GLADEWATER GETS OUT | Bears lead big early, then hold off West Rusk comeback for 32-20 win
NEW LONDON – West Rusk put a scare into Gladewater.
But they did it just a little too late.
Gladewater led 13-0 at the half, stretched the lead to 19-0, and even led 25-7 at one point in the second half before coach Rafe Mata’s Raiders came roaring back, getting within five points before the Bears suddenly woke up, converting a couple of fourth-quarter fourth downs, and escaping Bruce Bradshaw Stadium with a 32-20 win.
Cole Jackson scored three touchdowns in defeat for the Raiders. Luke Brown scored twice for Gladewater.
West Rusk (1-2), with a season-opening loss to No. 1-ranked Malakoff as well, still has one more game – at Tatum next Friday night, Sept. 20 – before they delve into their district schedule.
The Bears (2-1), who were coming off an overwhelming loss at state-ranked New Diana a week ago, also get an extra day off, and then play at Spring Hill next Friday before opening district play the following week at home against Jefferson.
Trailing 25-13, got a 1-yard run by Jackson on the last play of the third quarter, and then forced the Bears to punt.
Gladewater would need a grind-it-out drive to help hold the Raiders off, and they got it, getting down inside the Raiders’ 20-yard-line, helped unfortunately for West Rusk by a pair of offsides penalties.
West Rusk had to use its last time outs to try and preserve time, and Gladewater did a good job milking the clock. Finally, with just under 20 seconds left, Gladewater quarterback Luke Brown went right – everyone else went left – and Brown bootlegged successfully into the end zone, a touchdown with 17 seconds left that would put the Bears up 32-20, out of reach for a further West Rusk comeback.
The Raiders got the ball to begin the game, and the highlight was a 49-yard catch by Kameron Brown, but the drive stalled at the Gladewater 25-yard-line, and a fourth-down conversion failed with a sack.
The Bears would get onto the scoreboard first, a 1-yard run by Brown, but the extra point failed, leaving Gladewater in front by just 6-0, instead of 7-0, with 4:05 left in the first quarter.
Braylon Woods would do the honors in the only score of the second quarter, a 2-yard run, with Grafton Morgan adding the extra point, with 11:55 left in the half. That would be the only score of the second quarter, and the game went to the half at 13-0 Bears.
Trayvion Watts brought the Gladewater crowd to its feet with a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to open the second half – Watts did a spin move at the Bears’ own 25. It appeared he was down, but he was not; he kept his balance, maintained his feet, spun out of a couple of tackle attempts and went the distance for the score. The two-point conversion failed, and GHS led 19-0, with 17 seconds off the third-quarter clock.
That’s when Jackson and the Raiders’ offensive line began to swing things. Jackson scored on a 2-yard run, and Emiliano Rodriguez added the extra point, with 8:42 left in the third quarter, to finally break the ice on the West Rusk side of the scoreboard.
Gladewater returned fire with a 1-yard run by Mason Budro with 1:41 left in the third – the point after missed, but again, the Bears extended their lead to 25-7. Realistically, it looked like the Bears had put West Rusk away.
That wasn’t the case. Jackson’s two short-yardage touchdowns – the late third-quarter run for the 1-yard score and the early fourth-quarter run – got West Rusk back in the game, within five, before the game’s final sequence, and Brown’s game-sealing TD run.
West Rusk finished with 178 yards rushing, and Jackson had three touchdowns and 138 yards of it. Penalties hurt the Raiders, especially holding, and a few offsides penalties late: nine for 80 yards. And West Rusk had two fumbles, both lost, and two interceptions in the game.