Gilmer falls in region opener
Wesleyan’s passing attack was too much for the Bobcats to contain.
Gilmer High kicked off its region football schedule on the road last Friday, and the Wolves’ aerial assault was devastating.
Wesleyan scored 16 unanswered points in the second quarter, and their lead stood at 29 entering the fourth. GHS added a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns, but the Wolves came away with a 50-28 homecoming win.
Head coach Paul Standard was succinct with his assessment after the game.
“We got whipped,” he said. “It wasn’t a good night. They’re a good football team with a lot of weapons, and they unfortunately hadn’t had them all until tonight. They’re a big team, huge.
“But we gotta keep playing because we have a lot of football left down the road. Whatever we’re doing, we’re trying to get better at what we do, and we have to keep getting better.”
The main weapon Wesleyan was previously without was highly-touted receiver Jamie Tremble, who has verbally committed to Syracuse University. The 6’ 4” target caught eight passes for 201 yards and three touchdowns.
The player delivering those passes was quarterback Ben Brown. He threw for 418 yards and six touchdowns and added another score on the ground.
Bobcat junior halfback Grant Ballew tallied three touchdowns on the night. He ran for one and caught two more from quarterback Issac Rellinger.
Senior linebacker Aspen Hataway set a season-high mark of 19 total tackles.
The Bobcats got the game rolling with its first of 11 combined touchdowns. On the game’s fourth play, freshman halfback Douglas Callihan took an option pitch around the right edge. He received blocks from senior receivers Ian Berry and Ryder Wofford before juking the safety on his way to a 58-yard touchdown.
Noah Turner’s extra point gave GHS a 7-0 lead less than two minutes into the game.
Wesleyan ran a shotgun offense and often spread the field with four and five receivers. The Wolves scored on all five of their first half possessions, and their first touchdown was a 55-yard bomb to Tremble. The drive spanned 74 yards on five plays to even the score.
GHS then attempted a fake punt on fourth down and 6 from the Wolves’ 42, but Rellinger was stopped for a 2-yard loss.
It took six plays to reach the end zone this time, and Brown’s keeper from 6 yards out moved the Wolves ahead by six points with 49 seconds left in the opening quarter.
Gilmer’s next two drives ended with punts. Wesleyan answered with an 11-play, 54-yard series that concluded with a 25-yard field goal.
The Wolves’ fourth possession needed three plays and covered 54 yards. Wesleyan increased its lead to 23-7 on Brown’s 36-yard touchdown pass to Tremble down the seam.
Bobcat sophomore Hunter Britain returned the ensuing kickoff all the way to the Wolves’ 25-yard line. Following a 4-yard rush by Ballew, he hauled in a 21-yard pass across the middle. On the play, Rellinger rolled to his left before passing to Ballew, who then broke a tackle and spun off two defenders before diving across the goal line.
Turner’s second of four successful extra points cut Wesleyan’s lead to 23-14 with 1:40 left in the half.
It took the Wolves six plays to traverse 80 yards, and they increased their lead to 29-14 with a 24-yard touchdown strike.
The Wolves reached into their bag of tricks to start the third quarter. On the drive’s third play, a jet sweep reverse flea flicker resulted in a 40-yard touchdown pass to Tremble.
GHS trailed 36-14 and picked up two first downs before punting back to Wesleyan. The Wolves’ seven-play, 76-yard drive ended with a 35-yard touchdown pass.
Wesleyan’s lead stood at 43-14 with 3:21 left in the third, and GHS was forced to punt again.
The Wolves’ second-team offense took the field, and their first-down pass was intercepted by Callihan. The Cats’ ensuing scoring drive included two completions to Ballew. After a 17-yard catch, he snagged a 36-yard pass in the end zone between two defenders.
The deficit was cut to 43-21 with 10:54 left in the game, and the Wolves recovered Gilmer’s onside kick at the Cats’ 49. With their starters back on the filed, a 21-yard touchdown pass on the 10th play of the series accounted for the Wolves’ seventh touchdown.
The Cats found themselves down 50-21 with five minutes to play, and they embarked on their fourth touchdown drive from their 34. Rushes by Ballew and Rellinger gave GHS a first down before Britain ran for 20 more on two carries.
From Wesleyan’s 24, Rellinger scrambled for 18 yards before Ballew hit the left edge for a 6-yard touchdown run for the final points of the game.
The loss dropped the Cats’ overall record to 3-2 and 0-1 in region play.
“I’m disappointed we lost our composure a little bit at times, so that’s something we’ve got to work on,” Standard said. “That starts with the coaches, too. That’s part of growing, and we need to be able to perform in a big game on the road. That’s one of our goals. We have West Hall next then Lumpkin. We’re going back to work and get ready to go.”
Players of the week versus Wesleyan included junior Grant Ballew (offense), senior Aspen Hataway (defense), sophomore Hunter Britain (two-way player) and senior Noah Turner (special teams).
Scout team players of the week were Aiden St. John, Caden Stanley, John Oliver and Caleb Garcia.
Friday’s homecoming kickoff versus West Hall is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.