Sept. 18, 2010
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Gaston gets first win for new head coach, 26-14 By Scott Wright GASTON -- Last week, Spring Garden head coach Jim McKay got his first-ever football victory. Unfortunately for McKay and his Panthers, Friday night was fellow rookie coach Josh Averett's turn to finally get his name in the win column, as the Gaston Bulldogs came out on top, 26-14. “It feels great, I just wish it hadn't taken me four weeks to get it,” Averett told a gathering of reporters on the sideline after the game. Gaston (1-3, 1-2) opened the scoring on its second possession. After a Spring Garden punt, the Bulldogs drove 88 yards in eight plays. Running back Jordan McCartney carried the final yard with a little over a minute remaining in the first quarter. The two-point conversion try failed. McCartney, who moved from quarterback after injuring his hand last week, had 89 yards on 20 carries and two touchdowns. Coach Averett said his sophomore's performance makes him hesitant to change the starting lineup that finally got him his first win. “No. 10 had a great game tonight, especially with a cast on,” Averett said. “We weren't really successful those first three weeks, so we're not going to vary our lineup greatly.” Bulldog running back Adam Anderson led all rushers with 133 yards and a TD on nine carries. The teams took turns punting for most of the rest of the first half. Finally, with under two minutes remaining, Gaston quarterback Sean Love hit Collin Jarbo on a quick slant over the middle. Jarbo spun out of one tackle, dodged another and darted down the middle of the field for a 66-yard touchdown with 1:08 remaining. Love passed to Jackson Bogle for the two-point conversion and a 14-0 halftime lead. Gaston stretched the lead to 20-0 midway through the third on McCartney's second TD run of the night, from the 1-yard line. Anderson helped set up the score with a 71-yard run on the first play of the drive, which began at the Bulldog 15. On the Panthers' next play from scrimmage, Love picked off a Jeffrey Smart pass deep in Spring Garden territory. Five plays later, Anderson dove in from the 3-yard line to make the score 26-0 with 6:33 left in the third. Despite the adversity, Spring Garden (1-3, 1-2) never gave up. The Panthers battled back in the waning minutes of the third. Smart capped a 65-yard drive with a one-yard run. Brian Jones's PAT was blocked, leaving the score 26-6. Spring Garden held the Bulldogs to a three-and-out on their next possession, but Braxton Collins intercepted Smart's next pass on a wild-looking deflection. The Bulldogs drove down to the 1-yard line, but the Panthers stuffed McCartney in the backfield on fourth down. Determined to play until the clock expired, Spring Garden's offense put together a 15-play, 96-yard drive to close within two scores in the closing minutes. Sophomore Forrest Livingston's nine-yard run and subsequent two-point conversion with four minutes remaining closed the scoring. “They didn't quit at the end, they fought and tried to come back,” McKay said. “We just had too much of a hole dug for ourselves at that point.” Livingston led Spring Garden with 104 yards on 23 carries. The Bulldogs and Panthers combined for nearly 600 yards of total offense. Gaston travels to south Alabama Friday night to face Notasulga. |