BY NOLAN RUTH
X – @RealNolanRuth
BEDFORD— The Gunter Tigers football team has had a historic run over the last decade, winning four of six state championship appearances, and eight straight regional titles. That last number can now be extended to nine with a win next week as Gunter took down the Jacksboro Tigers at historic Pennington Field.
The game was never in doubt as Gunter scored immediately and never allowed Jacksboro to gain any momentum, cruising to a 44-14 win.
“That’s a testament to our kids being ready to come out and play,” head coach Jake Fieszel said after the game. “We got a couple little breaks but our kids took full advantage of it. And getting up like that really changes the whole landscape of the game. We’ve got to really keep playing like that for sure.”
Easton Overman started the game off with a bang as Easton Overman fielded the opening kickoff on a bounce and raced 70 yards to give Gunter a 7-0 lead just 15 seconds into the game. Jacksboro picked up a quick first down on the ensuing drive, but Brock Boddie made an impressive diving interception to get the ball back.
Five plays later, Preston Tarpley hit Mitchell Gage on the outside for the 24 yard scoring connection to make it 14-0. They immediately got it back when Major Thornhill recovered a fumble on first down of the next Jacksboro possession. Another five plays later, Boddie found the end zone from a yard out and it was quickly 21-0 Gunter in the blink of an eye.
After the defense forced a punt, Tarpley threw deep to Baylor-commit Colin Peacock from 52 yards out to make the score 28-0 after one quarter of play.
The Tigers pulled back the reins in the second quarter but still did not allow Jacksboro a point. It was not until the four minute mark left in the half that Tarplely drilled a 30-yard field goal to extend the Gunter lead to 31-0. They added one more score for good measure on a 41-yard wheel route from Tarpley to Dylan Tokarz. They missed the two point conversion and took a 37-0 lead into the locker room.
Gunter pulled their starters in the second half. Jacksboro finally broke through on the scoreboard with an 87 yard touchdown run by Gannon McElroy in the third quarter, and a 30-yard pass from Wyatt Gavit to Garrett Hubble in the fourth quarter. That was all they could muster. Tokarz added an 11-yard touchdown for Gunter after he took over at quarterback and ran it in himself, bringing the final score to 44-14 and sending the Tigers to their ninth straight regional final appearance.
Gunter improves to 11-2 on the season and will face the Holliday Eagles in the regional final next week, while Jacksboro’s season comes to a close at 9-4.
