The Gilmer High School Bobcats football team opened up region play by hosting the Cartersville Purple Hurricanes. The Bobcats could not handle the storm brought by the Purple Hurricanes, falling 52-27.The game began with the two teams trading punt ending possessions. Cartersville drew first blood scoring on a 30 yard touchdown pass with 5:50 left in the first quarter.

The Bobcats took over on the Gilmer 27 on the ensuing possession after a Thaddeus Bowers kick return. Gilmer marched down the field the full 73 yards, which included a 27 yard reverse pass from Bowers to Kris Reece. The drive ended with a fourth and goal conversion from the two that saw Russell Cochran score, tying the game at 7-7 just as the first quarter came to a close.

Again the two team’s defenses forced traded punts. A 56 yard touchdown pass put the visitors up 14-7 with 4:30 left in the second quarter. The next play seemed to change the entire complexion of the game, as the Purple Hurricanes pulled off a successful surprise onside kick that gave Cartersville a first and on the Gilmer 47 yard line.

After two penalties in a row, the Purple Hurricanes faced a second and five from the Cartersville 48 yard line; however the Gilmer defense could not hold, as Cartersville scored on a 52 yard touchdown pass that put the Purple Hurricanes up two touchdowns, 21-7 with 3:48 left in the first half.

The ensuing Bobcats’ possession ended with a punt that was downed on the Gilmer 30 yard line, giving Cartersville great field position; however, Bowers, picked off a pass in the end zone giving Gilmer a chance to score in the final 1:47 left in the first half.

Bowers literally carried the offense to the end zone, as he accrued all 80 yards of the drive, via three receptions. The last reception being a 47 yard touchdown catch and run that cut the lead to seven, 21-7, with just over a minute left in the game.

The Purple Hurricanes, however, had enough time to drive into field goal range and add three points as the half closed to take a 24-14 lead into the half.

The third quarter saw, “Things fall apart” for the Bobcats, like “The Roots” first album. The Bobcats had the first offensive possession of the half, which ended with a punt after a Chris James was sacked on third and long.

After the short punt, the Purple Hurricanes only needed 39 yards to get to the end zone, and Cartersville did just that, scoring on a touchdown run on third and goal from the one yard line, to take a 31-14 lead with 6:54 left in the third quarter.

The next drive saw the Bobcats offense move backwards, as James was sacked on second and third down, resulting in a second consecutive three an out for the “Cats.” The Purple Hurricanes added a sixty yard touchdown run to go up 38-14 after receiving the ball back.

The next Gilmer drive again saw a third down sack result in a three an out for the offense. The resulting punt was returned 85 yards to put Cartersville up 45-14 as the fourth quarter came to a close.

The fourth quarter saw the offense of the “Cats” click a bit, with Chris James connecting on two touchdowns, an eight yard pass to Bowers and a four yard pass to Garret Ridgon that cut the Cartersville lead to 45-27 with 5:38 left in the game.

The Purple Hurricanes scored once more on a 47 yard pass for the game’s final score. Cartersville won 52-27 leaving the Bobcats with a 3-1 overall record and a 0-1 region record.

Gilmer next travels to Ridgeland to take on the Panthers who most recently defeated Pickens High School to move to 1-0 in the region.