Gretna fights through Dan River

RINGGOLD — It took the high-powered Gretna offense half the game to get rolling, but they were able to pick up 247 yards on the ground in addition to 128 passing yards en route to defeating Dan River 34-14.

“I’m happy with the win,” Gretna coach Chris Thurman said. “The score shouldn’t be as close as it was, but I’m pleased to get out with a win.”

The Hawks (8-1) were the only team to come within striking distance in the first quarter. They were able to move the ball into the red zone, but the Wildcats (4-5) Ezander Shelton intercepted quarterback Jayme Barksdale at the 6-yard line.

After a scoreless first quarter, Barksdale was able to break away from the Dan River defense on a 59-yard touchdown run to give the Gretna a 6-0 lead with 6:50 left in the first half.

After the Wildcats went three and out on their ensuing position, Gretna assumed control of the football on their own 37-yard line. The Hawks wasted no time in taking a two-touchdown lead when Barksdale found Kevin Dale for a 63-yard touchdown pass with 4:19 left on the clock to give Gretna a 13-0 advantage.

After Gretna found the end zone on three of their next four possessions, the Dan River offense finally found the end zone with 49.9 seconds remaining in the third quarter. The Wildcats capped off the eight-play, 80-yard drive with a six-yard touchdown run from R.J. Myers to cut the Gretna lead to 34-6.

The Wildcats would score again with 3:31 left to play on a one-yard touchdown run by Kevin Eldridge. Trey Edmunds would score on a two-point conversion to reach the final tally of 34-14.

Dan River coach Ferrell Edmunds was pleased with his team’s performance in the first and fourth quarters.

“We came out intense in the first quarter,” Edmunds said. “We were good in the first and fourth quarters, there was just a let down in between. We were able to move the ball when we wanted to, but we had some situations that hurt us. I thought the kids played really hard though.”

Edmunds thought intimidation was a big part of the defending state champion’s game plan.

“We have got to keep intensity the whole time,” Edmunds said. “And for the most part we were intense the whole game. When their guys tried to use intimidation our guys rose to the occasion.

“There were lots of personal fouls. They were trying to intimidate us because we are a young team. That is not really fair, but that’s football. We kept our focus and this was a hard fought battle. We were just trying to play to win.”

According to Edmunds, hanging with Gretna for a quarter is something to be proud of.

“Gretna is a good team, we were looking forward to playing them,” Edmunds said. “We were just looking for a game. Right now they are at the top of the hill. We knew going in this was going to be a tough game. I’ve got respect for Thurman. They are… state champs and there has to be some coaching in there somewhere. That’s football.”

Thurman feels his team is ready for the postseason.

“I feel pretty good about how we played,” Thurman said. “We are ready to go to the playoffs. They had good defense in the first quarter and the first half. It took us a while to crank, but we responded well. We did what we need to win. We are hitting our stride. I think we will be OK.”