The Gilmer Bobcats were in Commerce for a hot and muggy football scrimmage.
The two teams squared off last Friday after three days of practice in full pads. Varsity starters took the field for the first half, while the younger and inexperienced played the third and fourth quarters.
The host Tigers led by 10 at the break and added two more scores over the final two quarters as turnovers mounted for the Bobcats. Gilmer’s final drive of the game resulted in a touchdown with no time remaining. When the scrimmage ended, the Tigers tallied 23 points to the Cats’ 6.
“Overall, I was pleased with our older guys on both sides of the ball,” said head coach Paul Standard. “We showed some grit and did some nice things. In that first half, I feel good about what we did. If it had been a real game, we obviously would have done things differently. With a scrimmage, you want to get things on film.
“We just need to stay the course and keep working.”
The Bobcats were able to showcase their rushing attack to start the game. Each possession began at the offense’s 20-yard line, and Gilmer strung together seven first downs to traverse downfield.
Hunter Britain handled the bulk of the carries while fellow halfback Douglas Callihan was often his lead blocker. Britain ran for 37 yards on six attempts while fullback Wyatt Stokes hit the middle for 15 yards.
One of the highlights of the drive came on the fifth play as GHS faced third down and eight from its 44. Quarterback Issac Rellinger dropped back to pass, escaped pressure and scrambled for 18 yards and a first down. Callihan ran for 6 yards on the drive’s 16th play to set the Cats up at the Tigers’ 2-yard line.
However, GHS was flagged for a chop block that resulted in a 15-yard penalty and loss of down. Kicker Noah Turner’s 36-yard field goal attempt was wide left.
“Early in that drive, Rellinger made a nice athletic play when protection broke down,” said Standard. “I was real pleased with that and then we went on to convert several first downs. The drive was 19 plays, which is about how we’re going to have to operate this year.
“We were working on some of our play action plays we like down in that area of the field, and in both cases we had guys wide open. We didn’t run exactly the right route, and we didn’t complete it. We did some things we might not typically do in a game. If we get the ball first and goal on the 9, we’re probably going to run the ball, but we wanted to work on some things.”
The possession took 8:45 off the clock, but the Tigers did not need near as much time. On their first play, a CHS sweep around the right corner resulted in an 80-yard touchdown run.
The Tigers led 7-0 with 2:58 left in the quarter. Gilmer only achieved one first down over the remainder of the half. The Bobcats had a pair of drives end with punts and another stalled on downs.
Commerce’s second possession ended on downs as well, and a 20-yard field goal gave the Tigers a 10-0 edge with 2:21 left in the half.
“They scored on the one long play and they have a good running back probably as fast as any kid in our region. We’ve got to get better there,” Standard said.
“I thought our defense did good on the next couple series overall. We had a nice goal line stand, which is something we’ve needed to work on, and they did a great job against a team that runs the ball well.”
CHS received a final possession, but was not able to add any more points after an errant snap on a field goal attempt.
“Our backfield, which none are seniors, I thought played pretty good,” Standard said. “Aside from one misread, Issac had a good game. We need to keep working on the passing part, and we have guys who can catch it. We might throw it a little more than we have in the past. We have four or five receivers and our running backs can catch.”
Ball security plagued GHS in the second half. Botched snaps, hand-offs, and tosses resulted in five fumbles. CHS committed two turnovers, and those fumbles were recovered by Bobcats Jack Puckett and Peyton Chancey.
The Tigers led 16-0 after a three-play drive to start the third quarter. They added another touchdown on a two-play, 11-yard drive to lead 23-0 with 10:13 left in the game.
Gilmer’s final possession spanned 75 yards on nine plays. Chancey, Landon Ledford and Ethan McCollum all provided yardage on the ground. Ledford and Chancey both caught passes from quarterback Bo Cronic as GHS pushed deep into Tiger territory.
Following a 13-yard Cronic run down to the 1-yard line, Ledford breached the goal line on the next play as the final buzzer sounded.
“I thought Chancey played well at linebacker and fullback,” Standard said of the second half. “We had some other guys who did a nice job for us. Defensively, some young guys stepped up.”
GHS will have two weeks of practice ahead of its Aug. 18 home opener against Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe.
“We’re going to continue to work on our execution,” said Standard. “Defensively, I thought we ran around pretty well, but a couple times we weren’t lined up correctly. We have to get better at the basics pre-snap. We’ll work on fundamentals this week and start game planning next week.”