HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: Gate City eliminates Lebanon

BY ANTHONY STEVENS

Sports Correspondent

GATE CITY — After missing the playoffs last year and starting this year with a 1-2 record the Gate City Blue Devils are in the Region D, Division 2 championship game after defeating Lebanon 31-22 at Legion Field Saturday.

The Blue Devils have now won seven of their last eight games, with their last loss to Powell Valley, who they will battle next Saturday for the regional championship.

"We’re still alive and at this time of the year that’s very difficult to do," Gate City coach Nick Colobro said. "You saw two good football teams and both of us made some mistakes. We were able to capitalize on some of theirs and they had a few more turnovers."

A Blue Devil interception led to the first touchdown of the game. Lebanon defensive back Steve Martin intercepted a Tihlee Anderson pass to give the Pioneers the ball midway through the second quarter.

Lebanon got in scoring position when Tarrell Lee found Sutton Coleman for a 33-yard gain. Three plays later, on 3rd-and-9, Lee connected with Jerome Cobb on a 24-yard touchdown pass for a 7-0 lead.

After the Lebanon touchdown, it was three plays and a punt for Gate City. But with just over a minute remaining in the half, a Pioneer fumble by tailback Skyler Musick was scooped up by Tyler Parks, who raced into the end zone to tie the game and shift the momentum.

"At first I didn’t know whether to jump on it or pick it up," Parks said. "Everything just happened so fast, I grabbed it and luckily it landed in my hands and I just took off.

"[Defensive lineman] Owen Franklin had a great hit on Musick to cause the fumble; all the credit goes to him and I was just there at the right time to pick it up."

The Blue Devil defense kept them in the game in the first half but the offense, particularly the running game, came to life in the second half. On Gate City’s second offensive play of the second half, Payton Jenkins broke several tackles and rambled up the left-side for a 63-yard touchdown run for a 14-7 advantage.

On Gate City’s next possession, it set up to punt on 4th-and-10, but the snap was high and punter Dustin Jones ran for an 11-yard gain and a first down. Three plays later, Anderson scored on a quarterback keeper as the Blue Devils went up 21-7.

Lebanon kept fighting and the Pioneers did most of their damage through the air. Lee again found Cobb on a post pattern for a 44-yard touchdown to pull the Pioneers to within a touchdown.

But they couldn’t stop the Blue Devils on the ground. The Blue Devils drove to the Lebanon 14 and Ked Byrd kicked a 31-yard field goal to make it a two-possession game. Tyler Tiller recovered a fumble to set up the final Blue Devil TD with Anderson scoring his second touchdown on a 13-yard scramble.

"We struggled last year so this is really big for us," said Anderson. "We worked hard in the off-season and this was one of our goals. We’re really happy with this win."

"Gate City is just better than we were today," Lebanon coach John Adams said. "We got out-coached, out-defensed, out-hit, out-everything you can think of.

"If you turn the ball over you’re not going to beat anyone, especially someone like Nick [Colobro]. There is a reason he’s in the [Virginia High School League] Hall of Fame. He’s a good coach, knows what he’s doing and had his guys prepared."

The Blue Devils didn’t complete a pass, but rushed for 296 yards on the ground, led by Jenkins (110 yards), Anderson (102 yards) and Parks (82 yards).

Lebanon was held to 129 yards on the ground. Lee was its big weapon, going 5-of-10 through the air with two touchdowns and also leading the way with 69 rushing yards.

"Defensively, I felt we did an outstanding job," Colobro said. "Of course we were loading up (against the run) and they hurt us with the pass and that is a credit to their team and their coaching staff. Offensively we did a good job the second half. The main thing is we survived and we’re getting to play another week."