts,” said head coach Paul Standard. “We’ve got linemen and backs going both ways. We ain’t got two of nothing. We couldn’t get on Noah’s Ark right now if we wanted to, but those dad gum kids won’t quit, man, they play like crazy, and I’m so proud of them.
“In the past two games, we got so hyped up that we didn’t play like we could and should be playing. We didn’t do that this year. The whole week of preparation was awesome.”
Fannin achieved 23 first downs to the Bobcats’ 20, and FCHS also ran 15 more offensive plays. While the Rebels did gain chunks of yardage at a time, they were unable to finish drives and never displayed the explosiveness of Gilmer.
GHS averaged 8.4 yards per carry and had touchdown runs of 64, 43 and 34 yards. In addition to Chancey’s 211 yards, wingback Hunter Britain ran for 121.
Fannin received the opening kickoff and flew down the field. The Rebels picked up five first downs, but the Cats dug their heels in at their 13-yard line. GHS stopped two runs short of a first down to force a third down and 3 from the 6-yard line. An ensuing low snap resulted in a 13-yard loss, and FCHS settled for a 35-yard field goal.
That was all GHS gave up in the first half as Fannin’s remaining drives ended with a punt, turnover on downs and an interception.
Meanwhile, GHS embarked on its first of three touchdown drives after FCHS took a 3-0 lead four minutes into the game.
GHS opened with an 81-yard, 11-play drive. The first run set the theme for the night when Chancey rumbled for 14 yards on the first play. Reserve fullback Madden Hopkins also exposed the middle of Fannin’s porous defense with a 12-yard pickup. Britain moved GHS into Fannin territory before another 19-yard jaunt by Chancey. Wingback Cheyne Smith also got in the action for an 11-yard run to set up first down at Fannin’s 16.
Four plays later, Chancey scored his first of three touchdowns from three yards out. Carter Gearhart converted his first of six successful extra points for a 7-3 GHS lead with 1:41 left in the first.
The Cats’ next series started at their 18. Britain flipped the field with a 32-yard sweep around the right edge on the third play of the possession. Three plays later facing third down and 9, Britain took a counter handoff to the right side and burst through Fannin’s defense for a 34-yard touchdown.
Gilmer’s third drive got underway at its 35, and it took just three plays to add six more points. This time, Chancey broke off a 34-yard touchdown run and not a single Rebel touched him on the way to the end zone.
Leading 21-3 with 3:01 left in the half, the Rebels’ final drive was halted when cornerback Ryan Rellinger intercepted Fannin at the Cats’ 27.
“The first drive they go right down the field, bam, bam, bam. Then we held them to a field goal and that’s great,” Standard said. “Our defense came up big. Then we jumped out to a lead and got the momentum.”
GHS fumbled to begin the second half, and Fannin took over at the Cats’ 31. Fannin quarterback Cannon Holloway was injured in the second quarter and replaced by Nate O’Neal, who gave Fannin some hope. FCHS scored with a 6-yard run on the drive’s fourth play to trim the Cats’ lead to 21-10 with 9:41 left in the third.
GHS was then forced to punt, and Fannin was back in business at its 16-yard line. FCHS completed two passes on the possession but did most of its damage on the ground. O’Neal capped the 11-play series with a 6-yard draw for six points. The successful 2-point conversion made the score 21-18 with 4:33 remaining in the quarter.
GHS got its offense back in gear to cover 74 yards for a touchdown. On the third play, Chancey took a handoff across the left side, broke three tackles at the line of scrimmage and shot down the sideline. He then cut across the field to outrun Fannin’s safety, and Chancey delivered a stiff arm at the 10-yard line before falling across the goal line.
GHS led by 10 points and the defense was there to stop the Rebels’ next possession.
After gaining three first downs, FCHS faced third down and 8 from Gilmer’s 20. Britain was there to step in front of a pass for an interception and returned it 55 yards to Fannin’s 28. Four plays later, Britain scored from 4 yards out for a 35-18 lead 1:33 into the fourth quarter.
On the kickoff, Bobcat Hunter Newhart knocked the ball loose and Madden Hopkins recovered the fumble at Fannin’s 41. Chancey, Britain and Smith handled all the carries, and the latter scored on a 10-yard sweep around the left edge.
Gearhart’s kick put GHS ahead 42-18 with 5:21 to play.
FCHS added a cosmetic touchdown on a 10-play, 60-yard drive. It cut Gilmer’s lead to 18 points with 2:02 remaining before GHS killed the clock.
“Our kids didn’t get let down when we had our one turnover. Then they get the momentum and now all of a sudden it’s 21-18,” said Standard. “I’ve seen a lot of high school teams get up big and the other team doesn’t quit. And they (Fannin) didn’t quit. They have a heck of a team. They might not be as good as they were last year, but they’re a good football team and were ready to take over. We forced a punt and came up big after that with an interception (and forced fumble) and then our offensive line took over after that.”
Standard praised the Bobcats’ work leading up to the season and believed it aided their victory.
“I thought our kids handled the whole offseason and preparation for the season in a first-class manner,” he said. “That might not mean much to a lot of people, but it does to a head coach. We scrimmaged a really good team and they got us pretty good. Then we had an off week and it was brutal, and our kids kept coming back. And then we had to beat a rival who had beaten us two years in a row.”
The victory was Gilmer’s fourth win in the series over 10 meetings and second out of the last four. GHS holds a 27-19-2 all-time record against Fannin County.
Gilmer will make its way a little farther up Hwy. 515 Friday when the Bobcats meet Union County for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.