Smith County: 17
Gordonsville: 0
(Smith County Insider Press) Gordonsville, Tenn. – A renewal of an intense intra-county rivalry proved to be a show of stiff and physical defensive display by both Smith County and Gordonsville High School’s football teams in their 2015 rendition. While Gordonsville’s defensive unit allowed less than 240 yards of offense, the Owls’ defensive counterparts were impressive in limiting the Tigers to just over 100 yards in offensive output. Despite the hard-hitting physical play by both defenses, one would think there would be a considerable amount of turnovers. That was not the case as only one turnover occurred in the form of a late second half interception by Smith County’s senior defensive back Bailey Kemp off Gordonsville’s QB Damian Davis’ pass attempt with 0:28 left on the clock. In just over 20 seconds, the Owls marched 55 yards with two long pass plays by Carson Hackett to Shermar King and Kemp to setup a field goal attempt with just a few seconds remaining on the clock. Sophomore place-kicker Bryant Goolsby nailed the 32 yarder as time expired in the half. Smith County took a 10-0 lead at halftime.
Led by senior running back Dusten Holder and sophomore QB Hackett, Smith County got on the board with their first touchdown mid-way thru the first quarter. With six rushes by Holder and two by Hackett along with three pass completions by Hackett, Smith County scored their initial touchdown via a 9 yard reception by Kemp. The scoring drive covered 53 yards, consisted of 11 plays, and took 5:42 off the clock. Goolsby kicked the ensuing extra point. Smith County: 7, Gordonsville: 0 with 5:42 left in the first quarter.
Gordonsville was stymied by the Owls’ defense throughout the first half as their first three possessions consisted of a 3 and out. Junior punter Koby Watts kept Gordonsville out of danger with three punts that averaged 38+ yards. A bright spot for Gordonsville came with their fourth and final possession of the first half. They took over on their own 17 yard line, and put together a nine play drive that resulted in two first downs and positive runs by Jesse Meadows and Braxton Givens. The drive ended with a huge sack on Davis and followed with the ill-fated Owl interception.
What appeared to be a turning point in the game came on Gordonsville’s opening drive of the second half. After starting on their own 37 yard line, the offensive line starting clicking as they methodically marched down to Smith County’s 8 yard line. But on fourth and one the Owl defense stopped the drive aided by miscommunication in the Tiger backfield. Fullback Sheldon Harris collided with Davis on the handoff exchange thus ending the drive all for naught. The drive consisted of 15 consecutive running plays, covered 54 yards and chewed up seven and a half minutes with nothing to show. Braxton Givens contributed 36 yards on seven carries while Sheldon Harris and Jay Vaden had nine yards each on three and four carries respectively during that drive. Even though the Tigers did not put any points on the board, it seemed momentum may swing in the Big Blue’s favor because they held Smith County to a three and out and took over at mid-field after an owl punt.
Another promising drive of 10 plays and twenty yards stalled on the Smith County’s 30 yard line. Smith County put a “lid on the coffin” as they put together their final scoring drive of the game. The Owls went seventy yards in nine plays while taking 4:11 off the clock. Six rushes by Holder; a big acrobatic catch by King; followed by Hackett’s 12 yard TD run proved to be the “nail in the coffin.”
Freshman running back Braxton Givens led the way offensively for Gordonsville with 17 carries for 70 yards while Damian Davis went 1 for 6 through the air with 1 interception. Bailey Roney caught that lone pass for 14 yards. Former Gordonsville running back Dusten Holder led Smith County in rushing with 93 yards on 24 carries. Carson Hackett was 7 for 11 passing with one TD to Bailey Kemp and had one TD rushing. Kemp had a total of 3 catches for 33 yards, King 2 catches for 57 yards, and Jon Neal Vance caught one pass for 6 yards.
Gordonsville will have an OPEN date on September 4 and will return to action as they host Clay County on September 11 at Turney Ford Field.
