Miller leads Gretna to victory over Dan River

RINGGOLD — Whether it was through the air or on the ground, Dan River really didn’t have an answer for Nick Miller.

The Gretna quarterback accounted for 235 yards and four touchdowns as the Hawks staved off a hungry Dan River squad 27-21 Friday night in a non-district matchup.

Dan River (2-1) had a first and goal at the 9-yard line with less than 5 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, but the Gretna (1-1) defense stood strong, tackling Ezander Shelton four yards short of the end zone on fourth down and running out the clock for the victory.

“It felt good playing a team like that,” Miller said. “That’s a great team over there. That’s a great rivalry. We’ve got to play them on (Oct. 23), but I just felt like that was a good game to prepare us for the weeks to come. That game right there set a whole lot of standards.”

The Hawks needed every effort to hold off the Wildcats, but the first quarter set the tone.

Miller hooked up with Kevin Dale and Darion Jefferson for touchdowns in the opening 12 minutes, spearheading the Hawks to a 14-0 lead and sucking all the energy out of the Dan River sideline.

Miller finished with 136 yards through the air and rushed 20 times for 99 yards and two touchdowns.

The Gretna defense was in midseason form, holding Dan River to one yard of offense in four plays in the quarter. The Wildcats finished with 112 yards rushing, the first time this season Dan River was held to under 300 yards on the ground.

“That was the biggest part,” Miller said. “We wanted to get up on them and make them have to come back, knowing they’re a running team.”

The Wildcats (2-1) responded with a eight-play drive, capped off by a 13-yard run by Justin Gunter to cut the deficit in half.

Dan River then took the opening kickoff of the second half and used a trick play on fourth down to tie the game.

Gunter took a pitch to the right side and found Kevin Eldridge wide open down the sideline. Gunter hit Eldridge in stride for a 43-yard touchdown.

The score was immediately answered as Andre Dickerson raced 66 yards on the kickoff to the Dan River 19-yard line. A personal foul penalty moved the ball to the 7-yard line and Miller finished it off with a run up the middle to give the Hawks the lead again.

Tony Miller came in for one snap after Nick Miller tweaked his ankle and the Wildcats defense immediately pounced. Matt Grubbs recorded his second sack of the night on a blind side hit, jarring the ball loose. Markorey Adams picked up the ball and ran 76 yards untouched to tie the score at 21 less than a minute into the fourth quarter.

“In a game like this, I saw our kids grow up. We came out on the short end and the Gretna coach made some gutsy calls and they made some big plays,” Dan River coach Ferrell Edmunds said. “In the end, we came up about 3 or 4 yards short. It was a good call and I thought a hole was there, a good cut by the back and things just happened.”

Gunter finished with 70 yards of offense and two touchdowns. Demarrio Hunt led the team with 32 yards rushing and Shelton was held under 100 yards from the first time this year, gaining 28 yards on 11 carries.

“We got up on them early. We were able to establish the run against a really good football team,” Gretna coach Kevin Saunders said. “I thought it was a total team effort all the way through. The kids that were in there did a great job.”

Gretna 27, Dan River 21
Gretna 14 0 7 6 - 27
Dan River 0 7 7 7 - 21
First quarter
G – Dale 59 pass from Miller (kick blocked), 9:44
G – Jefferson 15 pass from Miller (Miller run), :09
Second quarter
DR – Gunter 13 run (Driskill kick), 8:17
Third quarter
DR – Eldridge 43 pass from Gunter (Driskill kick), 8:52
G – Miller 7 run (Pijpers kick), 8:34
Fourth quarter
DR – Adams 76 fumble return (Driskill kick), 11:08
G – Miller 1 run (kick blocked), 8:22

Individual statistics
Rushing: G – Miller 20-99, Dickerson 11-31, Jennings 2-21, Jefferson 2-7, Team 2-(-6). DR – Hunt 5-32, Shelton 11-28, Gunter 3-26, Edmunds 10-24, Myers 3-4, Team 1-(-2).
Passing: G – Miller 6-11-1 136. DR – Gunter 2-3-1 44, Edmunds 1-7-0 33.
Receiving: G – Dale 1-59, Jennings 2-40, Jefferson 2-28, Saunders 1-9. DR – Eldridge 2-76, Hairston 1-1.
Interceptions: G – Jennings 1. DR – Edmunds 1. Sacks: G – Reynolds 1. DR – Grubbs 2.
Records: Gretna 1-1, Dan River 2-1.