Tigers lose in area to Gunter

After not playing last week due to a forfeit, questions arose on how effective Gunter would be in its playoff opener against Jacksboro.

The answer: very.

Gunter showed little rust after the week layoff, allowing the Tigers just 215 yards and pitching a shutout until just _ve seconds were left in a 48-7 area round victory Thursday, Nov. 17 at Mustang-Panther Stadium.

Jacksboro’s season ends at 8-4, with Gunter moving on at 12-0.

The squads traded punts for most of the first quarter, Jacksboro moving the ball on passes from Lando Belcher to Cannon Valenzuela and Luke Sams but to no avail.

Following the Purple’s third punt of the quarter, Gunter drew _rst blood, culminating a 49-yard drive with a 26-yard Ethan Sloan jaunt around the left side with 2:31 left.

Two plays into the ensuing drive, Belcher was intercepted by Sloan who ran the ball to the Jacksboro four. Ivy Hellman needed just one play to _nd pay dirt for a 14-0 lead with 1:13 left.

Jacksboro shot itself in the foot early in the second, having pinned Gunter at its own 11 but a roughing the punter penalty kept the drive alive. The Purple stopped the drive again, forcing a 33-yard _eld goal from Preston Tarpley with 4:13 to go in the half.

The Tigers picked up a _rstdownona 13-yard strike to Valenzuela, who ended his sophomore season with 83 receiving yards on seven catches. An interpoint.

interception set up another Gunter score, a 27-yard keeper from quarterback Walker Overman with 40 seconds left in the half.

Jacksboro held Gunter to 180 yards in the _rst half but had just 85 of its own.

After throwing just four passes in the _rst two quarters, Gunter made some revisions to start the second half with Overman needing just two plays to strike gold with a 67-yard pass to Hellman. After a three-and-out drive by the Tigers, Overman found Colin Peacock with a 54-yard strike to extend the lead to 38-0.

Following Sloan’s second scoring run of the game, a 25-yarder, Jacksboro went on its _rst sustained drive of the game. With runs by Luke Sams and Belcher setting up a 34-yard strike to Kasey Ray Swan on third and long, the Tigers were inside the Gunter 40 to close the third frame.

The drive stalled and a fourth down pass went incomplete.

After Gunter closed the scoring with a Tarpley _eld goal, the Tigers marched 76 yards on their scoring drive. A 10-yard pass to Paul Shackelford and a bruising 39-yard Baylor Laake run moved to the ball to the Gunter 25. Laake added an 11-yard run to set up Belcher’s 15-yard scoring strike to Valenzuela, who was wide open in the end zone.

Randall Bustos tacked on the extra point.