The Spartans’ Hail Mary prayer at the end of the game last Friday appeared to be answered.
A final heave into the end zone as time expired was tipped by a Gilmer High Bobcat before the ball fell into the hands of a West Hall receiver.
However, a Spartan penalty nullified the score and WHHS was given a final play. The last Spartan pass fell incomplete, and GHS players got the last laugh in a 26-21 win.
“I was proud of how these kids played together and how they fought together,” said head coach Paul Standard. “But we’ve got to fix some mistakes. The personal fouls have got to stop or I’m going to lose my mind. We’re still battling and overcoming some things. I’m proud of these boys and happy to see them happy.”
Gilmer’s well-oiled rushing attack controlled the first half by eating up 20:19 of 24 minutes. The Bobcats’ one-two punch of halfback Will Kiker and fullback Brock Titus accounted for 102 and 101 rushing yards, respectively on the night. Halfback Kobe Stonecipher added 49 and quarterback Seth Darling was there for 46 more yards on keepers.
Meanwhile, the Bobcat defense gave up very little. The Spartans were limited to 36 yards, seven offensive plays and zero first downs in the opening half.
“First half, I thought our offense did a great job of coming out, controlling the line of scrimmage and Seth ran our offense well. All of our linemen blocked, our backs blocked, our receivers blocked and it showed,” Standard said.
Gilmer received the opening kickoff and drove 70 yards on 12 plays. Titus accounted for 43 yards up the middle while Stonecipher and Kiker tested the outside. GHS earned five first downs on the series, and Stonecipher scored from 1 yard away. WHHS jumped offside on the extra point, and Standard opted to go for two but Gilmer was stopped.
The drive melted 6:36 off the clock, and Gilmer’s second scoring drive lasted 5:47. Darling rushed four straight times to begin the possession to move GHS from its 48-yard line to the Spartans’ 34. After a 10-yard run by Stonecipher, Titus handled the final three rushes and his last was for a 1-yard touchdown.
Tony Olea’s extra point gave GHS a 13-0 lead with 9:48 left in the half.
After a second fruitless Spartan possession, GHS took over at its 38 and appeared to embark on a third scoring drive. However, after progressing to West Hall’s 12, a holding, illegal procedure and delay of game penalties killed the drive.
While GHS was unable to score, the Cats milked 8:07 off the clock and enjoyed a 13-point halftime lead.
“Defense played unbelievable in the first half. Then on the last drive we made some mistakes and we can’t do that. We’re about to really put them behind the eight ball,” Standard said. “I screwed that whole thing up. Then they got a little momentum. They got their mojo back a little bit in the second half.”
After the teams traded punts to begin the second half, they soon traded haymakers. Spartan quarterback Nick Sturm had formidable size at 6’ 4,” 215 pounds, and he rushed five times for 42 yards on West Hall’s second drive of the third quarter.
Two-hundred fifty-pound tailback Tilil Blackwell ran for 4 yards to cap the eight play, 47-yard drive. The score cut the Cats’ lead to six points with 4:16 left in the third.
GHS answered immediately. On the ensuing offensive play, Kiker took the pitch around the left edge and broke three tackles as he raced for a 70-yard score. Olea’s extra point pushed Gilmer’s lead to 20-7.
However, West Hall came right back. Byron Brevil returned the kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown as the Cats’ advantage was cut back down, 20-14.
West Hall forced Gilmer’s second punt and took over offensively at its 25. Sturm and Blackwell swapped carries, and the former accounted for 42 rushing yards. From the Cats’ 6, Blackwell rushed twice, and his last was a 3-yard touchdown run.
The extra point inched WHHS ahead 21-20 with 5:33 to play.
Gilmer’s final drive eventually got underway at its 27 following a penalty on first down. GHS was spotted 30 yards on the drive as two Spartan pass interference calls gave the Cats first downs. Gilmer also came up big with a 19-yard completion to Kiker and a 10-yard run by Titus.
From the Spartans’ 14, a 7-yard Darling run was followed by a pair of 2-yard pickups by Stonecipher and Titus. On first down from the 3, Darling scored over the right side of the line on the 11th play of the drive.
“Our kids executed and didn’t get their heads down,” Standard said of the possession.
The conversion failed, but GHS held on to a 26-21 lead with only 33 seconds on the clock.
In a last-ditch effort, WHHS completed two passes but were still 47 yards from the goal line with 5.3 seconds to play. Next came Sturm’s bomb to the end zone, but a flag for illegal formation was dropped at the start of the play, and the Spartans’ celebration was all for naught.
Had the Spartans’ score counted, they would have escaped with a one-point win.
Standard reflected on his decision to go for two points after Gilmer’s opening touchdown.
“We scored first, and they jumped (offside on the extra point), and I always go for two (when that happens),” he said. “Was I second guessing it there at the end? Yeah, a little bit, but we can’t do that. If we’re a yard and a half away, we’ve got to be able to get it; that’s my fault.”
In addition to his strong offensive performance, Kiker led GHS with 12 total tackles. Aspen Hataway and Dominic Tarantino both tallied seven stops.
Gilmer will travel to White County Friday for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff against the Warriors.
Junior varsity
The JV Bobcats hosted Fellowship Christian last Thursday and lost to the Paladins, 24-6.
Gilmer controlled the clock in the first half. The Bobcats’ opening drive used all of the first quarter before they turned the ball over on downs.
The Paladins scored on an 80-yard pass on their first offensive play to lead, 8-0. Gilmer’s next drive was seven minutes and concluded with a 3-yard touchdown run by quarterback Isaac Rellinger.
GHS recovered the kickoff to begin the third quarter, but the ensuing drive eventually stalled at the Paladins’ 30 after a holding penalty.
Fellowship drove down the field for a touchdown and 16-6 lead. Gilmer’s next drive was promising as well but was halted by another penalty.
The Paladins added a final score with 18 seconds to play for a 24-6 lead.
“Rellinger did a great job leading the offense and Wyatt Stokes flew around on defense from the linebacker position,” noted GHS coach Drew Gaddy.