Bryant Blue earns first victory with 28-point surge
EDITOR’S NOTE: Because the look back at each day in Bryant athletic history has been so favorably received during the time when there was no sports during the COVID-19 shutdown, BryantDaily.com will continueposting past stories of Bryant athletics either posted on BryantDaily.com (from 2009 to the present) or published in the Bryant Times (from 1998 to 2008).
For more photos of this event by Kevin Nagle, go here
After spotting the Pinnacle View Skyhawks eight points, the Bryant Blue Hornets eighth grade team of Bethel Middle School surged to a 28-8 victory in their season opener on Monday at Bryant Stadium.
Dominique Gaston ran for two touchdowns and a two-point conversion and quarterback Tyler Pinney threw a touchdown pass to highlight the offense.
Head coach Josh Akers praised his defense as well, saying, “I was extremely proud of how physical our defense played. Coach (Colton) Bond did a great job getting those guys ready to play. We didn’t shy away from contact and played physical gap-sound defense.”
The Hornets cut into the Skyhawks lead with Xalen Currenton’s 23-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. A two-point conversion attempt, however, failed to tie it.
The Bethel defense forced Pinnacle View to turn the ball over on downs, setting up Gatson’s first scoring run, a 6-yard burst, giving the Hornets a 12-6 lead. Again, the conversion try went awry.
In the second half, Gatson got loose on a 29-yard touchdown run and, this time, Jonathan White got into the end zone on the two-point conversion to make it 20-6.
The Hornets recovered an onside kick and right way, they scored again. Pinney connected with Joshua Luster for a 50-yard touchdown pass. Gatson ran in the conversion and the final score was on the board.
“I was very proud of our running backs, quarterback and wideouts,” Akers said.“They did an outstanding job on offense. None of our success would have happened without the blocking from our o-line. Those guys were relentless tonight.
“Great job to Coach (Adam) Belcher and his work with our special teams,” he added. “They did a great job of changing the momentum of the game for us with the recovered kick.
“I’m super proud of these guys and the way they have bought into our system and worked throughout the off-season,” the coach concluded. “It is a much more improved team than a year ago. These guys deserve the type of night they had.”
The Hornets return to action on Thursday, Sept. 6, when they host Cabot North prior to the freshman opener.
“We have to go back to work tomorrow and get ready for Cabot,” Akers said. “It doesn’t get any easier for us from here.”
This Thursday, the eighth grade B teams from Bethel and Bryant will tangle at Bryant Stadium right after the seventh grade teams from both schools play at 5 p.m.
