Halliburton's account of PN-G's overtime win

[Small fry]

Gohlke, PN-G prevail in OT, 27-24

By Tom Halliburton

   Jude Gohlke and Ace Reeves kept going to the well and Port Neches-Groves might say that a “purple rain” eventually drenched its neighbors.

   This latest Mid-County classic contained a brand-new final act entitled overtime but when it came to win, the Indians tried nothing new at all. They merely ran the same play which kept filling their buckets at the well throughout this memorable Friday night.

   The speedy junior quarterback took the final snap and went to the well one last time, following his huge left tackle Reeves on a game-winning seven-yard touchdown run. The game-winner lifted PN-G over a gallant Nederland squad, 27-24, before a very excited full house at Indian Stadium.

   The play – “wide zone to the left” -- was the well from which PN-G’s purple rain prospered. The Indians (5-3 and 4-0) simply tried an ancient strategy of running a good play for as long as it worked. Gohlke ran 22 times for 116 yards and three touchdowns. His final carry was PN-G’s fifth play in overtime, overcoming a momentary 24-21 deficit.

   Nederland (5-3 and 3-1) unlocked the 21-21 regulation tie on its lone extra possession when senior kicker Tucker Belaire successfully booted a 42-yard field goal from the right hash mark. That kick enabled Gohlke, Reeves and PN-G’s offensive unit to know what it needed.

   Gohlke unleashed the purple rain with a heady sprint for the north end zone easily before Dogs’ defender Takorian Scott could get there. It created an on-field celebration PN-G fans will never forget and it placed coach Jeff Joseph’s squad in sole possession of the District 9-4A-II lead.

   “I didn’t think I was going to get in at first but I was there,” Gohlke said. “We were going to pass more than run it this much but the run was working so we stayed with it… I trusted my guys up front.”

   The trust factor was huge for left tackle Reeves (6-4, 295), the leader of coach Dan Welch’s offensive line.

   “The play kept working and if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it,” Reeves said. “If they can’t stop it, keep running it.”

   Indians chief Jeff Joseph and Welch both praised offensive coordinator Collin Gizzi for staying so persistent in going to the well.

   “Collin did a great job of calling the game,” Joseph said. “He just kept putting the ball in the playmaker’s hands.”

   Bulldogs boss Scott Rich felt the Indians “just made one more play than we did.”

   “At times we stopped that (wide zone) play but they went right back to it,” Rich said. “It was two great football teams playing a great game.”

   Gohlke had a rough night trying to throw anyway. He completed only 5 of 17 passes for 63 yards but one incomplete pass easily could have prevented the night from extending into overtime. The quarterback threw a perfect pass to a wide-open Daylan Jackson who dropped the pass.

   Jackson could have walked in for a game-winning touchdown with 44 seconds left in regulation play.

   “I was just moving too fast,” Jackson said. “The game was on the line and I just didn’t look at it all the way in.”

   PN-G eventually won the yardage count, 274-253, but Nederland led in first downs, 16-12, and owned a 173-115 edge in first-half yardage plus a 14-7 lead on the scoreboard.

   The game’s leading rusher, Nederland senior Jaedon Ned, carried 21 times for 146 yards and one touchdown. The Bulldogs running back appeared to depart the game with four minutes to play after a violent collision with Indians’ defensive back Christian Chiasson.

   Ned’s determined runs and an accurate pass connection from Jaxon Collins to Brayden Clay vaulted the visitors to a 14-0 advantage by midway in the second quarter. That’s when the home team started to pound back.

   PN-G quarterback Jake Ashworth pounded so hard on a first-down gallop that he clobbered Houston chapter umpire David Wilson to the ground. Wilson laid motionless for a brief time but regained consciousness. The official was removed from the field on a stretcher and was transported to Beaumont’s Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital for observation.

   The Indians caught a break midway in the third quarter when a roughing the kicker penalty on Nederland gave PN-G a first down at the Dogs 5. The Bulldogs would have retained a 14-10 edge after Caleb Sanders converted a 27-yard field goal. But the Indians opted to take the points off the board and Gohlke headed to the well on the next snap from five yards out.

  The 14-all tie remained until Jackson Lane opened the final quarter with a quick 13-yard toss to Clay. PN-G immediately responded with Jackson’s leaping catch and Ashworth’s scoring plunge.

   Nederland will entertain Texas City next Friday while PN-G will visit Baytown Lee.

   Tom Halliburton is a senior sports correspondent for the Beaumont Enterprise