Gordonsville hosted region opponents RePublic Trailblazers for their homecoming game. In a game that saw both teams fail to convert a number of opportunities, the Tigers were able to find a way to beat the Trailblazers in the second half.
The first quarter of the game saw both teams make big plays to get in scoring position, but neither offense could get on the scoreboard.
RePublic looked like they were in position to score early in the 2nd quarter, but a deep pass on 4th and 13 was intercepted by Skyshn Washer at the 4 yard line. The Tigers were held to a three and out, with the punt being returned to the Trailblazers 24 yard line. A pass interference against the Tigers on the second play moved the ball forward to the 11 yard line. The Tigers were able to force a turnover on downs to get the ball back at the 11 yard line.
The Tigers were held to a three and out on the first drive of the game, giving up a 47 yard run to RePublic on their first offensive snap, but the Tigers defense was able to bounce back getting an 18 yard loss two plays later allowed Gordonsville to force a turnover on downs. Gordonsville wasn’t able to do anything with the opportunity, giving up a safety on second down to put RePublic up 2-0 with a little over five minutes left in the second half.
Gordonsville was able to intercept the ball with under 10 seconds left in the half during the Trailblazers following drive, but didn’t have enough time to get any offense going.
The second half started with RePublic’s running game driving down to the 17 yard line, but a fumble gave the Tigers their first drive of the second half. Gordonsville was able to take advantage and drive the ball 83 yards to score their first points of the game and take a 7-2 lead halfway through the 3rd quarter on a Braxton Givens 2 yard run. Gordonsville was able to force another fumble on the following drive, allowing the Tigers to take the ball down and score off of a 27 yard Taylor Thaxton to Skyshn Washer touchdown pass to go up 14-2.
RePublic looked to bounce back and score, driving the ball downfield to get in the red zone. The Trailblazers couldn’t convert a 4th and 4, and gave the Tigers the ball back on the 20 yard line.
Neither team was able to get any offense going on the next two drives, with each team punting on their drives. With Gordonsville’s next drive, the Tigers had the ball stripped leading to the Trailblazers driving the ball down the field and scoring to narrow the Tigers lead to 14-8 with just under 5 minutes in the game.
The Tigers were able to drive the ball down the field to run the clock down before giving the Trailblazers the ball back with 8 seconds left in the game. RePublic was only able to get one play off as they were downed to run the clock out.
What’s Next?
The Tigers will have a bye week next week, followed by a road trip to play Monterey on September 28th.
