Gallatin built a 21-0 lead through three quarters of play, but had to hold off a late charge Friday night as the Bulldogs upended Hamilton, 21-14, in a key Grand River Conference game on the Hornet home turf.
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Gallatin built a 21-0 lead through three quarters of play, but had to hold off a late charge Friday night as the Bulldogs upended Hamilton, 21-14, in a key Grand River Conference game on the Hornet home turf.
Picked off passes and mishandled carries dotted the landscape as each team struggled to keep possession of the football long enough to mount a scoring drive. Gallatin turned the ball over six times three through the air and three times on the ground. Hamilton also gave the ball up six times, counting a blocked punt that set up a Bulldog scoring drive.
Hamilton dodged an early salvo. Gallatin threatened to open scoring early as Drayson Leeper scampered 61 yards on the third play of the game to the Hornet 12-yard line. However, three subsequent plays netted only three yards following a Bulldog off-sides penalty. The Hornets recovered a fumble on fourth down but were pinned deep in their own territory.
Senior Kevin Black, getting the start at linebacker, sacked Hornet quarterback Daniel Copple within the shadow of the Hornet goal posts and Andrew Adkison fell on the fumble on the 19. Seven plays later, quarterback Nic Burrell faked a dive handoff and bulled over from the two-yard line. A Burrell to Adkison pass produced Gallatin’s first successful extra-point conversion of the season.
Each team turned the ball over twice in the second quarter. Black and Justin Duffy each recovered fumbles for the Bulldogs. Senior captain Adam Strein chalked up a quarterback sack that effectively ended another Hornet drive.
Zach Gutzmer and Jason McGee teamed up to snuff a Hornet screen pass for a seven-yard loss at Hamilton’s 20-yard line. Facing a long-yardage situation, the Hornets attempted a quick kick on third down. Senior captain Chris Barnes knifed through the line and blocked the punt to give the Dogs a starting point on the 14 with a minute to play in the half.
Battling the clock and the Hornet defense, the Bulldogs moved to the six yard line with four seconds remaining. Burrell dropped back to pass on fourth and goal and hit Adkison across the middle as time expired. Duffy added the PAT and Gallatin led, 15-0, at the break.
The Hornets finished with minus five yards of total offense in the first half as Gallatin stuffed six plays behind the line of scrimmage.
Hamilton came out of intermission attacking the Bulldog perimeter. Backed by the running of senior Roy Rosenbaum, the Hornets moved across mid-field, but a fumble, recovered by Gallatin’s Duffy, shifted the momentum.
Gallatin’s offense clicked on its first possession of the half. Burrell hit Dillon Bird for a 14-yard gain. Leeper popped off some big yards. With Strein and Barnes paving the way on three straight carries, McGee packed the ball to the Hornet 14. An outside pitch play lost yards, but on third down, Burrell threaded a pass over the middle between Rosenbaum and Marc Sanderson. Bird made the grab and waltzed into the end zone for a touchdown that gave Gallatin what looked like an insurmountable, 21-0, lead.
With 8:26 left in the contest, the Hornets took advantage of a fumble and scored when Copple connected with Shawn Englert on a 40-yard pass down the sideline. A Copple to Rosenbaum pass tacked on a two-point conversion.
The Hornets used an interception to set up a second scoring drive. Copple cut his team’s deficit to 21-14 by hitting Englert again, this time on a 14-yard strike.
After holding Gallatin on downs, Hamilton took the ball back needing to cover 65 yards in 1:28.
Five offensive plays used barely 15 seconds, but found the Hornets only 10 yards closer to their goal as the Bulldog defense held firmly. The big play of the final drive came when senior tackle Sean Wood blasted through the line and tripped Copple up by his heel. The stop accomplished two things. Copple lost five yards on the play and was forced to spike the ball, with loss of a down, in order to stop the clock at 0:41.
The Bulldogs jumped the snap of the ball on an all-out blitz, but on fourth and 10, Burrell intercepted a Copple pass against the Hornet sideline to lock up a hard-fought GHS victory.
The Bulldogs, now 2-2 overall and 2-1 in the GRC, hope to build on their recent success when they host the winless Albany Warriors on Friday.