It was Gilmer High School’s first home playoff football game since 1997 as the Bobcats played host to the Tigers of Troup County. Troup was coming in with a record of 6-4 to face a resilient Bobcat squad who posted an 8-2 record on the year. Despite being 14-point underdogs, the Bobcats stepped up with big plays and a stingy defense that held its ground, giving Gilmer the 26-22 victory in the first round of the GHSA playoffs.Troup won the coin toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff. It was cool, foggy, and very wet as the Tigers started the first drive on the Troup 16-yard line. After a quick screen, a stuffed run, and a sweep left, the Bobcats had forced a three and out and were set to get the ball in pretty good field condition.

The Tigers lined up to punt but the wet conditions forced a bit of a high snap. This gave Johnie Flakes all the time he needed as he came off the edge and blocked the punt. The ball bounced backwards towards Gilmer’s goal line and Joshua Aaron pounced on it to give Gilmer the first score of the game. Manny Lopez put the PAT through the uprights, and with 10:19 remaining in the first quarter, Gilmer led 7-0.

The ensuing kickoff was of the onside variety, and Gilmer fell on the loose ball to set up shop at the Tiger 47-yard line. Tyler Bertolini got things started with a five yard carry up the middle, then Flakes bounced it outside for seven more. Things halted for a bit to set up a third down and long, but Thaddeus Bowers hauled in a pass to make it fourth and one.

Bertolini pounded his way through the line for four yards to keep the drive alive. Austin Cole was stopped for no gain, Flakes picked up five yards, and Bertolini was stopped setting up a fourth and five. The field goal unit came on the field, but it was a fake as Bowers ran for the first down. After a false start, Flakes found the biggest hole of the night and scored from 12 yards out. Another Lopez PAT put the Cats on top 14-0 with 4:50 left in the first quarter.

Troup returned the ensuing kickoff to the Tigers’ own 17-yard line. The Tigers failed to get anything going, and Chad Watkins had a lot to do with that thanks to a great open field tackle. The Tigers was forced to punt away to the Bobcats who started the next drive at the Bobcat 48-yard line.

The “Cats’” offense was unable to produce, picking up only one yard. Lopez came in to punt the ball away, and he absolutely got into that one. The ball was going over the returner’s head but he attempted the catch anyway. He muffed it, and Flakes was there to jump on it giving Gilmer the ball on the 1-yard line.

Chris James took the QB sneak into the end zone on the next play, and with an unsuccessful PAT due to a bad snap, the “Cats” led 20-0 with 0:55.5 to go in the first quarter.

Troup had a decent return on the kickoff, but Nathan Bradley put an end to it with an awesome tackle at the 24-yard line. Bertolini and Cole stuffed two straight runs as the quarter came to an end. A facemask kept the drive alive for the Tigers and the offense continued its march down the field.

Jake Ingram did his best to contain the big backs of Troup as they came up the middle. The Tigers kept moving the ball though, and would eventually score. With 9:01 left in the half, Gilmer’s lead was trimmed to 20-7.

Bowers returned the ball to the Bobcat 33-yard line. Bertolini smashed his way through the line and gained 20 yards to move into Tiger territory. After a Flakes four yarder, Austin Davis hauled in a 23 yard catch to get the Bobcats inside the red zone. Just a few plays later, another James pass was complete, this time to Cole for the 18 yard score. Another bad snap on the PAT left the score at 26-7 with 5:46 remaining in the half.

The Tigers tried to get tricky on the kickoff, running a reverse on the return. It didn’t lead to anything though, and Troup started on the Tiger 21-yard line. After picking up a first down, Austin Cole made a tremendous tackle for a loss, then pressured the quarterback on the next play. The Tigers completed a long 50 yard pass deep in Gilmer’s territory and just a few plays later found the end zone on a lob pass. The two-point conversion was successful, making the score at halftime 26-15 in favor of Gilmer.

Things went cold for the Bobcat offense in the second half, as Troup’s defense swarmed the ball and stopped every play for little or no yards. Gilmer’s first two plays of the half resulted in a loss of seven yards before Flakes was able to get five of them back. This lead to a Lopez punt and Troup set up on their own 46-yard line.

The Bobcats did a good job of stopping the Tigers initially, setting up a fourth down. The Tigers elected to go for it and picked up 16 yards when only needing two. With a first and goal at the Bobcat 5-yard line, the “Cats” forced a fumble that rolled into the end zone. Unfortunately, the Tigers were able to jump on the loose ball which resulted in a score. The PAT was good and the Tigers were trailing 26-22 with 6:29 remaining in the third quarter.

The next seven drives resulted in punts for both teams. The offense was unable to get anything going and Gilmer’s defense, led by Cole, Bertolini, Jake Ingram, Cole Ingram, Garret Rigdon, and every other Bobcat on the field, played with resiliency after giving up 22 unanswered points.

With 1:50 remaining in the game, Troup was starting an attempt at a comeback on its own 14-yard line. The “Cats” provided great coverage and forced the QB to scramble and gain nothing on the play. On second down, the Tigers attempted a long pass that fell incomplete. Third down was the same story, another incomplete pass mostly due to the great coverage by the Bobcats secondary. It was fourth down, a do or die moment for the Tigers with only 0:55 left in the game.

The quarterback dropped back and hit his receiver for just enough yards to pick up the first down and keep the game alive. The euphoria on the Tiger sideline quickly shifted to the Gilmer side of the field when Flakes intercepted the next pass and sealed the game for Gilmer. The “Cats” line up in victory formation and kneeled the clock out, winning by a final score of 26-22.

The Bobcats (9-2) will travel to Marist (9-2) Friday November 22nd for the second round of the GHSA State Playoffs. Gilmer is now ranked #17 in AAAA according to MaxPreps, while Marist is ranked #5.

It was Marist who knocked the “Cats” out of the playoffs last year, with the War Eagles winning 56-0. FYN will be in attendance and we hope to see the Bobcat faithful in Atlanta! Marist High School is located at 3790 Ashford Dunwoody Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30319.

2013 GHS First Round Playoff Highlight Video Troup Tigers from Fetch on Vimeo.