J’ville enters crucial stretch vs. Gurdon
JESSIEVILLE — After consecutive losses to Glen Rose and Haskell Harmony Grove, Jessieville finds itself physically battered but not lacking in confidence before a pivotal matchup with Gurdon tonight at Phillips Field.
“We’re fine mentally, especially after watching film; there were so many op Friday portunities last to win the game and we just didn’t take advantage of them,” Jessieville coach T.J. Burk said. “The mood is fine. We’re still excited and we know we’ve got a lot to play for; we’re just a little bit beat up physically.”
The Lions held Harmony Grove quarter Hilson back Hunter to 156 yards and outgained the Cardinals 326-274, but undermined their own efforts with four turnovers and 13 penalties, losing 27-20.
“There were just too many mistakes on our part,” said Burk. “You can’t have those, especially the mental pen Grove alties. Harmony is already a good football team, so you can’t afford to help them out or you’re going to put yourself in a bad spot.”
Quarterback Adam Saveall had his best numbers of the season but not without some costly mistakes. The senior completed 18 of 29 passes for a season-high 236 yards and two touchdowns, also tossing three interceptions.
“We talked about it; I thought he threw the ball really well,” Burk said. “The last interception, he was pressing a little bit and just trying to make something happen. One of the interceptions was a bad read and the other one was just a good play by the kid that intercepted it. You’ve got to give them a lot of credit for putting their kids in position to make a play, too. It was just one of those things where they outplayed us in that sense of making us turn the ball over.”
While Jessieville (3-3, 1-2) looks to turn the page from two disappointing losses, Gurdon (3-3, 1-2) enters off a 31-14 win over Centerpoint to put itself back in the 3A-5 playoff picture.
Led by KJ Tidwell with 87 yards on 13 carries, the Go-Devils rushed for 195 yards and averaged five yards per attempt. Tidwell scored three touchdowns while BJ Brewer chipped in with 54 yards and Antonio Dickens added 30 yards.
Dickens (378 yards, two touchdowns), Tidwell (192 yards, three touchdowns) and Gavin Deaton (167 yards, four touchdowns) give the Go-Devils a three-headed attack in the backfield. With Gurdon averaging 170 rushing yards in wins and 98 in losses, Burk has made stopping the run his team’s number one priority this week.
“That’s going to be the key defensively,” he said. “They get in a heavy look, snap it to one of their best athletes and take off. We’ve got to get them out of what they do well and pounding the football is what they do well. If we can stop the run, I think we’ll be fine, but we’ve got to play physical up front and be smart.”
Jessieville’s ground game could be without its leading rusher for a second-straight week. Nursing a hamstring injury, senior Oliver Nasilai didn’t record a carry against Harmony Grove.
The Brigham Young University verbal commit entered the game in the second half and played exclusively at linebacker, finishing with nine tackles, two tackles for loss and a fumble recovery.
“We didn’t want to push it and try to play him on both sides of the ball,” Burk said. “He filled it up defensively, but we didn’t want to overdo it, especially with a hamstring injury. There’s a bigger picture in mind as far as the rest of the season, and we need him healthy for that.”
Tonight’s game marks the first of many with playoff implications for the Lions. Jessieville’s next three games are against teams with a current 1-2 conference record.
Burk knows starting this stretch with a home win would go a long way towards his team’s postseason aspirations.
“We talked about it while we were watching film; every game from here on out is a must win,” said Burk. “If you have one bad game, you could be sitting at home for the first week of the playoffs. It’s a good thing that we control our own destiny, but we’ve got to fight to keep it that way.”