By Jeff Odom
Despite turning the ball over twice on its first two possessions, the Gaither football team took advantage of its opponent’s mistakes in a 33-18 home win over East Bay Oct. 12.
Without their top playmaker Shug Oyegunle — out because of a leg injury — the Cowboys (5-1) couldn’t get the running game or the offense rolling until late in the first quarter.
Running back Jamari Cord fumbled on Gaither’s first play, and quarterback Alex McGough had a pass tipped for an interception in the first quarter.
The Indians (2-4) drove the ball to the Cowboys 15-yard line thanks to a 52-yard sprint from Devon Hart, but they couldn’t move it any further.
East Bay opted for a 38-yard field goal attempt on fourth-and-13, which was blocked by senior D.J. King and returned to the Indians 45.
McGough found Vu Le on the next play for a 40-yard completion, setting up a 6-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Brown with 13 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Indians answered in the second quarter by blocking a 50-yard field goal attempt and returned it to the house to cut the Gaither lead to one.
“(We) started too slow, making too many mistakes early and digging holes for themselves,” said Cowboys coach Jason Stokes. “We’re not going to be a championship team if we continue to put ourselves in a hole like that.”
East Bay engineered an 80-yard, 12-play touchdown drive to take a 12-7 lead at the half, but Gaither came out swinging in the third quarter.
Le returned the opening kickoff of the second half 55 yards to set himself up for a 15-yard touchdown catch from McGough two plays later.
Still, the Cowboys’ defensive line struggled to stop the rushing attack as the Indians drove another 80 yards without attempting a pass to regain the lead by five.
“I don’t think we were prepared for how physical this team was,” Stokes said. “I live on the east side of the county, and I’ve played East Bay just about every year of my life since I’ve been down here. So, I know how physical they are, I know those coaches there, so I knew it was going to be a dog fight.”
Gaither finally flipped the switch in the fourth quarter, as Josh Bell and Jalen Cochran’s runs of four and five yards, respectively, set up another touchdown from McGough to Le, this time a 30-yarder to give Gaither a one-point lead.
The Cowboys scored again one minute later when Indians quarterback Chris Carpentier was intercepted by Jeshua Williams, who returned it 30 yards for a score.
Gaither used a steady diet of runs combined with a 17-yard pass from McGough to Le on its next possession to set up Bell, who put away the game with a 32-yard touchdown carry.
“I think we thought this team wasn’t as good as they were,” said McGough, who finished 9-for-19 with 131 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He also had 51 rushing yards, 46 of which came on the opening play of the second quarter.
“They showed up ready to play, and we just did not, and at halftime coach just told us that we’re better than that and we came out and showed it.”
The Cowboys travels to Class 7A-District 9 rival Freedom Oct. 18 7:30 p.m.
—Follow Jeff Odom on Twitter: @JOdomLaker
