It took an hour for lightning to clear from the area before the hometown faithful got a preview of the 2022 Gilmer High Bobcats.
GHS hosted the Commerce Tigers for football scrimmage last Friday as the game featured three quarters of varsity action. Each team ended up having six possessions apiece, and while score was not kept, advanced calculations were not needed to tally points.
Both offenses were able to gain chunks of yardage on their scoring drives, and the Bobcat defense came up big with a pair of fumble recoveries. After 36 minutes of play, GHS held a 17-13 advantage.
Head coach Paul Standard was pleased with the Bobcats’ efforts and believes they are further ahead than they were at this point last season.
“We did do some good things. Sometimes as a coach, you look for perfection, even though that’s not going to happen. Even though they hit us on some plays, I’m really happy with our defense. There were two or three times in the red zone, where last year the opponent would score pretty easy, which they did once tonight, but our kids bowed up and I was really proud of that. We’re going to keep getting better,” Standard said.
“What’s happened in the weight room is starting to come to fruition. Commerce was big and strong, and I thought our kids went toe-to-toe even though we were outsized. I don’t know that we were outstrengthed. I was really proud of our kids. I’m proud of our seniors, and some of them have come 180 degrees.”
The GHS band and cheerleaders were in attendance, and a good crowd hung around after the hour-long delay. The only thing missing was Gilmer’s hall of fame public address announcer Bob Becker, who will be back in the booth for the regular season.
On the field, everything was live aside from special teams, and each possession began at the offense’s 30-yard line. The game’s first two possessions were in stark contrast to one another.
Commerce received the opening kickoff, and its I-formation attack relied heavily on tailback Jaccari Huff. The Tigers strung together a 14-play possession and did not attempt a pass. The Bobcat defense made three plays for a loss on the drive, but none were bigger than when CHS attempted to convert a fourth down from Gilmer’s 15. However, Bobcat Grant Ballew was there to make the tackle for a 5-yard loss.
Gilmer’s offense responded by gouging the Tigers’ defense and raced down the field needing only four plays and 1:24 to cover 80 yards. CHS was content to stack the middle of the line to contain the fullback dive, and the Bobcats happily torched them off the edge.
uarterback Issac Rellinger was there for a 12-yard run on second down, and halfback Hunter Watkins did the rest. He had runs of 10 and 34 yards, and his final carry covered 24 yards around the left edge. Connor Seim added the point after, and GHS led 7-0 with 2:31 left in the first quarter.
CHS had three big runs when its offense took the field to advance to Gilmer’s 6. It was all for naught as a fumble on first and goal was recovered by the Bobcats. GHS picked up a pair of first downs before punting the ball back to the Tigers.
Commerce’s third and final possession of the half resulted in seven points. The 10-play drive saw Huff handle the bulk of the load. After advancing to the Cats’ 28, four straight runs by Huff covered the needed ground, and the last one was a 1-yard dive up the middle.
With the score tied 7-7 with 3:24 left in the half, Gilmer put its passing attack on display. Rellinger completed a 14-yard pass to halfback Will Kiker on first down. Three plays later, Rellinger hit Watkins in stride out of the backfield for a 30-yard gain to the Tigers’ 19. Runs by Watkins and Rellinger moved GHS to the 3 where it settled for a 20-yard Seim field goal for a 10-7 halftime lead.
The Cats came out of the locker room and added another touchdown. CHS continued to limit fullback Brock Titus, and Gilmer attacked the corner with Rellinger, Kiker, Watkins and Mason Smith. GHS moved into Tiger territory with a 38-yard competition from Rellinger to Kiker.
After a 7-yard run by Rellinger on the ensuing play, halfback Kyle Cowart ran through the right side of the line for a 14-yard touchdown run to cap the nine-play possession. Jovani Kukla’s successful extra point moved GHS ahead 17-7 with 7:22 left in the quarter.
CHS was able to traverse to Gilmer’s 42 on three rushes, but the fourth play concluded with a fumble and recovery by Bobcat Hayden Morrison. Gilmer ran six plays and turned the ball over on downs before the Tigers connected on a 53-yard touchdown pass.
The missed extra point cut the Cats’ lead to 17-13 with 3:17 remaining in the quarter. Gilmer had to punt after three offensive plays, and the errant snap on fourth down gave CHS possession at the Cats’ 20.
With the clock winding down, the Tigers had time for four more plays, and their drive stalled at the 5 as time expired. Because of the delay to start the game and the two-hour drive facing Commerce, both coaches decided to forgo the fourth quarter, which would have been played by junior varsity players.
Gilmer will have two weeks before its season opener Aug. 19 at Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe.
“We have a week to go and get some guys healed up if we need to,” Standard said. “We have a chance to get better. We’re going to go fundamentals Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
“We’ll probably give them off Thursday and Friday so they’ll be fresh for next Monday, for game week. I’m not going to beat them into the ground because I want them to still want to play football in November.”