With so much on the line, Gibbs turned to what it knows best.

Physicality and running the football.

The combination lifted the Eagles to a 17-14 home win over Heritage on Friday, cemented a spot in the postseason, and eliminated the Mountaineers from postseason contention in the process.

“The later the game went the more physical we got,” Gibbs coach Brad Turner said.

“They’ve fought hard all season long, and it was great to see them win a game like that.”

A loss would not have eliminated Gibbs (7-2, 4-2 Region 2-4A) from the postseason, but it would have meant the Eagles no longer controlled their own destiny.

They would have needed a win against Carter next Friday, and for Heritage to lose to Union County, which is winless in region play.

Instead, a win versus Carter, combined with an Anderson County loss to Alcoa, means the Eagles would go into the playoffs as the region’s No. 2 seed.

The Mountaineers (3-5, 2-4) cut the deficit to 17-14 with 4:22 remaining in the fourth quarter, but never got the ball back.

The big play on Gibbs’ last drive was a 25-yard run by Tucker Ownby, but the backbreaker was a personal foul call against Heritage that set up a 1st-and-goal at the 9 and allowed the Eagles to get into victory formation.

If not for the penalty, Heritage would have had the chance to stop Gibbs on a 3rd-and-3 from the Heritage 18 with a little less than two minutes remaining.

Both teams came out displaying the intensity warranted for what was at stake, especially the defenses.

Gibbs forced and recovered a fumble on the first play of the game after a hit by Clay Phillips jarred the ball out of Heritage receiver Dylan Burgess’ hands, and was gathered in by Wyatt Shropshire.

The turnover led to a 42-yard field goal by standout Gibbs kicker Mikel Van Pelt.

That was it for the first-half scoring. Instead, the highlights came on the defensive end.

Junior lineman Seth Seiber had two first-half sacks for the Eagles, and senior linebacker Chase Norman added another.

For the game, Gibbs finished with nine tackles for loss, including two and a half from Seiber, and two by sophomore linebacker Memphis Wilson.

Turner said he was proud of his entire defense, but specifically pointed out Norman’s leadership.

“I think what we pride ourselves on at Gibbs is being in shape, and the tempo we play in, where we don’t get tired and try to keep playing,” Turner said.

“Chase Norman, he doesn’t get a lot of talk, but what he does on both sides of the ball, he’s a coach on the field. You go back and watch film of our game, go back and watch number 9. He’s a dog.”

Heritage had its own stars on the defensive end, led by linebackers Thomas Bowers (14 tackles, three for loss) and Connor Wheeler (eight tackles, two for loss).

Wheeler did his best Troy Polamalu impression early in the fourth quarter, timing the snap count perfectly to tackle Gibbs quarterback Keith Jones Jr. for a six-yard loss.

Bowers was also the focal point for the Heritage offense with 131 rushing yards and a touchdown on 15 carries, but it was the Gibbs run game that came to life in the second half.

The same run plays that were yielding short gains in the first half for the Eagles turned into medium or big gains in the second half as Gibbs began to wear Heritage down. The Eagles ran the ball 46 times on the night.

“We just got a little more physical,” Turner said about the difference between the first half and the second half.

“I felt like we sustained our blocks. Not as many penalties, I felt like there were too many penalties in the game, on both sides. We didn’t have as many drive-kill penalties (in the second half). We drove the ball well the first half, we’d just get a penalty and then there we were, so I felt like we cleaned that up a little bit, and just got back to running the football.”

There were 17 penalties enforced in the game, eight on Gibbs, nine on Heritage.

Ownby shouldered the majority of the rushing load with 121 yards on 21 carries, but it was two big plays by senior receiver Da’Juan Harris that put points on the board.

Harris raced away from the Heritage defense on a well-blocked wide receiver screen that turned into a 56-yard touchdown to give Gibbs a 10-0 lead with 4:11 left in the third quarter.

The Mountaineers answered with a two-yard touchdown run by Bowers, which came right after a 35-yard Bowers run on a direct snap to make it 10-7 late in the third.

Thanks in part to the aforementioned TFL by Wheeler, Heritage had Gibbs facing a 3-and-22 at its own 41 on the ensuing drive. But a 19-yard run by Shropshire put the Eagles in position to go for it on 4th down, and Harris not only converted the 4th down, but also scored from 40 yards out on a run.

“We know Da’Juan has that potential,” Turner said.

“And when he makes his mind up he’s a pretty special kid. I’m happy for him, and speed kills.”

The sequence was perhaps the most frustrating of the night for the Mountaineers, because on both runs there were missed tackles behind or near the line of scrimmage.

Gibbs goes into its final regular-season contest on a four-game win streak and a postseason berth taken care of.

“We don’t get caught up in the where we’re going to play or what seed it is. We knew if we won we would be in,” Turner said.

“Obviously, we’re going for a two seed against Carter next week, but we just take it one game at a time, and these guys have done a fantastic job all season of coming out and being ready to go.”

Article written by Matthew Lutey/5Star Preps. To read more on area high school sports or to see photo galleries, videos, stat leaders, etc, visit 5StarPreps.com — and use promo code New2025 for 30% off your first year or month subscription.

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