GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) - The 11th annual Harvest Bowl between Gridley and Live Oak high school football teams lived up to all the hype this year. Team spirit was high as the Dog Pound and Lion Pride filled the home and visitor stands. Both varsity teams just came off huge victories the week before and looked to keep the momentum alive early in their seasons.

In the first quarter both defenses kept the other team’s offense at bay, even when the Lions offense began marching down the field on the legs of Odin Moody. On 4th down and 9-yards to go inside the Bulldogs 30 yard line, Gridley cornerback, Cameron Carr, came up big with a deflected pass ending the Lions threat of a touchdown.

Early in the second quarter, Lions fullback, Hayden Langley, scored from inside the 5-yard line for the first score of the game. The Bulldogs couldn’t seem to get much going and another great defensive stop by the Lions forced the Bulldogs to punt. Gridley punter, Arden Anderson, showcased his leg and accuracy with the football and pinned the Lions inside the 10-yard line with a little over 5:00 to go in the half. Again both defenses stayed strong and a late pass attempt by Carr ended with an interception by Moody. After two quarters of football, the Lions had the momentum and lead with a score of 7-0.

Gridley linebacker, Chris Richins, said after the game that Coach Matt Kemmis told the team during halftime, “in order to win the game, we needed to stop shooting themselves in the foot and to eliminate the bad plays.” Early into the third quarter, the bad plays started for Live Oak. A bad snap on fourth down gave the Bulldogs the ball on the Lions 25-yard line. Senior running back, Selso McTygue, carried the ball down to the 1-yard line before punching it in on the next play. McTygue then put the Bulldogs up 8-7 after converting the 2-point conversion.  Later in the quarter, Anderson once again put his defense in great position for a big turnover when he pinned the Lions inside their 5-yard line. Bulldogs sophomore standout, Ryan Smith, took advantage of the short field and forced a fumble on a completed pass to Lions wide receiver, Ta Jon Bloomer, before Bulldogs senior, Max Nicolson scooped it up and took it down inside the 5-yard line. Smith then punched it in from 4-yards out to put the Bulldogs up 16-7 after the 2-point conversion was good.

In the fourth quarter, Gridley senior, Colby Norton, came up with a huge sack to force another Lions punt. Another bad snap gave the Bulldogs the ball on the Lions 40-yard line. After driving down to the 2-yard line, McTygue crossed the goal line again putting the Bulldogs up 22-7. On the ensuing kickoff, Bulldogs senior, Dylan Terry, recovered an Anderson onside kick to give the Bulldogs possession with 4:03 left in the game. On the very next play, Smith put the game away for good with a 32-yard touchdown run along the right sideline. Gridley went on to win their seventh straight Harvest Bowl 30-7.

After the game I had an opportunity to speak with Selso McTygue to capture his feelings on the win. “Overall it’s a great feeling with the victory,” he said. He felt the turning point was after the first Lions bad snap and he scored the go-ahead touchdown. “It was great momentum. It got everyone going. It was a great turning point in the game.” When asked how it felt to put the game away for good, Ryan Smith said, “I was kind of in shock. I thought I was going to go down, but I kept my legs going and scored. Coach has given me an opportunity to be a leader as a sophomore and I’m very thankful for it.”