The Westminster Wildcats provided a stout test for Gilmer High as the Bobcats wrapped up their nonregion football schedule.
GHS made the trip to Buckhead last Friday, and the Class 4A private school found success through the air and also made pivotal plays on defense and special teams.
Westminster took a three-score lead into the half, and while the Bobcats reached pay dirt in the third quarter, the Wildcats maintained their lead for a 35-15 win.
Gilmer head coach Paul Standard noted he scheduled the game for multiple reasons, which included difficulty finding nonregion opponents locally, as well as his long-standing coaching relationship with Westminster’s Gerry Romberg. The Wildcats offensive attack should also serve GHS well as the Cats prepare to face No. 6 ranked Northwest Whitfield this week.
“I believed our kids could handle a fairly long road trip and play a team they never played before and would be able to handle it, whether good or bad,” Standard said. “I thought our kids played with tremendous effort and never quit and battled like crazy.
“Obviously, we are not going to beat a good team with the self-inflicted mistakes we made. That’s on me to get them coached to where we don’t do that. We had costly physical mistakes and gave up a costly kick return.”
Westminster’s spread attack was led by senior quarterback Michael Buhay, who completed 20/24 passes for 199 yards. Like most opponents this season, Westminster attacked Gilmer’s defense with shorter passes, and its longest reception of the night was 24 yards.
“They had a good offensive scheme, and they ran through Greater Atlanta Christian and Pace Academy, and I thought we did a pretty good job against the run,” said Standard. “They’ve thrown the ball down the field against everybody, and we did a good job of not getting beat deep. One time they got a guy loose, but they missed him. They hit us on some intermediate stuff, and we’ve got to be able to respond offensively.”
Gilmer was able to move the ball in the first half but had nothing to show for it on the scoreboard. The Cats’ first drive included three first downs as quarterback Issac Rellinger, fullback Wyatt Stokes and wingback Kyle Cowart moved the offense. However, on third down from the Wildcats’ 21, a botched hand-off resulted in a fumble and Westminster recovered.
Gilmer’s second and third possessions of the first half ended with punts.
Meanwhile, Westminster put three touchdown drives together. The Wildcats’ first series was eight plays and spanned 61 yards. Westminster went ahead with a short pass that resulted in a 19-yard touchdown.
After Gilmer’s fumble, Westminster gained four first downs and advanced into GHS territory. Tackles for losses by Bobcats Cowart and Blane Banks helped to stall the drive, and the Wildcats’ 29-yard field goal attempt was wide.
Gilmer’s first punt pinned Westminster at its 10-yard line. The Wildcats blended the run and pass and needed 12 plays for their second touchdown. On third and goal, Buhay’s 3-yard bootleg put GHS behind 14-0 with 3:54 left in the half.
Gilmer was only able to take 1:43 off the clock, and the Wildcats were back in business at their 44. Six straight completions followed, and the final was for a 24-yard touchdown and for a 21-0 lead at halftime.
“Not being able to get a first down there and then giving them the ball back ... we should have stopped them. But the point is, we shouldn’t have let them get the ball back. We had a penalty and had to punt, and they scored right before the half,” Standard said.
The Bobcats put together their first of two 80-yard touchdown drives to begin the third quarter. After gaining an initial first down, GHS went to the air. Rellinger passed to a wide open Rhett McGregor down the sideline, and he escaped Wildcat defenders for a 65-yard touchdown.
Following back-to-back encroachment penalties on the extra point, Standard decided to go for two, and Stokes added the conversion to cut Westminster’s lead to 21-8.
On the kickoff, GHS endured its third return for a touchdown this season. This time it was Mason Theis, and his 85-yard return pushed the Wildcats’ lead to 28-8 four minutes into the second half.
GHS responded with another touchdown, and it required seven plays. Wingback Hunter Britain took an option pitch 19 yards to move the Cats near midfield. Rellinger then hooked up with Callihan through the air. Callihan made a defender miss and ran all the way down to the Wildcats’ 4-yard line on the 40-yard completion.
Two plays later, Rellinger’s 2-yard keeper put six points on the board. Carter Gearhart’s point after cut Westminster’s lead to 28-15 with 4:37 left in the third.
The Wildcats continued to mix the run and pass. They were eventually forced to punt from Gilmer’s 40, but GHS was flagged for roughing the kicker to keep the drive alive. Two plays later, Banks knocked the ball loose from a Wildcat running back, and Peyton Chancey recovered for Gilmer.
On the Cats’ ensuing third down, Rellinger was intercepted by Henry Deriso, and he returned it for a 22-yard touchdown.
GHS trailed 35-15 with 10:04 left in the game. A 28-yard Cowart run moved Gilmer into Wildcat territory before an 11-yard run by Rellinger and a 14-yard completion to Callihan. On the drive’s sixth play, Gilmer faced a second down from Westminster’s 3-yard line. Rellinger was stripped of the ball on a keeper and the Wildcats recovered.
The loss dropped GHS to 2-2 on the season. Rellinger was the leading rusher with 70 yards and he added 119 more through the air. Memphis Lewallen led the defense with 11 total tackles while Chancey and Bo Cronic made nine stops apiece.
“Our kids played extremely hard and played well in a lot of areas,” Standard said. “I’m proud of them, and we have to bounce back. We’ve learned good and bad from the first four games. We’ve had to move some players around because of injuries and some others to get the right people where they need to be. And now, we should be ready for region play.”
Gilmer will travel to Northwest Whitefield (4-0) Friday for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.