The Gilmer Bobcats did what they needed to do to earn the win.
The football game last Friday at Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe came after a rough week as the Bobcats dealt with illness. GHS got off to a shaky start versus the Warriors but were able to build a 6-point lead at the half. Over the game’s final 24 minutes, Gilmer made the stops it needed defensively while the offense churned out yards on the ground, and the Bobcats came away with a 32-13 victory.
“Anytime if your team is not prepared when you’re ready to kickoff, that’s on me,” said head coach Paul Standard. “We’re going to get that fixed. I did a poor job. When we got here, logistically, I thought the kids handled it pretty good, but we didn’t play very well, and I’m going to chalk that up to that and that’s on me. We made some mistakes we haven’t made all year.
“We haven’t jumped offside in practice, and we didn’t do it in the Commerce game. You get a little tired, and we had some kids who had been out because of sickness. They were able to come back and gave it everything they had, but they obviously weren’t 100 percent. And they got mentally tired, and I think that led to some of the mistakes.”
The Bobcat defense held LFO to 164 yards, and they forced three turnovers and six Warrior punts. GHS racked up 292 rushing yards led by halfback Will Kiker (123 yards), fullback Brock Titus (78) and Hunter Watkins (68) at the other halfback spot. However, GHS did not get its ground game in gear until its third possession.
After swapping punts to start the game, LFO’s second drive started in prime field position at the Cats’ 46. The Warriors’ shotgun spread attack went to the air most of the night with quarterback Dylan Blankenship at the helm. Donnie Brown and Tyler Davis handled most of the running, and they had little room to operate. Brown scored from 2 yards out on the drive’s seventh play.
The successful extra point gave LFO a 7-0 lead with 4:49 left in the opening quarter. GHS responded emphatically on its third possession. The three-play, 80-yard drive culminated when Kiker took a sweep around the right corner and outran the defense for a 75-yard touchdown.
GHS had issues with the snap on the point after and LFO held a 7-6 edge in the final minute of the quarter. Gilmer forced a third LFO punt, and the offense was in business at its 15. Titus accounted for 25 yards on drive while Kiker and Watkins had long gains of 19 and 28, respectively.
On the 10th play, quarterback Issac Rellinger took the snap and looped around the left end for a 9-yard touchdown run as he broke a tackle and picked up two blocks from receiver Isaac Freeman. Jovani Kukla’s PAT moved GHS ahead 13-7 with 4:51 left in the half.
LFO’s offense did not keep the ball for long when it returned to the field, and its second down fumble was recovered by Bobcat Bryson Shubin-Gibbs. Gilmer wasted no time, and on first down, Rellinger hit Kiker in stride for a 22-yard touchdown pass for a 19-7 advantage.
GHS then forced a Warrior punt before Rellinger was intercepted by safety Jared Mitchell. From Gilmer’s 45, LFO needed four plays as Blankenship connected with Trevon Gott on a 37-yard touchdown pass to trim the Cats’ lead to 19-13.
Kiker returned the ensuing kickoff to midfield but fumbled and LFO recovered. He made up for his miscue four plays later when he intercepted Blankenship’s 40-yard heave into the end zone.
Each team punted twice to begin the second half as GHS and LFO combined for just one first down. Gilmer then went on a 14-play, 65-yard march that took valuable time off the clock.
Watkins and Kiker traded carries to move GHS to the Warriors’ 42. Titus took over with six straight rushes into the heart of the Warriors’ defense for a total of 27 yards. From the 15, Kiker then carried three consecutive times with his final covering 4 yards for a touchdown. The two-point conversion failed, and GHS pushed its lead to 25-13 with 7:03 left in the game.
Bobcat Ian Berry was there to make a big tackle on the third play of LFO’s next drive. He delivered a hit on Blankenship that popped the ball loose and Jaden Blassingame was there for the recovery.
GHS took over at LFO’s 26, and the Cats kept the ball on the ground with runs by Mason Smith, Wyatt Stokes, Titus, Kiker and Rellinger. Titus took the ball across the goal line from 2 yards away on the drive’s ninth play. Kukla’s PAT gave GHS a 32-13 lead, and LFO could not do anything over the final minute of the game.
“I thought they persevered, even though we didn’t have a good start to the second half,” Standard said. “Our young quarterback is growing up, and he probably grew up as much as anybody tonight. We had some mistakes in the first half, and he was able to overcome them in the second half.
“My hat’s off to Will Kiker, Hunter Watkins and Brock Titus, who had been sick all week but gave a gutsy performance. Our offensive linemen at times really blocked well. I thought our defense played well overall, but we’ve got to cut out the penalties.”
Junior Bobcat linebacker Aspen Hataway led the way with 12 total tackles, which included a sack. Grant Ballew made eight tackles and a sack, while Blassingame also brought down Blankenship in the backfield.
Next up for GHS is rival Fannin County at home. FCHS has won four straight over Gilmer, though the two have not played an official game since 2019. For Standard, it will be business as usual at practice.
“I’m used to being in a big rivalry (versus Marist)from where I came from (St. Pius). With me as the head coach, is that practice is going to be the same next week as it was last week and as it will be the week after,” he said. “We can’t prepare any differently for Fannin than we do in any other week because then you’re up and down and that’s not good. It’s going to be an exciting week, and I think the kids will relish in it.”
Kickoff versus Fannin (0-1) at Huff-Mosley Memorial Stadium is set for Friday at 7:30 p.m.