Georgetown clinches home playoff game with win over Wilson

The month of October was mostly a difficult one for the Georgetown Bulldogs. Not only did each player and their families have to deal with the flooding that devastated the area, but the team also had its struggles on the field as it dropped its previous two games during a bunched-up schedule because of school closures.

November is looking much more promising.

Georgetown used a phenomenal performance by senior Cavonte Gamble and stingy defense to down Wilson 34-7 in both teams’ season finale on Friday night. The senior night victory was followed shortly by news that St. James beat Lake City, a result that secured a rare home playoff game for the Bulldogs.

“We are just very happy our kids came out and played with heart tonight,” Georgetown coach Bradley Adams said. “We felt like over the last two weeks, we kind of questioned where our heart really was as a team and as a group. We had a heart to heart this week, and we just came out and played with a lot more intensity than we had the past few weeks.”

Gamble’s performance was one for the school record books and almost the state. The 5-foot-10 senior intercepted four passes – one shy of the single-game state record – and added three touchdown receptions.

“When Cavonte wants to play there is not anybody any better, and he came to play tonight,” Adams said.

Gamble finished with eight catches for 195 yards that included TD receptions of 20, 82, and 43 yards.

“I just really went out there and played with a lot of heart,” Gamble said. “It was a must-win so I just told myself my team wasn’t going to lose. Coach challenged us, too. He told us if we lose that was the end of it. Nobody wanted to lose; we wanted to keep going.”

It was also an impressive showing by the Georgetown defense as it limited Wilson (3-7, 0-5 Region VII-AAA) to 248 yards of offense with 63 of those coming on the Tigers’ lone touchdown.

“It was the best defensive performance that we have had all year, and what a great time to do it,” Adams said. “We just challenged our kids in all phases of the game this week to step up their game and get back to who we are, and that is what they did.”

Georgetown (7-3, 3-2) had 333 yards of offense with most of it coming from the arm of senior quarterback Jarvis Brown. The three-year starter threw for 258 yards and four touchdowns while completing 16 of his 19 pass attempts.

Brown and Gamble are two members of a large group of seniors that has led the Georgetown football program to one its most successful three-year stretches in its history.

“It is just something that we have tried to build here,” Adams said. “We have tried our best to work hard and build a great tradition. (This group of seniors) started it and they have kept it going. You can’t be any prouder of them. Just like tonight, the senior group challenged the whole team and they got a response from them.”

Those seniors led this year’s team to a No. 2 playoff seed from Region VII-AAA and a home playoff game. The Bulldogs will host the third-place team from Region VI-AAA – most likely Darlington – on Nov. 13. The two-week gap is because the SCHSL added an open week between the end of the regular season and the opening of the playoffs after many teams could not play games during the statewide flooding. However, Georgetown squeezed its missed game in on a Tuesday and played two games in three days that week.

“It means mean a lot for us,” Gamble said. “We have never had a home playoff game so we are looking forward to that. … I think we can accomplish a lot.”

The Bulldogs already have.

Note: The Georgetown program and school district honored Herb Bailey on Friday night. Bailey has worked in the Georgetown County school district for the last 57 years and will retire after Georgetown’s last home game.

This story was originally published October 30, 2015 at 11:59 PM with the headline "Georgetown clinches home playoff game with win over Wilson."