TROJAN FIELD — As spectators huddled in purple parkas and pullovers, braving an unseasonably chilly October evening, Gaylesville (5-3, 4-2) survived a second-half surge from Region 6 rival Valley Head to capture an 18-13 win Friday night.

At the final buzzer, Gaylesville's players jubilantly doused their coach with water, bellowed the alma mater at midfield, then raced off the muddy gridiron knowing they had earned a berth in the Class 1A state playoffs.

The game was a defensive battle early on, followed by a flurry of scoring in the final four minutes before halftime.

Gaylesville scored first, after Clay Joseph recovered a Valley Head fumble near midfield. Eleven plays and 53 yards later, quarterback Luke Murphy's one-yard sneak and a failed conversion gave Gaylesville a 6-0 lead.

Much of the drive's yardage resulted from the efforts of freshman back John David Jennings, a replacement for injured starter David Sanford.

Jennings ended the game with 96 yards on 28 carries.

The Tigers (4-4, 3-3) responded with a 51-yard drive of their own as versatile senior Greg Blansit bounced off left end for a touchdown, then kicked his own extra point. Blansit rushed for 127 yards and added 53 more in receiving.

With 1:29 remaining in the second quarter, the Tigers led 7-6.

With time running out in the half, Gaylesville struck again, using an unconventional approach for the Trojans – a passing formation.

From the shotgun, quarterback Luke Murphy executed two quarterback draw plays, then connected on his only two completions all night. The second pass, to Levi Morgan, was good for nine yards and a touchdown. The conversion failed.

After the game, Gaylesville coach Brian Clowdis praised his Murphy's effort.

“Luke played lights-out, made smart decisions all night,” Clowdis said. “He does a lot of stuff that nobody realizes. We kind of come and go with Luke.”

In the second half, fans barely had time to put away their chili-cheese fries before witnessing another pivotal Trojan play. Junior Michael Zuber recovered a Tiger fumble on the third play of the half.

Murphy completed a 56-yard, 10-play drive with his second rushing touchdown, stretching Gaylesville's lead to 18-7. The conversion attempt failed again.

To the earsplitting dismay of adamant Gaylesville coaches in the press box, Valley Head drove back down the field under the direction of sophomore quarterback Levi Hulgan. An untimely roughing the passer flag against Gaylesville helped keep the drive alive after and incomplete pass on third down.

With 2:20 left in the third, Hunter Stone scored from 13 yards out to close the score to 18-13 – but the drama wasn't over.

The ensuing Trojan drive reached as far as the Valley Head 29-yard line before stalling on a failed fourth-down conversion.

On the first play of the next Tigers' possession Blansit carried would-be Trojan tacklers to the Gaylesville 27. Though Valley Head inched down to the 11-yard line, the Trojan defense held, as Hulgan failed to connect on a fourth-down pass into the end zone.

Gaylesville took over with 4:50 left in the game. Unable to run out the clock, the Trojans punted. Valley Head took over at the Gaylesville 48 for what would turn out to be their last possession of the game.

They were driven back to their own 36 before giving up the ball on downs. A holding penalty and sacks by Zuber and junior Josh Whitaker aided the Trojan cause.

“I thought there were about 11 people out there that played pretty stinkin' good, defensively,” Clowdis said.

As the horn sounded, the Trojan celebration began.

“They should be excited, this win was pretty big,” he said. “Confidence is huge with those guys. With a little bit of confidence, they can play.”

With one region game remaining, the once-complicated 1A Region 6 playoff picture is beginning to take shape. Gaston won the title with its 14-7 win over Cedar Bluff; Spring Garden will hold down either second or third place, and Gaylesville's win secured one of the final two spots.

Cedar Bluff can secure second place with a win over Gaylesville this week. But a loss by the Tigers could drop them out of the playoff picture if Collinsville defeats Valley Head Friday night.