Gordon Lee secures a spot in state playoffs
A state playoff drought of eight seasons was snapped this past Friday as Gordon Lee clinched a spot in the Class A Public School field with a convincing 49-14 home victory over the Armuchee Indians, who fell to 3-6 overall and 0-4 in Region 6-A play.
Senior running back Cade Peterson broke loose on a 90-yard touchdown run on his first carry of the evening and added a 44-yard scoring scamper later in the game. He finished with 194 yards on just eight carries, putting him at 1,332 yards rushing for the season.
Bo Rhudy had a 75-yard touchdown run and finished with 106 yards on just seven carries. Nate Dunfee ran the ball five times for 55 yards, including a 21-yard score, and Brody Cobb had 35 yards rushing on four carries with a 35-yard touchdown. All total, Gordon Lee ran the ball 30 times for 442 yards.
The Trojans finished with over 500 yards of total offense as quarterback Blake Groce was 2 of 2 in the air for 67 yards. He threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Neal, while Will Carswell caught one pass for 27 yards.
Neal also had an interception return for a touchdown and one pass breakup. Kade Cowan had six solo tackles and three assists to go with a pair of pass break-ups. Jared Lowe and Gabe Kirkendolll added five solo tackles and three assists, while Penn Askew had five solo stops and four assists.
Hayden Walker recorded a sack, Ryan Swaney also broke up a pass and Cobb had a tackle for loss.
Gordon Lee (8-1, 3-1) will go on the road to Sam R. Mccain Stadium this Friday for its final regular season game against rival Trion. The Bulldogs lost 35-21 to Mt. Zion-carroll this past Friday night.
The win over the Indians also assured that the Trojans will host a home playoff game in the first round on Nov. 27. Bowdon clinched the region championship on Friday night with a 42-20 win over B.E.S.T. Academy.