Ever have the need to get something off your chest? We all know frustration can set in when you might have to wait a day … or a week … or longer.
Seth Seiber waited an entire year.
Seiber, a senior defensive lineman for Gibbs, finally found relief Friday night.
He had three sacks, 11 tackles and tackle-for-loss as the Eagles avenged last year’s overtime loss to South-Doyle with a 28-7 win.
“I never wanted to feel like that again, losing to a team we weren’t supposed to,” he said. “Tonight, it kind of felt like those feelings were coming out of me a little bit, like I was finally getting that off my chest.”
Both teams are 4-1, 2-1 in Region 2-4A. South-Doyle missed a chance to start 5-0 for the first time since 2014.
The final score suggested dominance, but the yardage did not. South-Doyle actually outgained Gibbs, 285-272.
The difference was everything around those yards.
South-Doyle committed four turnovers — two interceptions and two lost fumbles — and had a punt blocked. Gibbs did not turn the ball over and repeatedly took advantage of favorable field position.
Gibbs’ average starting field-position in the first half was the South-Doyle 38, and started six of its seven possessions in Cherokees’ territory.
That was exactly what Gibbs defensive coordinator Austin Calfee had emphasized during the week.
“During practice, Coach Calfee made a huge emphasis on turnovers,” Seiber said. “We didn’t have to run certain really hard drills if we got a specific amount of turnovers, so that really motivated us, and that really showed on the field tonight.”
It showed almost immediately.
On South-Doyle’s first offensive snap, Walter Gould gained 4 yards but fumbled. Gibbs recovered at the South-Doyle 15-yard line, and Memphis Wilson eventually scored on a 3-yard run to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead.
South-Doyle moved the ball on its next possession but stalled after Seiber recorded his first sack.
The Eagles were relentless in the second quarter.
Clay Phillips and Braxton Swift had interceptions, and Gibbs blocked a punt. The blocked punt led to quarterback Keith Jones keeping for an 18-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead, and Swift’s 39-yard punt return to the South-Doyle 17 led to a Waylon Spierdowis score on a 17-yard jet sweep in the final minute of the half.
Gibbs led 21-0 at halftime.
For Spierdowis, the motivation was obvious.
“It was on my mind a lot throughout the week,” he said. “We kind of thought of it like a revenge week because we knew they shouldn’t have won last year. So we were just trying not to make the same mistakes.”
Gibbs coach Brad Turner knew his players had not forgotten.
“They know all that stuff,” Turner said. “They know social media. They know everything that’s going on, so we just try to coach them on playing the next play and the next team.
“But these are kids and they remember all that stuff. So, obviously, it was a good win and I know they were looking forward to try and get that game back.”
South-Doyle opened the second half with one of its better drives, but Jeremiah Smith fumbled after a 13-yard reception, giving Gibbs its fourth takeaway.
The Eagles then put together perhaps their best sustained drive of the night, marching 73 yards and scoring on Spierdowis’ 14-yard run for a 28-0 lead with 4:07 left in the third quarter.
South-Doyle answered 12 seconds later when quarterback Benson Brang hit Reed Reynolds for a 65-yard touchdown pass, but that was the Cherokees’ only score.
South-Doyle coach Zack Gibson said the Cherokees simply made too many mistakes.
“Gibbs is a really good football team and we didn’t play well enough to beat them,” Gibson said. “We did not play complementary football, and against a good team like that, that’s what you see happen.”
The Cherokees had a chance to get within two touchdowns early in the fourth quarter when they drove for a first down at Gibbs’ 6.
“The one thing we stressed a lot at halftime was to stay in the fight,” he said. “Because if we just laid down and let them do whatever they wanted, it would have been really, really ugly. But our kids fought to the very end, and I’m proud of them for that.”
For Gibbs, the memory of last year’s 27-24 loss can finally be filed away.
“This week’s preparation was a lot of what happened last year,” Seiber said. “Don’t make the same small mistakes like you did last year. Make it right. Make the score right.”
Article written by Dean Fox/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 HAMMERS for 30% off your first year or month subscription.
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