Darrian Lewis + Kris Boyd Lead No. 1 Gilmer to 56-28 Win Over Chapel Hill in ETSN.fm/Dairy Queen Game of the Week

NEW CHAPEL HILL -- Gilmer quarterback Tanner Barr took a night off from his profiling start to the season, and let his running backs do the heavy lifting.

The top-ranked Buckeyes rang up 434 rushing yards in a 56-28 win over Chapel Hill on Friday night at Bulldog Stadium in the ETSN.fm/Dairy Queen Game of the Week.

Senior Darrian Lewis ran for 146 yards and a career-high four touchdowns and junior Kris Boyd added a team-high 178 yards and two scores as Gilmer (6-0, 2-0 in District 16-3A) eclipsed the 50-point plateau for the sixth time in six tries this season.

Chapel Hill (3-3, 1-1) trimmed the Gilmer lead to 36-21 early in the fourth quarter, but Lewis scored on runs of 10, 28 and 26 in the final period to help the Buckeyes pull away.

Barr was still efficient in the passing game, completing 14 of 22 attempts for 126 yards and a touchdown while adding 53 yards on the ground.

Chapel Hill, which struggled in the first half offensively, finished with a respectable 459 yards of offense. Senior quarterback Andrew Black was 16-of-33 for 218 yards with two touchdowns an interception, and led the Bulldogs with 85 yards on 16 rushing attempts.

Black's 37-yard touchdown pass to Gabriel Robinson with 11:13 remaining in the fourth was followed by Wesley Thompson's recovery of an onside kick at the Gilmer 47. But back-to-back sacks forced Chapel Hill into a three-and-out.

Devondrick Dixon returned the ensuing punt 40 yards to the Chapel Hill 35, and Lewis' 10-yard touchdown run gave Gilmer a 43-21 lead with 7:32 remaining. Black was intercepted by Gilmer linebacker Josh McPherson on the ensuing drive, and it took the Buckeyes two plays to capitalize -- increasing its lead to 50-21 with a 28-yard scoring run by Lewis with 5:17 to go.

Chapel Hill put together a five-play, 75-yard drive and scored on a 6-yard run by Black to cut the deficit to 50-28 with 3:48 remaining. But Gilmer recovered the onside kick, and finished off Chapel Hill when Lewis broke free for a 26-yard touchdown run.

For the first 18 minutes, both defenses dominated. And then Gilmer's quick-strike offense took over.

The game was scoreless until Gilmer's Jamel Jackson ended an 11-play, 86-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown to put the Buckeyes ahead 7-0 with 5:41 remaining in the second quarter. A personal-foul penalty on Chapel Hill allowed Gilmer to kick off from the Bulldogs' 45, and Dixon pounced on the onside kick to give the Buckeyes the ball at the Chapel Hill 30.

On the second play, Boyd broke loose and scored on a 27-yard run to give Gilmer a 14-0 lead. Chapel Hill was forced into a three-and-out on its next drive, and Gilmer extended its lead with a Lewis 2-yard touchdown to give the Buckeyes 21 points in just three minutes.

Chapel Hill got on the board on its next series when Black connected with a wide-open Reggie King down the middle of field for a 54-yard touchdown, but Gilmer answered 28 seconds later on a 30-yard scoring strike from Barr to Desmond Pollard that gave the Buckeyes a 36-7 lead with 48 seconds remaining until halftime.

The Bulldogs scored on their second possession of third quarter -- a 2-yard run by Thompson -- to cut the Gilmer lead to 36-14. Robinson's 37-yard touchdown catch early in the fourth ended a seven-play, 70-yard drive.

Chapel Hill travels to Spring Hill next Friday, while Gilmer faces Henderson next Saturday night at Longview's Lobo Stadium.

---

No. 1 Gilmer 56, Chapel Hill 28

Bulldog Stadium, New Chapel Hill

Gilmer                  0   29    7   20   --   56
Chapel Hill            0    7    7   14    --   28
Second Quarter
GIL--Jamel Jackson 3 run (Pablin Olivares kick), 5:41.
GIL--Kris Boyd 27 run (Olivares kick), 5:10.
GIL--Darrian Lewis 2 run (Olivares kick), 2:41.
CH--Reggie King 54 pass from Andrew Black (Johnny Bonilla kick), 1:16.
GIL--Desmond Pollard 30 pass from Tanner Barr (Demarco Boyd run), :48.
Third Quarter
GIL--Boyd 43 run (Olivares kick), 6:46.
CH--Wesley Thompson 2 run (Bonilla kick), 2:53.
Fourth Quarter
CH--Gabriel Robinson 37 pass from Black (Bonilla kick), 11:13.
GIL--Lewis 10 run (Olivares kick), 7:32.
GIL--Lewis 28 run (Olivares kick), 5:17.
CH--Black 6 run (Bonilla kick), 3:48.
GIL--Lewis 26 run (run failed), 2:40.

                                          GIL                 CH
First Downs                           32                  23
Total Yards                          560                 459
Rushes-Yards                  51-434            37-241
Passing Yards                      126                 218
Comp.-Att.-Int.               14-22-0           16-33-1
Punts-Avg.                       5-31.0             6-38.3
Fumbles-Lost                         2-1                 4-1
Penalties-Yards                   11-91             10-78

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Gilmer, Kris Boyd 19-178, Darrian Lewis 12-146, Tanner Barr 11-53, Devondrick Dixon 3-20, Jamel Jackson 4-20, Demarco Boyd 1-13, Jordan Williams 1-4. Chapel Hill, Andrew Black 16-85, Wesley Thompson 13-62, Malik Walker 2-54, Jeffery Minor 2-28, Jesse Mumphrey 4-12.
PASSING--Gilmer, Barr 14-22-0--126. Chapel Hill, Black 16-33-1--218.
RECEIVING--Gilmer, Jaidon Parrish 4-49, Desmond Pollard 3-42, Chase Tate 3-22, Kris Boyd 3-4, Nick Smith 1-7. Chapel Hill, Minor 7-74, Reggie King 3-64, Lex Heckel 2-19, Gabriel Robinson 1-37, Kevone Kennedy 1-13, Thompson 1-7, Kenyotta Henderson 1-4.