COMMERCE — East Jackson could not hold a second half lead falling 28-19 to Gilmer on Friday at home.
The Eagles (1-1) who were looking for their second straight 2-0 start to a campaign, fell behind 8-0 in the first quarter when Gilmer's Ashton White scored on a touchdown run following blocked a punt by the Bobcats.
The score stayed that way until the third when Greg Huggs tossed a 30-yard touchdown pass to Randy Smith to cut the lead to 8-6 early in the third quarter.
The Eagles would take the lead just three minutes later when Huggs threw his second TD pass of the game, a 17-yard strike to Kahlil Watkins to give them a 12-8 lead. But they couldn;t hold it.
Gilmer’s Kobe Stonecipher answered less than two minutes later with a 29-yard TD run for a 14-12 Bobcats lead. Gilmer pushed its advantage to 21-12 with 6:53 left in the game.
East Jackson wasn;t done, however. Huggs scored on a 7-yard TD to cap a short 35-yard drive and cut the lead to 21-19 with 4:44.
But the Eagles defense helped the Bobcats with two untimely penalties and eventually Gilmer’s Spencer Smith capped the drive from 1-yard out for the final score.
