[slideshow_deploy id=’21871′]
After dropping their Week 8 match-up last week to Greenville (3-5) by a score of 21-52, the Gillespie High School football team (2-6) is searching for their third victory of the season tonight as they travel to Staunton (0-8) to conclude their 2015 season.
The Miners fell behind 0-6 seconds after kicking the ball off to start the game last week when Greenville returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown. The Miners stalled on their first drive, but got ignited on Greenville’s next drive after Bobby Carr intercepted the ball on Gillespie’s 1-yard saving a touchdown. Both Bobby Carr and Daniel Dobrino were back on the field last night after injuries kept the pair on the sideline for two weeks.
After Carr was immediately tackled, Greenville used the turnover to put two more points on the scoreboard after running a blitz on the first play and tackling Tate Wargo in the backfield for a safety, 0-8. The Comets used their passing game to spread Gillespie’s defense and continued tacking points on the scoreboard in the remainder of the first quarter – one touchdown off a 9-yard pass and another off a 72-yard pass.
In between Greenville’s passing touchdowns, the Miners put a touchdown on the home side of the scoreboard after Wargo connected with Carr on a 35-yard touchdown reception. Chandler McDaniels’ extra point kick was successful leaving Gillespie behind 7-24 after the first quarter.
Scoring was evenly distributed throughout the rest of the game following a combined 31 points scored in the first quarter. Both teams stalled on most of their drives in the second quarter and each team had a turnover – Gillespie’s was a fumble that set Greenville up 19 yards away from the endzone, which was later capped with a touchdown, and Greenville’s turnover was an interception reeled in by Gillespie’s Bobby Carr.
At halftime, Gillespie trailed Greenville 7-32.
Greenville extended their lead even more in the third quarter after capping an 85 yard drive with a 12-yard rushing touchdown while taking only two minutes off of the game clock. After an unsuccessful conversion, the Comets led 38-7 with 7:43 remaining in the third quarter.
The Miners would trim the deficit down on the next drive after covering 53 offensive yards. Gillespie went for it on fourth down and goal four yards away from the endzone and Wargo found Bryce McKinney open in the endzone. The touchdown moved the score to 13-38 favoring Greenville.
Gillespie closed the gap even more in the fourth quarter after Alex Myers rushed for the 1-yard touchdown and the team converted on the 2-point conversion attempt trimming the deficit to 21-38. The Miners followed the touchdown by recovering an onside kick-off attempt, but Greenville intercepted the Miners’ passing attempt on their first offensive play.
After the interception, the Comets tacked on two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter – one on a 2-yard rush and another on an interception return. Greenville was successful on one two-point conversion, but failed the second, to make the final score 21-52.
Around the South Central Conference
- Pana (8-0) clinched the SCC with a victory over Vandalia (4-4), 21-13
- Carlinville (6-2) sealed playoffs with a shutout over Southwestern (3-5), 28-0
- Roxana (6-2) also clinched a playoff berth with a shutout over Staunton (0-8), 52-0
- Litchfield (4-4) squeezed a win over Hillsboro (4-4), 18-13
– – – – – – – – – – – – – –
There are plenty of ways to keep up on BenGil news:
Sign up for our weekly email newsletter
Follow us on Twitter for the fastest breaking news updates and score updates
Like us on Facebook for a slightly different take
Share this story
Comments
comments