Sports
Rabbs face Daingerfield Friday night Tuesday, 31 August 2010 06:22 |   
Atlanta falls to Gilmer is Rose Classic By JUSTIN STONE This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it It took a mighty push at the end for the Atlanta Rabbits to make the score on Thursday night against Gilmer respectable. The Buckeyes scored early and often in kicking off the Trinity Mother Frances Rose Classic with a 63-28 defeat of the Rabbs. Things went bad for the Rabbs from the start when Atlanta’s Ta’rell Holloway fumbled the opening kickoff. Gilmer’s Xavior Easley recovered the fumble at the nine, and two plays later Buckeye QB Luke Turner snuck in from the one for the first points of the game. The two-point conversion was good and Gilmer took the early lead 8-0. On the ensuing kickoff Lee Raley took the kick out to his own 14 yard line. The Rabbs managed to drive to their own 37 yard line before being forced to punt. Turner returned the punt to the 36 yard line, but a holding penalty set the buckeyes back to the 26. On the first play of the drive Turner dropped back to pass but was dropped in the backfield instead by Taylor McCarty and Sam Daniels for a loss of five yards. After a few more pass plays failed to net Gilmer a first down they punted away. The punt was downed at the ATL 27 yard line. This time it was the Rabbits who didn’t take long to start clicking. On the first play of the drive the Rabbs’ Corion Webster took a run 73 yards to pay dirt to put Atlanta right back in the mix. The Rabbit two-point try failed, giving Gilmer an 8-6 lead with 5:51 to go in the first. Gilmer’s Darrien Pollard took the next kick to his own 23 yard line where the Buckeyes set up shop. The revenge-minded Buckeyes then took a long run of their own when tailback Gus Johnson took a handoff 77 yards for the score on the first play of the drive. The extra point was good, giving Gilmer the 15-6 lead with 5:28 still showing in the first quarter. Gilmer tried an onside kick after the score, but Atlanta wasn’t fooled and Lawson Shultz recovered the errant kick at Gilmer’s 49 yard line. This time the Rabbs marched down to the Buckeye 31 yard line before turning the ball over on downs with 1:46 remaining in the period. The Buckeyes got right to work. Turner hit wideout Gavin Holt on a pass that took Gilmer to the Rabbit 35, and on the next play Turner took it in for the score himself on a QB draw with no time showing on the clock. The PAT failed and the first quarter ended with Gilmer on top 21-6. Atlanta took the kickoff to open the second quarter to its own 22 yard line. The Rabbs used Webster and Joe Rose to run up to their own 45 before QB Stanton Holland fumbled the ball and Gilmer recovered with 9:22 showing on the clock. This time Gilmer put together a seven-play scoring drive, with help from an Atlanta face mask penalty, that culminated with Gus Johnson scoring from two yards out with 6:47 to go in the half. The PAT was good, giving Gilmer a 28-6 advantage. The Rabbs started their next drive at their own 34 yard line, but were forced into a three and out. The Rabbit punt left Gilmer on the 48 yard line. This time it took the Buckeyes a pair of plays before Xaviour Easley caught a 48-yard pass for the score. That made the Gilmer advantage 35-6 after the PAT with 4:19 remaining in the half. Cole Roberson received the kickoff and took it to the Rabbit 34 yard line. But the Rabbs were forced into another three and out, and Stanton Holland punted out of bounds at the Buckeye 30 with 2:43 to go in the half. Gilmer wasted no time in putting up a three-play scoring drive that ended with Johnson bobbing and weaving 51 yards to the end zone. The PAT was good and Gilmer’s advantage was now 42-6 with 2:11 to go in the half. The Rabbs had a sense of urgency going onto the field for the ensuing kickoff. Corion Webster soothed that sense by returning the kickoff all the way home for the special teams score. The Rabbit two-point try failed, but the deficit was now cut to 42-12. The Buckeyes went three and out on their next drive, and time ran out in the half before the Rabbs could get back on the board. Gilmer’s return man took the opening kick of the second half out to his own 34 yard line where Gilmer started the half. Gus Johnson took the first run of the half across mid-field to the Rabbit 34. After an ineligible receiver penalty moved them back five yards, the Buckeyes’ Turner threw his second TD of the night to Easley with 11:22 showing in the period. The PAT was good making the score 49-12. On the ensuing kickoff Atlanta caught the fumbleitis again as Michael Wicks fumbled the kickoff. Gilmer’s Ty Barr recovered the fumble at the Rabbit 35, and Gilmer quickly took advantage of the good field position. It took the Buckeyes two pass plays before Darrien Pollard caught his second TD of the game with 10:18 to go in the third. The PAT made the score 56-12. Atlanta took the kickoff out to its own 40 yard line, but couldn’t capitalize on the field position. The Rabbs were forced into another three and out with Holland punting a fair catch down to the Buckeye 25. Gilmer took over with 8:14 showing in the third quarter and put together a substantial drive. The Buckeyes took ten plays to march 75 yards before Jordan Trailer put his team on the board again with a two yard TD reception. The score came with 3:07 on the clock and the PAT made the score 63-12. Atlanta took the kick out to its own 25 where the Rabbs set up shop. A few good runs put ATL at the 31 yard line, where they stood when time ran out in the quarter. The Rabbs started the fourth quarter at fourth and four and were forced to punt. The punt was downed at the Buckeye 44. Gilmer ran a few plays without much success and on third down made the ultimate mistake when the Gilmer QB hit Rabbit defender Jacob Neshyba in the chest for an interception with 10:03 to go in the game. Starting from their own 25 the Rabbs put together a couple of runs that moved them up to the 31. On fourth and four Webster recorded his second video game run of the game when he sprinted the 69 yards to pay dirt with 7:38 remaining. The two-point try was no good and the score was 63-18 Gilmer. Atlanta then tried an onside kick of their own, but were convincing enough to pull off the stunt. Wicks recovered the onside at the Gilmer 45. Webster took the first run of the drive and fumbled it, but fortunately Julius Neal was there to scoop up the ball and the big man toted it for several more yards to Gilmer’s 18 yard line. A Rabbit false start on the drive proved costly and The ATL drive sputtered after a failed fourth down attempt from the one. Gilmer took over from there with 2:50 on the clock. On Gilmer’s first play of the drive, their tailback was caught in the backfield by several Rabbit defenders for the safety. That made the score 63-20 when ATL went to accept the free kick. On the Rabbs’ final drive of the night they shook off an offensive clipping penalty to put together a six-play scoring drive that ended when Holland found Lawson Shultz wide open in the end zone with :28 on the clock. The Rabbs finally succeeded on a two-point try with a pass from Holland to Darius Dickerson. That made the score 63-28. Gilmer recovered the Rabbit onside kick at Atlanta’s 49 and ran out the clock from there. Rabbit Coach Ronnie Melton said that there were spots on the team that looked good and others that didn’t. He went on to say "You can’t make that many mistakes against a team that good and get away with it." Melton said if his team can make better adjustments in the future then they will be all right. The Rabbs take on Daingerfield at home on Friday night. Last Updated ( Tuesday, 31 August 2010 06:30 ) |
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Sunny 78 oF
