The No. 6 ranked Northwest Whitfield Bruins gave Gilmer fits on both sides of the ball.
The GHS Bobcats were on the road to begin their region football schedule last Friday. Northwest limited Gilmer’s big play ability off the edge, while the Bruins were able to cash in some explosive touchdowns.
The Bruins scored points on all but one of their first seven drives, and Gilmer was held in check in the second half for a 38-10 loss.
Ball security continued to be an issue for the Cats, and Northwest converted a pair of GHS fumbles into 10 points.
“They’re well-coached and their kids play hard. I thought we certainly had a great opportunity to be successful, and we had to play a clean game, which we didn’t,” said head coach Paul Standard. “Unfortunately, we’re still putting the ball on the ground, which we really haven’t done in the three years prior. That’s something we’re obviously going to continue to work on, and we’ve got to get that cleaned up, or we’ll never reach any of our goals.”
Northwest entered the game with the best defense in Class 3A and had only given up 4.7 points per game. Gilmer’s rushing attack was held to 76 yards under its seasonal average. The Cats’ 252 yards of total offense was its lowest output of the year.
“I thought our offensive line once again blocked extremely well,” Standard said. “We’ve got to work on our blocking on the perimeter. That wasn’t great and it hurt us. Our quarterback (Issac Rellinger) played well with exception of the two fumbles. He kept his head and did a good job of leading. Our fullback (Wyatt Stokes) did good when he got the ball, but they did a good job of getting on the perimeter, and we didn’t do a good job of blocking them.”
Meanwhile, Northwest’s shotgun attack produced 197 rushing yards and 188 through the air. Those statistics included a 61-yard touchdown run and 68-yard touchdown pass. Quarterback Gavin Nuckolls proved to be the Bruins’ best runner as he often fled the pocket for big gains when no one was open.
“Defensively, we played well at times, especially against the run overall,” Standard said. “Obviously they hurt us in the passing game with some break downs in coverages. That’s something you can’t have against good teams, and they hit us on a couple big plays. That was hard for us to overcome.”
A large chunk of Gilmer’s rushing yards came on the game’s opening drive, which spanned 70 yards. The possession included a 26-yard rush by wingback Hunter Britain, and 16- and 10-yard runs by Rellinger and Stokes, respectively. The Cats also endured their first of three chop block penalties, and it was the only one that did not derail a drive.
Following Britain’s long run, Stokes scored on the ensuing play, which was the drive’s 10th. Carter Gearhart’s extra point followed Stokes’ 4-yard touchdown for a 7-0 lead 6:06 into the game.
Gilmer used pooch kicks after it had trouble covering kickoffs this season, and NHS started at its 21. On the fourth play, speedy receiver Walker Jones picked up two blocks on a screen pass and raced 69 yards to pay dirt to tie the score.
Britain had runs of 11 and 10 yards on Gilmer’s second drive. On the fifth play, the exchange between Rellinger and Stokes left the ball on the turf, and the Bruins recovered at their 42.
NHS attacked the middle with dives and the edge with jet sweeps. Nuckolls scrambled for a 17-yard touchdown on the eighth play of the drive. The successful point after put GHS behind 14-7 48 seconds into the second quarter.
The usual suspects continued to handle the carries for Gilmer, and wingbacks Douglas Callihan and Kyle Cowart entered the fray. Stokes’ 17-yard run was the longest of the drive and moved the Cats into Bruin territory.
The 13-play, 62-yard series stalled at the 22, and Gearhart nailed a 38-yard field goal to cut Northwest’s lead to 14-10 with 3:50 left in the half.
The Cats then looked to cash in before the half. On a reverse to Jones, Cowart knocked the ball loose and Peyton Chancey recovered at the Bruins 45. The second chop block killed the drive, and GHS punted.
NHS got the ball back at its 35 with 2:07 left on the clock. The Bobcats were flagged four times on the drive for 25 total yards, which included a defensive holding. The final three gains for the Bruins included completions by Nuckolls of 13 and 11 yards before his 1-yard keeper around the left end.
NHS led 21-10 at the half and added 17 points over its next three possessions of the third quarter. Jones’ 61-yard reverse on the third play of the quarter capped the 65-yard series.
Down by 18 points, Gilmer’s second fumble appeared to mirror its first. Northwest started from Gilmer’s 24, and Chancey’s 3-yard tackle for a loss on third down stopped the drive. The Bruin’s 37-yard field goal pushed their lead to 31-10 with 7:28 left in the quarter.
Gilmer’s next two drives ended with punts and did not include any first downs. The Bruins’ last scoring drive spanned 41 yards on seven plays and concluded with a 24-yard Nuckolls touchdown pass.
Gilmer’s defense held the Bruins on the goal line on their final drive. GHS then put together a 95-yard, 12-play possession that was aided by 30 yards of NHS penalties. However, the drive ended on the Bruins’ 4.
Gilmer will practice twice this week as the Cats begin to prepare for Heritage. Standard said they will focus on perimeter blocking, ball security, passing and tackling.
“The practices we will have will be about improvement, strictly,” he said.
“We’re going to introduce what we’ve seen from Heritage on film, but it’s all about us getting better in the fundamental areas we’re not doing well. Defensively we need work on getting lined up properly. Sometimes we’ve gotten lined up late and we’re outflanked.”
Gilmer will host Heritage for homecoming Oct. 4 at 7:30 p.m.
JV Bobcats beat Pickens
The junior varsity Bobcats hosted rival Pickens last Thursday and clipped the Dragons, 26-20.
All three of Gilmer’s first half possessions chewed up yardage and the clock. The opening drive covered 80 yards and ended with a 7-yard touchdown run by fullback Madden Hopkins.
PHS responded with a 57-yard series and 6-yard quarterback keeper to lead 7-6. GHS answered with another touchdown that traversed 66 yards. On fourth down from the Dragons’ 18, quarterback A.J. Callihan completed an 18-yard touchdown pass to wingback McCoy Sutton.
GHS led 14-7 at the break, and Pickens scored touchdowns on its first two drives of the second half. Meanwhile, GHS strung together a 46-yard drive that came to a close with a 5-yard Sutton touchdown run. Gilmer fumbled on its second possession of the half before Pickens tied the score at 20-20.
Gilmer’s last possession came with 2:12 on the clock. A 20-yard pass to Landon Ledford moved GHS across midfield. Following a 10-yard Callihan run, he completed a 28-yard touchdown pass to Sutton, who got behind the defense.
Pickens had a final play with six seconds left as Gilmer’s defense spread itself far and wide. PHS took advantage of the open space and turned a quick pass into a 63-yard touchdown.
However, a block in the back penalty brought the ball back to the Cats’ 26. A final overthrown pass was intercepted by Sutton in the end zone.