GMC Bulldogs choose the winning path
Oct. 13—The outlook for GMC Prep's football season is suddenly a bit more sunny, which seems odd to say given Friday's rainy conditions.
The Bulldogs (1-2 region, 2-6 overall) took a major step toward the playoffs in defeating Hancock Central 34-22 for Homecoming.
GMC Prep got out to a 27-8 lead at halftime and fought off a second-half surge by the Bulldogs from Sparta (1-1, 3-4) to earn the victory. For GMC Prep, it was a great bounce back effort following last week's lopsided loss at Wilkinson County.
"Last week was really rough," GMC Prep head coach Bobby Rhoades said. "Things could have gone one of two ways. Our kids could have packed it in or they could have responded like they did tonight. They did a phenomenal job and played with tremendous effort. We played a pretty complete game, especially in the first half. Our offensive line was great. They really controlled the line of scrimmage and our running backs ran well."
The host Bulldog offense was even a threat through the air as evidenced by a couple of completions on GMC Prep's first drive of the night. Junior quarterback Logan McMillan found receiver Nate Webster for about a 14-yard gain to move further into Hancock Central territory. The cherry on top came when McMillan rolled left and hit Johnathan Roach for a 21-yard TD on 3rd-and-7.
GMC Prep continued its string of success with a touchdown run by Jessie Washington and two more from Roach to make it 27-0 for those Bulldogs that call Davenport Field home. Roach's TD dashes were for 36 and 45 yards, giving him a good night all around.
Down, but not out with less than five minutes remaining until halftime, Hancock Central got a 39-yard run from freshman Karter Harper to the GMC Prep 10. Facing 4th-and-goal at the 4, sophomore quarterback Solomar Battle pulled the football from his running back and reached the north end zone to put his team on the board.
After a short punt by GMC Prep deep in its own territory, Hancock Central had a chance to cut into the deficit further with the football on the plus-27 and two seconds remaining. The reverse run covered nearly that entire distance, but the ballcarrier was pushed out of bounds around the 2, safeguarding the home team's lead at 27-8.
But the visitors weren't done.
"Hancock made some really good adjustments at halftime, which made it tougher on us and made it really tight at the end," Rhoades said.
The Sparta school scored twice more, including a 97-yard TD late, to get the GMC Prep lead down to just five points. Again Rhoades' team was presented with two choices: close out a big region win or fold in the final minutes. His players chose the first option as Washington ran in his second touchdown of the night, this one from 35 yards out with just 48 seconds remaining.
"I cannot say enough about the job our coaches and players did responding to a very tough performance last week," said Rhoades. "I'm a very proud head coach tonight."
Rhoades' Bulldogs have another big region game next week at Glascock County, a traditionally down team that is having a better year. Marleau Blount and Hancock Central, meanwhile, will go to winless Twiggs County.
