Cedar Bluff takes out Gaylesville for First Win of the Year

(Writer’s note: This week’s story is going to be a bit short of some info and missing stats due to a few difficulties during the second half of the game. We had a rough week, give us this one! But enjoy the read regardless!)

Week 3 has come and gone and it was certainly a positive for many of the schools in our listening area as we had a lot of blowout wins paired with close-margin victories that definitely gave us all a big reminder it’s that time of year again. And for us at WEIS, we were treated with the former of that pairing as we took a visit to L.D. Bruce Field as the 0-2 Cedar Bluff Tigers got to welcome in our hosts from last week, the 0-2 Gaylesville Trojans, in another battle from Class 1A, Region 6.

Both teams have certainly gotten off to rocky starts on the season, and both coming off some big hitting losses from Week 2 with Gaylesville hitting a 49-12 brick wall against Spring Garden and Cedar Bluff’s trip to Class 3A Sylvania resulting in a shutout 42-0 loss for the Tigers. If this Week 3 matchup was going to show anything, it was going to be who steps up and who is in big trouble to start the season. It didn’t take long to answer, but a bit of a spoiler, it was the team in Red and White that came out the clear victors in this one. Returning their big star Isaiha Jones to the lineup mixed with a quick flurry of scoring in the 1st quarter of play was some of the big factors that ultimately paved the way for Cedar Bluff to claim a decisive victory over rival Gaylesville by a score of 47-8

Now, for two teams coming off rough starts, you always like to at least thing that maybe someone will start off with a bang, and oh boy did the Tigers do that this time around. And it was a true start off, with senior DJ Horton taking the opening kickoff of the game, taking some blockers with him 65 yards down the field, and crossing into the endzone for the immediate 7-0 start to the game in what took nothing but 18 seconds to accomplish. From there, you just see everything playing out almost like that underdog movie that for some reason doesn’t get a happy ending, and Gaylesville was the star of this Oscar bust as they tried all night to figure out something against this Cedar Bluff defense but to no avail.

And it only became more pain when they sent it back to CB’s offense who in the 1st quarter decided this was strictly business and took it to their county rivals just a couple miles down AL Highway 68. Junior Davion Fife got to add the first offensive TD for CB on a 43 yard run, soon after sophomore Luke Hampton got 1 of his 5 total passes (all of which were completions that went for 150 yards) to the returning all-purpose monster that is senior Isaiha Jones for about 58 yards and another score, Fife came back with a little over 3 minutes left and got in the endzone from 13 out, oh and if that offensive play wasn’t enough and if you needed that extra bit to know Jones was back he decided to pick off a ball from Gaylesville QB Colby Scott and get a 35 yard pick-6.

And yes, as I separate this into another paragraph just typing this, I must remind you my dedicated reader, this was all in just the first 12 minutes of this ball game. From there it was just a matter of relaxing on the gas pedal, remembering we are good sports here, and just taking this as relaxed as we can the rest of the way. CB did manage to add 6 more in the 2nd quarter with a pass from Hampton to Trinton Clifton for the Tigers, and Gaylesville still tried their best best nothing could muster in the first half of action as Cedar Bluff held it at 40-0 to end those 24 minutes.

Gaylesville’s luck did turn around slightly in the second half, aside for allowing 1 more score that did extend Cedar Bluff to their ultimate total of the evening of 47 points, but the Trojans did get on the board for the first time in a rather unconventional way following a mistake on a punt attempt by CB’s Ross Johnson that resulted in him having to chase the ball and land on it in his own endzone for a safety. That was it until late into the 4th when a long, hard fought drive by Gaylesville using that power I attack did result in a touchdown right towards the end of the game, but the gain was far too little and too late seemed to show itself 3 quarters ago. Cedar Bluff stood tall thanks to incredible defensive effort, impressive offensive gains, and integrity that has shaped the Tiger program for some time now.

As a little sidenote here, I have to respect no matter how much this game became a lost cause, Gaylesville and their fans kept strong even with that sideline dwindling in numbers of usable talent, the players that were on being very much battle scarred already this early on, and just so many factors that should play against this team but that is not stopping the Purple Pride from trying. You have to admire that from these young men, players like Colby Scott, Tristen Payne, DJ Lee, Whatley, White, and any name that I don’t have in front of me right as I’m typing this, they put on that Gaylesville jersey knowing they have everything working against them, but they still go out there and fight. So to all of you young men over there at Gaylesville, keep those heads high, and fight on Trojan pride!

Back to the regularly scheduled stuff now, with the Week 3 victory, Cedar Bluff grabs that big 1st win of the season to go to 1-2 and they open off Class 1A, Region 6 play with a 1-0 start. This loss for Gaylesville is not as pretty as the Trojans fall to 0-3 overall and 0-2 on Region play which puts them in a rough hole basically 1/3 of the way through the regular season. Cedar Bluff will continue on in Region action next week when they play host to the 2-1 (1-1) Woodville Panthers. And for winless Gaylesville, they will head home to lick their wounds and get some Region play rest when they get a chance against the visiting 2-2 Meek Tigers.

And then that leaves us here at WEIS, and we get the treat of going to Warrior Stadium in Centre as we once again say hello to 1-3 (1-1) Cherokee County when they play host to Class 4A, Region 5 foe, the 1-2 (1-1) Oneonta Redskins. We’ll be sure to see you there at the field or having you listening at home, and I’ll see you here next week for the big recap! Enjoy your day whoever you are!

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OTHER COUNTY SCORES

Cherokee County Warriors (1-3, 1-1)- 15-12 Win vs Anniston
Spring Garden (2-1, 2-0)- 40-0 Win vs Woodville
Sand Rock Wildcats (2-1, 2-0)- 28-20 Win vs Ider