The Gilmer High School Bobcats football team traveled to Cedartown for their biggest game of the year. As highlighted in last week’s article, not only were the “Cats” preparing to battle for the sub-region championship, but the “Cats” also prepared to face Nick Chubb, the #1 running back in the state of Georgia, despite Chubb gaining 219 yards on the ground and four rushing touchdowns, the “Cats” claimed the championship with a 38-35 win after Manny Lopez connected on a 37 yard game winning field goal with seconds left in the game.
Last year, the Bobcats held Chubb under 100 yards (76), with no touchdowns, and to this day is the only team to ever do it. Chubb has had this game circled on his calendar for a year now, and the time had come for the two teams to battle once again.

The undefeated Bulldogs were ranked #7 in AAAA coming into the game and coming off of a win against Cass, while the 7-1 Bobcats was coming off of a win against River Ridge. This was a game for the ages, and should be considered an instant classic. It was easily one of the most exciting games Gilmer has ever been involved in, and without some late heroics by many of the Bobcat players it would’ve been a heartbreaker.

Gilmer v Cedartown 2013 from Fetch on Vimeo.

Continue Story Below

The best defense for a player of Chubb’s caliber is to keep him off of the field. And how does one do this? By keeping the opposing offense on the field. With that in mind, the Bobcats won the toss and elected to receive. The kickoff went out of bounds, giving the “Cats” the ball at the Gilmer 35-yard line.

Johnie Flakes got three early carries and was unable to find any running room. It looked like the defense was well prepared for him and the Bobcats would have to punt the ball away. Manny Lopez got off a booming punt and the Bulldog returner thought he could make a move. He was hit and the ball popped out and into the hands of a Bobcat player at the Cedartown 28-yard line.

After the muff, the Bobcat offense took the field. A false start backed the “Cats” up, but Flakes got most of that back with a run. The “Cats” then had an illegal procedure that backed the offense even further. Tyler Bertolini got the penalty yardage back with a five yard run setting up and 3rd and 12 at the Bulldog 30-yard line.

Thaddeus Bowers dropped back and threw a strike to Austin Cole who dove to make the grab inside the 10-yard line. After a couple of runs by Flakes and Bertolini, Flakes took the ball into the end zone for a four yard touchdown. With 7:42 remaining in the opening quarter, Lopez knocked the PAT through the uprights and the Bobcats were on top early, 7-0.

On the ensuing kickoff, Cole Ingram did his job and shut down the return man with a great tackle. The Bulldog offense was taking the field for the first time, and it was time to see what this Georgia commitment was all about. He took two straight carries for three yards each, and then there was an incomplete pass. As soon as the Cedartown offense was on the field, it was back off after a punt put the “Cats” on the Gilmer 20 yard line.

Starting on the 13-yard line, Bertolini got the first carry and picked up a yard. The next play resulted in an incomplete pass and it looked like the drive might stall. Flakes took the ball on third down and picked up ten yards to keep the drive alive.

Bertolini picked up three more and then Bowers hit Flakes on a quick pass out of the backfield that led to thirteen yards. On the next play, Flakes carried the ball for 16 yards and just like that the Cats had crossed midfield.

The marching continued from Flakes and Bertolini as the offensive line did a great job of blocking and opening up holes to run through.

With a 3rd and 8 on the Cedartown 15-yard line, Chad Watkins took the ball for a twelve yard gain. The “Cats” stood three yards from scoring as the first quarter ended. So far, Chubb was at six yards and the Bulldog offense had barely seen the field.

The second quarter started with a bang. After two attempts by Bertolini to get the score, Flakes punched it in from one yard out and Lopez made the PAT. With 10:32 remaining in the half, the Bobcats led 14-0.

Cedartown’s next drive saw the Bulldog offense on the field much longer this time around. The Bulldogs got the passing game started by burning the “Cats’” secondary on a few different occasions.

Chubb had a couple of carries but nothing spectacular. With the Bulldogs knocking, Cole and Bertolini sacked the quarterback to get the momentum going in favor of the Bobcats. On the next play, fans saw a glimpse of why Chubb is regarded as one of the best in the nation. He broke 8 solid tackles on his way to a 26-yard score. The PAT was blocked, but the Bulldogs had cut the deficit down to 14-6 with 6:38 remaining in the half.

Gilmer started the next drive at the Bobcat 28-yard line. Flakes and Bertolini continued to pound the ball down the field all the way to the Bulldog 4-yard line, with one of the runs being a 50-yarder by Flakes. On the next play, Flakes finished the job by scoring and the Lopez kick put the Cats on top 21-6 with 4:49 left in the half.

Cedartown started with the ball at the Bulldog 35-yard line. A big pass play quickly put the Bulldogs in Bobcat territory. A four yard Chubb carry had Cedartown in the red zone and threatening to score.

The secondary had great coverage two plays in a row and the Bulldogs faced a fourth down. The defense pulled through and stopped the Bulldogs on fourth down and ended the threat.

The Gilmer offense took the field and looked to drive down and score again before the end of the half. On the first play, the ball was coughed up and recovered by the Bulldogs on the Gilmer 12-yard line. It didn’t take long for Chubb to find the end zone and the Bobcats lead 21-13 at the half.

The Bulldogs received the second half kickoff and set up shop on the Cedartown 17-yard line. Chubb began to “Rock”, running for huge chunks of yardage and needing more than one person to bring him down. He accounted for 72 yards on this drive and found the end zone from ten yards out. The Bulldogs converted the two-point conversion and had the game tied at 21-21 just three minutes into the third quarter.

Gilmer started with the ball at the 21-yard line and continued the same proven game plan. Bertolini and Flakes continued to find the open holes provided by the great blocking. They marched all the way down to the enemy 14-yard line before Flakes ran it in for his fourth touchdown scoring run of the day. Lopez did his thing and the Cats were back out in front, leading 28-21 with 2:11 to go in the third quarter.

Cedartown received the kickoff and at the 23-yard line. Before a play was run, a Bulldog player collapsed on the sidelines and play was halted. He had to be carted off the field by ambulance and it was a scary scene. Gilmer head coach, Wesley Tankersley, being the class act that he is, gathered his team up and held a prayer for the boy as he was being tended to.

On the post-game radio show, the voice of the Bulldogs said he had never seen such a kind gesture extended by another team such as the Bobcat players and fans had done. In the end it’s just a game and everyone was concerned for his wellbeing. FYN’s latest reports are that he is responsive and remembers everything and doctors are optimistic that he will be fine.

Now playing inspired, the Bulldog offensive players came back onto the field and looked to win the game for thier friend. As expected, the offense was looking to just hand the ball off to Chubb and let him take over the game.

He found this to be more difficult than he had hoped, mostly in part to big Jake Ingram plugging the holes he tried to run through. After a couple of penalties on the Bulldogs, Cedartown had to punt the ball away to the “Cats.”

Gilmer’s drive was quickly over, gaining only four yards before having to punt the ball back over to the Bulldogs. Cedartown moved the ball down the field, throwing short passes and letting Chubb pick up a few yards here and there. With 5:39 remaining in the game, the Bulldog stands erupted when Chubb found his way into the end zone from 27 yards out. A successful PAT tied the game at 28-28.

Gilmer got the ball and started at its own 17-yard line. Again, the Bobcats had the methodical drive going, picking up just enough yards to get first downs and keep the chains moving. On a 3rd and 7, the Bobcats coughed up the ball for a second time and the Bulldogs recovered it near midfield.

Chubb was met in the backfield by Ingram and tackled for a four yard loss. One play later, the Bulldog quarterback dropped back and fired a bomb to his receiver who had gotten behind the Gilmer secondary. A 55-yard touchdown pass and PAT had given Cedartown its first lead of the night, with only 2:48 remaining in the game.

The Bobcats brought in Chris James at quarterback for the final drive, looking to abandon the option and throw the ball. James was moving the ball well, completing passes to Corey Waters and scrambling when nothing was open. The drive came to a screeching halt though when Chubb made a diving interception and the Bulldogs took over on the Cedartown 37-yard line.

With nearly two minutes left, the game was all but over. At least most would think so. This Bobcat team is full of fight and never quits until the final whistle blows. Chubb was stopped on three straight plays, timeouts were taken in between plays, and the Bobcats’ offense was set to get the ball back one more time with a chance to tie the game.

Again the “Cats” started marching down the field with James looking poised. He scrambled for a first down, hit Waters with a 14-yard completion, and then Bowers made a sensational sideline grab for fourteen more. After James scrambled again, Bertolini took a carry that went nowhere forcing Gilmer to call its last time out.

The “Cat” picked up the first down, and sat in good position inside the 40-yard line. Three straight throws intended for Waters went high and the Bobcats were staring at a fourth down with the game on the line.

Corey Waters ran a beautiful route, got open, and James hit him for a 34-yard gain. The ball was on the 3-yard line with less than fifty seconds left in the game.

James hurried the team to the line and took the snap. He immediately headed for the corner of the end zone and was pushed out of bounds on the 1-yard line. On the next play, James pulled down the ball and ran in for the touchdown. Lopez made a miraculous PAT that looked like it was kicked with the ball laying down, and the game was tied at 35-35 with under a minute left in the game.

With 36 seconds to go, Cedartown elected to try to win. The quarterback dropped back and released a pass that was tipped by Nathan Bradley and intercepted by Flakes. Flakes ran the ball all the way back to the 19-yard line and the Bobcats sent Lopez straight on the field to attempt the game winning field goal.

There were some personnel issues amongst all of the excitement and Gilmer was going to have to rush the kick, but Cedartown saved them by taking a timeout. Lopez entered the game and hit the 37-yard field goal with just 0:18.1 left on the clock.

The Bulldogs had one final attempt to win, but the quarterback was sacked by Cole. Ingram and the Bobcats walked away with a win in the most exciting game one may see this year.

Chubb rushed for 219 and four TD’s on 29 carries. Flakes finished with 187 yards on 28 carries and scored 4 TDs as well. Bertolini ended up with 92 yards on 24 carries.

Following the win, the Bobcats moved to #20 in the AAAA polls while Cedartown fell to #18 according to MaxPreps. Gilmer (8-1) will play host to the Dalton Catamounts (7-2) in a region play-in game this Friday at Huff-Mosley Memorial Stadium. The Catamounts handed Gilmer it’s only loss of the year. Dalton is ranked #10 in the same MaxPreps poll.