The Gordo Green Wave Rolls Through Round One of the Playoffs
In the first round of the playoffs, the Region 5 No. 2 seed Gordo High Green Wave came out strong to defeat the Region 7 No. 3 seed North Jackson High Chiefs 37-7. The Green Wave had finished out its regular season 8-2 only behind the Northside Rams in region five, while the Chiefs had finished its season 5-5.
Gordo prevailed tonight on both sides of the ball, behind a strong performance from junior running back Rayshawn Williams and its senior quarterback Tanner Bailey. Bailey was 13-of-17 on pass attempts, throwing for 230 yards and two touchdowns.
Senior receiver Lawson Neel had six receptions for 111 yards and one touchdown, and junior receiver Kohl Summerville had three receptions for 72 yards and one touchdown.
Williams was allowed to shine in the run game in the game's first three quarters, running for 148 yards on 15 carries and scoring three rushing touchdowns from 20 yards or more.
"He ran it tonight just like he ran it in practice, and I think a lot of that is the offensive line did a great job of doing what they needed to do and blocking and having a great plan for that. And I thought our coaches did a great job in that regard too. Rayshawn is a great player, and he played just like he practiced," said Gordo coach Ryan Lolley of his teams effectiveness in the running game.
Gordo's defense held the North Jackson offense to just seven points which came in the fourth quarter on a run by senior Macklin Guess, who totaled 57 yards on six carries.
The Green Wave defense also put a lot of pressure on the Chiefs' senior quarterback Dalton Morris. They had six sacks for a loss of 45 yards and only allowed 13 yards of passing offense. Morris completed just 4-of-13 pass attempts.
There were two interceptions in the game, one for each side. North Jackson senior Gannon Jernigan got to Bailey near the end of the second quarter, intercepting a long pass over the middle. Gordo sophomore Ethan Wilder intercepted Morris in the third quarter, which led the Green Wave to a scoring drive that started on their own 40 yard line.
"Our kids fought they just didn't have enough," said North Jackson coach Joe Hollis Jr. on why his kids came up short, "They're a bunch of resilient kids, they fight hard, they're mentally and physically tough but we've got to continue to get bigger, stronger, and faster. And we're proud for the first year, but we've got a lot of things to improve and to build on."
Penalties were Gordo's biggest issue throughout the evening, as they had four holding penalties and two personal fouls called against them. This is what they'll look to fix as they look forward to round two.
"Penalties, you've got to limit your penalties, you can't hurt yourself. You know, because that gets you behind the sticks on both sides of the ball, it gives the other team's offense the opportunity to have short yardage. So you know, you've got to play clean with the penalties," said Lolley.
The Gordo Green Wave will take on the region six No. 1 seed Oneonta Redskins next Friday, Nov. 12th, at Gilbreath Stadium. The Redskins defeated the Rogers Pirates tonight 40-14.