Gap Pushes Altavista To the Limit before falling 32-20

ALTAVISTA – Buffalo Gap pushed undefeated Altavista to the limit Friday night before falling to the Colonels, 32-20, in the Region 1B championship game.

Gap led the favored Colonels at the half in part to a strong defensive effort against the high-powered Altavista offense.

The Bison turned the ball over on downs near midfield on its first possession of the game, but Gap’s defense came away with a huge turnover, falling on an Altavista fumble at the Bison 36-yard line.

A long pass play from Isaac Jude Louk to Austin North gave Gap a first down at the Colonels 35. From there, Gap kept the ball on the ground and Colby Yeago finished the drive by barreling over from the 1, giving the Bison a 6-0 lead with 2:31 left in the first quarter.

After a short kick, the Colonels took over near midfield. Cooper Brooks scored on a 26-yard run and Ladainian Stone added the conversion run for an 8=6 Altavista lead with one second left in the first quarter.

Gap responded with a time-consuming 78-yard drive with Yeago once again finding the end zone, this time on a 15-yard run to put the Bison up 12-8.

The Colonels moved inside the red zone late in the half, but the Bison defense stopped the home team on a fourth-down play to go to the half with a 12-8 lead.

Altavista scored on its first series of the second half when Stone scored on a 15-yard run. Tyreimh Robison added the two-point run for a 16-12 Colonels lead.

Gap faced a fourth-and-4 situation deep in its territory on its next series, but the Colonels jumped offside with the Bison in punt formation, giving Gap a first down. Goff then ripped off a 37-yard run to the Altavista 42. 

Gap moved inside the red zone, but the drive stalled, leaving the Bison facing a fourth-and-12 play from the 19. Under pressure, Jude Louk threw one up for grabs and his teammate Bradley Shiplett came down with the ball just inside the 5 and finished the play in the end zone as Gap regained the lead. Yeago added the conversion for a 20-16 Gap lead with 3:18 left in the third quarter.

Altavista responded and regained the lead on a 17-yard run by Ja’Corion Davis. Stone added the conversion to make it 24-20 with 10:41 to play.

Gap was forced to punt on its next possession, but its defense came up big, stopping Altavista on fourth-and-6 at the Gap 18-yard line with six minutes left.

The Bison threw an interception, giving Altavista the football at the Bison 24 with 4:48 remaining. The Colonels appeared to fumble the ball on their next play with Gap recovering, but a penalty was called against Altavista and they were allowed to keep possession. The Colonels then added their final touchdown, making the score 32-20.

Gap finishes its season with a 6-7 record.