The Cherokee Bluff Bears were in town, and the Gilmer High Bobcats appeared ready for the fight.
GHS hosted the undefeated region foe last Friday, and the Bobcats kept the high-scoring Bears close with its rushing attack. CBHS took a seven-point lead into the second half where its size, strength and experience took over.
Cherokee Bluff added four unanswered touchdowns over the game’s final 24 minutes and the Bobcats fell, 40-6.
“I’m very proud of our guys. This thing is a process, and our guys have never been in a big game, and this game was big in this moment,” head coach Paul Standard said. “It was the first time this group has been in a big game, and you have to be in them to know how to act.
“You need to be in these games to know how to handle them, and at some point you do well in them to say, ‘Yeah, we can do it.’ The key thing is we didn’t do anything different this week than we did last week. We’re going to do the same thing getting ready for next week.”
GHS received the ball and punted to start the game. The Bobcat defense forced the Bears to do the same when they took over offensively, which has not been the case much this season. CBHS entered the game averaging 58 points and outscoring opponents by 51.
Gilmer punted four times in the first half, and after its second, CBHS took over at its 19. The Bears’ offense relied heavily on tailback Jayquan Smith, and he rushed for all of the yardage on the three-play drive. His second rush covered 54 yards over the left side all the way to the end zone, and the Bears led 6-0 after a blocked extra point.
The Bobcats answered with a 78-yard drive. Fullback Brock Titus hit the inside for four carries for 20 yards on the series while halfback Kobe Stonecipher burned the Bears on the outside.
Stonecipher’s three rushes totaled 57 yards, and fellow halfback Mason Smith took the ball across the goal line to cap the nine-play possession. Tony Olea’s extra-point attempt was blocked as GHS evened the score at 6-6 with 1:18 left in the opening quarter.
GHS was back in business at its 37 after a Bear punt. The Cats had a prime chance to score but could not take advantage. On the third play of the drive, Stonecipher hit the left side of the line for a 50-yard jaunt down to the Bears’ 5-yard line.
After the Cats were unable to gain any yardage on three straight rushes, they were flagged for three consecutive 5-yard penalties, and one wiped out a 10-yard touchdown pass from Seth Darling to Stonecipher. The drive stalled at the 20 with an incompletion.
The Bobcat defense forced a Bear punt, but another penalty soon hurt GHS. On third down, Darling kept the ball through the left side of the line for a 65-yard gain to the Bears’ 14. But a holding penalty erased the play and GHS eventually punted.
CBHS got a short field after Darling’s punt went out of bounds at the Bears’ 35. Smith handled the final three rushes of the four-play drive to move CBHS ahead 13-6 by halftime.
Gilmer’s opportunistic special teams was to begin the second half, and Dominic Tarantino recovered the onside kick. However, GHS was forced to punt for the first of four times in the second half.
Cherokee Bluff answered with four straight touchdowns. The first spanned 90 yards, needed six plays and ended with a 46-yard touchdown toss to Marlin Jackson.
The next CBHS drive started at the Cats’ 25 following a bad snap on a punt, which saw Darling tackled in the backfield. After a penalty on first down, Smith cut through he middle of the defense for a 30-yard touchdown run and 27-6 lead midway through the third quarter.
The Bears’ final offensive touchdown came on a 69-yard, nine-play drive and culminated with a 8-yard Smith touchdown run.
Trailing 35-6, GHS took over with 10:41 left in the game. On fourth down on its next drive, Darling was quickly brought down in the backfield by a Bear lineman. He fumbled, and a recovery and 58-yard return by Jhace Justice tacked on the Bears’ final points.
A running clock was used over the game’s final 8:34 as Gilmer dropped its region opener.
“Overall, I was proud of our effort,” Standard said. “They’re a great football team. (Cherokee Bluff’s) coach (Tommy) Jones and I were on the same staff when I was an offensive coordinator and he coached for me. He’s a class guy and they have done a great job and they have a great football team.”
Smith led all rushers with 245 yards and four touchdowns. Stonecipher eclipsed 100 yards for the second straight week and finished with 120 on 14 carries.
“Our guys hung in there, and if a couple things go our way in the first half, maybe we go on with a little more momentum. We got the onside kick back, and I’m proud of our special teams for that,” Standard said.
GHS will travel to Lumpkin County (1-3) Friday for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.