Second half leadership propels GP to win

Highlanders play to a 5-0 start By Rusty Odom rusty@theheraldnewspapers.com A true football game filled with grit, teamsmanship, and drama unfolded on the always aesthetically pleasing Hammonds Field deep in the Smoky Mountains. It was strictly business against a respectable opponent for Gatlinburg-Pittman(5-0) Friday night. A winless Greenback (0-6) team showed up for GP’s second home game with every intention of spoiling a flawless Highlander season, but came up just short in a 46-32 finish. The contest remained much closer than the final score would indicate, as Greenback’s rushing attack was nearly as prominent as GP’s. The initial Highlander drive saw Matthew Pittser run 20 yards into the end zone for the initial score with 9:20 remaining in the opening frame. After a strong defensive effort resulting in a punt from inside Greenback’s one yard line, GP was set up for success again midway through the first. With terrific field position, the ‘Landers looked to put an emotional close to the game with a second score in as many possessions. But on second down, quarterback Eric Hutchison suffered what appeared to be a significant ankle injury. With their emotional leader out, GP looked to unseasoned sophomore backup Taylor Ogle. Ogle finished the drive by handing the ball to Bo Dyer on a clever play call for an 18 yard score. GP got the points on the board, but the tone of the game would change for the rest of the half. “In the second quarter, there’s no question that we took a step out of it emotionally,” said long time head coach Benny Hammonds. “We’ve been saying all week that they are not going to lay down for us. They are going to play as hard as they can because they have a steep tradition. Greenback has been there. They have won state championships so they have a lot of pride in their program.” Greenback did just as Hammonds forecasted. A fake punt kept alive a drive which ended with a Daniel Willis plunge from five yards out. The sophomore tailback would continue to hurt the Highlanders throughout the game, often gashing through the GP defense for big gains. Hammonds and the rest of his staff were livid as they walked to the field house with a 20-12 lead at halftime, “When Hutchison got hurt, we had some of our older boys kinda feeling sorry for the whole football team instead of stepping up. We needed a better effort from the defense and the offensive line to help out our new quarterback,” said Hammonds. Hammonds’ halftime talk conveyed an obvious message as a different GP team took the field for the second half. “In the second half I saw senior after senior make plays,” added Hammonds. “Jared Franklin, Dusty Dodgen, Bo Dyer, and Ryan Robinson all stood out to me as far as making plays to save the win.” Junior tackle Michael Dodig also played well. The Highlanders have followed Dodig straight into paydirt all year long. The first two GP possession took only two plays a piece for a score. The first touchdown coming on a 59 yard Dodgen run, and the second on an even more impressive 83 yard scamper from Dyer. “In the second half things started to develop a little bit better in the line. It looks like we have a lot of work to do in practice to get back to hard nose football though.” “I know that I’ve done some things as a coach that I shouldn’t have too. There are some things that I need to work on as well as the players,” said the humble and relieved head coach. Senior tailback Dusty Dodgen led the attack again for GP with 222 yards rushing on only 19 attempts. Dyer finished with 127 yards on 8 carries. Conversely, Greenback’s Willis ended with 184 yards rushing. At the end of the game, the Highlanders stats were as obtuse as some of their early season blowouts, but anyone at the game saw a struggling GP team make enough adjustments to claim victory at the final whistle.