Aug. 31, 2009
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Thomas too much for Gaylesville Trojans By Scott Wright GAYLESVILLE — Coosa Christian's A.T. Thomas was one of the few bright spots for either team here Thursday night as the Conquerors trounced the Trojans 34-14.Thomas, a senior, compiled almost 300 all-purpose yards and posted every Coosa touchdown. From his tailback spot, Thomas scored on runs of 18 and 35 yards and returned two punts for 145 yards and another pair of scores. He also had a 15-yard interception return for a TD. The Gaylesville offense looked good early. After recovering a Coosa Christian fumble on the game's opening possession, the Trojans drove 30 yards in nine plays for the first points of the night. Quarterback Luke Murphy finished the drive with a one-yard plunge with 5:38 remaining in the first quarter. The PAT was no good. Two minutes later, Thomas tied the score at 6-6 from 18 yards out with a run down the sideline. The Conquerors missed the PAT. Gaylesville stalled near midfield on their next series. On fourth down, the snap from center sailed over punter Travis Stancil's head, giving Coosa Christian the ball at the Gaylesville 42-yard line. The Trojan defense stiffened, holding Thomas to two yards on three carries. After a Conqueror punt rolled through the end zone, Gaylesville took over at the 20. Another drive ended with a high snap over Stancil's head, however, and Coosa Christian did not let another chance to score on a shortened field slip away. On second and 8 from the 18-yard line, Thomas juked three defenders and scooted down the home team sideline. A failed two-point conversion try left the score at 12-6 with 4:13 left in the half. After the Trojan offense stalled on its opening drive of the third quarter, Thomas took the fourth down punt 70 yards for the TD. His two-point conversion run pushed the score to 20-6. On Gaylesville's next possession, Thomas stepped in front of a pass from Murphy and scampered in for the score with 6:58 left in the third. Thomas got his fifth TD on a 75-yard punt return with 8:47 to go. Murphy closed the scoring with a 47-yard quarterback keeper. John Van Pelt ran in the two-point conversion. Coosa Christian had almost 200 yards on the ground, with 160 coming from Thomas. But coach Terry Helms was disappointed with his team's 15 passing yards. “Our quarterback and starting receivers are all sophomores and Gaylesville's defense was getting to us all night. We could not block them,” Helms said. “We felt like we didn't play up to our potential.” The teams combined for 10 turnovers and committed several penalties. Gaylesville coach Brian Clowdis attributed some of his team's mistakes to first-game jitters and inexperience. “Early on I thought we were all right, then in the second half we started leaning on people instead of driving through them,” Clowdis said. “We've got to learn to battle through adversity. It's something we'll address next week at practice.” Gaylesville travels to Gaston Friday night to begin play in Region 6 against the Bulldogs, currently ranked second in the state in Class 1A. |