By Ken Lay
A stifling defense propelled Gibbs High School into its fifth consecutive win.
The Eagles forced visiting Fulton into five turnovers on their way to a 31-6 victory on a chilly Friday night at Ernest Whited Stadium in Corryton.
Gibbs (7-1 overall, 4-1 in Region 2-4A) was opportunistic early.
After being forced to punt on their first possession, the Eagles struggled on defense before Dallas Holt intercepted a pass from Fulton quarterback Jamil Smith, giving Gibbs the ball on its own 27-yard line.
From there, the Eagles drove 73 yards to take the early lead as Keith Jones connected with Reid Daniel on a 45-yard scoring strike, making the score 6-0. Kicker Sawyer Henderson added the extra point to extend Gibbs’ advantage to 7-0 with 3 minutes, 39 seconds remaining in the opening frame.
In the second quarter, the Eagles’ Graham Atkins would recover a fumble by Fulton (3-5, 2-3), and Gibbs turned that miscue into points when Tucker Ownby scored on a 4-yard plunge midway through the stanza, making it 14-0.
Fulton would pull to within 14-6 a short time later as Waco Upshaw had a 14-yard touchdown scamper.
Gibbs missed a chance to extend its advantage as Henderson missed a field goal on the final play before halftime.
Despite holding the upper hand, the Eagles were far from content with their effort over the first 24 minutes of the contest.
“We had a bad mindset coming into the first half,” Eagles’ linebacker Memphis Wilson said. “Second half, we got talked to by our coaches and it just changed the way we played. We played more physical and we were more prepared.”
Gibbs coach Brad Turner agreed.
“We knew in the second half if we came out with a more physical theme, we would be in good shape,” he said.
The Eagles got the message as their defense kept the Falcons at bay and off the scoreboard in the second half.
Turner commended his defense but noted that the game might have been closer had the Falcons not committed five turnovers and gone 0-for-3 on fourth down.
“Our defense played a good game,” Turner said. “They’re a real physical team and (coach) Justin (Long) has done a good job over there, and they’re playing well.
“In these games, you never know. If they hadn’t had five turnovers, who knows what would’ve happened?”
Gibbs had the only three points in the third quarter as Henderson kicked a 34-yard field goal with 3:51 left in the frame.
Waylon Spierdowis helped the Eagles salt the game away in the fourth quarter with a pair of touchdown runs.
The senior celebrated his senior night with scoring runs of 6 and 35 yards, respectively.
Long said the turnovers led to his team’s demise.
“You can’t come on the road and turn the ball over like we did tonight,” he said.
Gibbs will now have a short week as they travel to Maryville Thursday night for a showdown with Heritage.
The Mountaineers, coached by former University of Tennessee assistant Joe Osovet, (3-5, 1-4) are coming off a 40-7 loss at Alcoa.
Fulton, meanwhile, will host Union County Friday. The Patriots enter the contest with a 1-7 overall record. They’re 0-7 in region play after last week’s 63-30 loss at home to Anderson County.
