For nearly ten years, Matthew Gilbert was untouchable and undefeated, sporting a 71 game wining streak.
It all came to an end Nov. 5, when Twin Lakes stunned the community by shocking Gilbert 22-16 in the city semifinals at Raines High.
Gilbert (8-1) led 8-6 at the half and seemed well on its way to playing for a third consecutive city title.
Twin Lakes received the second half kickoff and drove down to the 25-yard line. The Timberwolves’ ground attack chewed up the clock and kept Gilbert’s explosive offense off the field.
A 2-yard touchdown run by Ronnie West gave the Wolves a 14-8 lead with a little over three minutes left in the third quarter.
Gilbert took over after recovering an onside kick at midfield, but penalties and a bad snap and sack gave the Wolves the ball back heading into the fourth quarter.
Panthers coach Charon Dorsey gathered his team on the sideline before the fourth quarter began, perhaps to remind them about the streak and to offer words of encouragement.
Richardo Lewis took a reverse 20 yards for a score that put Twin Lakes up 22-8 just a minute into the fourth quarter.
Faced with its largest deficit all season – Gilbert only trailed one other time 8-0 – the Panthers seemed a little rattled.
It didn’t last long, though, as Gilbert took the ensuing kickoff back 85 yards to cut the lead to 22-14 with 6:06 left in the game.
The pressure was back on Twin Lakes to pick up first downs and try to drain the clock as much as possible.
Faced with fourth and 8 and 3:17 left in the game, the Wolves set up for a double pass but failed, giving the Panthers the ball back.
Gilbert wouldn’t hold onto the ball for long as quarterback Tyrone Williams was picked off at the 3-yard line with 3:02 left in the game.
Despite the turnover, his defense bailed him out, forcing a punt with under two minutes left in the game.
Backed up to its own goal line, Twin Lakes decided to take the safety, cutting the lead to 22-16 with 1:45 left in the game. Gilbert was getting the ball back and had one final chance to keep the streak alive.
Turner returned the punt past midfield at the 46-yard line, giving the Panthers the ball back with 1:33 with no timeouts left.
Back-to-back incomplete passes put the Panthers in a big hole, but Maddox took a draw and picked up the first down.
Faced with fourth and 13 and the season on the line, Tyrone Williams shook off defenders and scrambled out of bounds at the 17-yard line to pick up another key first down.
Williams was sacked and fumbled the ball but recovered it as the clock kept winding down, forcing Gilbert to hurry to the line of scrimmage for one desperate pass.
Williams’ pass, intended for Maddox, was knocked down incomplete at the goal line, causing an emotional reaction on both sidelines as the streak came to an end.
“We lost to them two years ago in the title game when we fumbled five times, including four times on the goal line,” Twin Lakes offensive coordinator Coach Schuster said. “We’ve had a motto of believe all year, and the students and teachers hung posters and banners with the motto, so we got the whole school to back us. Our goal was to run clock and limit their possessions, and it worked.”
When asked about the safety call late in the game, Schuster replied, “I didn’t want to give them the ball at the two yard line. We’ve got a good punter, and our defense has been stellar. We had only given up six points all season. This was the most we have given up all year, and we also thought our defense was better than them.”
Gilbert coaches gathered their team in the end zone and gave them words of encouragement.
“I know it hurts. There is nothing to be down about, and I’m proud of you,” Gilbert head coach Charon Dorsey said. “It came down to the final play. We’re going to be alright.”
Defensive coordinator Mike Holloway added, “That’s life. We took the field tonight, and somebody was going to win, and somebody was going to lose. It took ten years for somebody to beat us.”
Game 7: Gilbert 45, Kirby Smith 0
KIRBY SMITH-Gilbert (7-0, 6-0) closed out the regular season with an easy win on the road to wrap up the North Division undefeated and an undefeated regular season with a 45-0 win over host Kirby Smith.
The win stretched the streak to 71 consecutive games as the Panthers headed into the playoffs seeking a third straight city title.
Gilbert ended the regular season outscoring its opponents 219-8, shutting out six of its seven opponents.
Game 6: Gilbert 28, Ribault 8
GILBERT-With three players suspended for the first half, Gilbert struggled offensively to find a rhythm but turned it on in the second half to cruise to a 28-8 win over Ribault.
Battling a sprinkling rain storm, both teams consistently turned the ball over during the first half.
One of those turnovers came back to bite the Panthers as Ribault took advantage of the short field to take a stunning 8-0 lead with 6:13 left until halftime.
The score ended a streak of five consecutive shut outs and a streak of Gilbert outscoring its opponents 146-0 during that stretch.
Gilbert offense seemed rattled and out of sync, missing three key starters until halftime and having never trailed until now.
One Ribault fan yelled out to fans and players, “After tonight, Gilbert will be 69-1,” referring to the long winning streak.
The negative comment seemed to fire up the Gilbert team as the Panthers recovered a Colt fumble just before the half and converted it into points with an 85 yard touchdown run on the final play before halftime. Christal Smith’s two point conversion run tied the game at 8-8 at the half.
The Gilbert defense stepped up and sacked the Colts quarterback on back-to-back plays, giving the Panthers the ball back toward the end of the third quarter.
Faced with third and two, Smith powered her way in for a short touchdown run, giving the Panthers a 14-8 lead with seconds left in the third quarter.
Clinging to that lead with less than four minutes left in the game, Ja-Juan Turner took a handoff and pulled up and threw a nice pass to Artis Maddox in the left corner of the end zone, giving Gilbert a 22-8 lead.
Ribault fumbled the ensuing kickoff, resulting in a late Panther score with 2:31 left in the game for a 28-8 lead.
Gilbert (6-0, 5-0) clinched its third straight Northern Division title and playoff bid with the win while also keeping the streak intact at 70 wins in a row.
Game 5: Gilbert 14, Highlands 0
GILBERT- Billed as an epic showdown, a battle with the Northside Division title at stake, the game lived up to every bit of its hype.
Gilbert (5-0, 4-0) posted its fifth straight shutout despite an offensive struggle and sealed its 69th straight win to come within one win of clinching the North Division title and playoff bid.
Christal Smith’s three-yard run gave Gilbert a 6-0 lead with 1:22 left in the first quarter, a lead that continued until halftime.
Ja-Juan Turner took a 5-yard toss down the home side for a touchdown with thirty seconds left until halftime for a 14-0 lead.
Highlands received the second half kickoff and went down the field for an apparent score, but on fourth and one, the Wildcats attempted a Tim Tebow pass, and the quarterback was hit for a big loss, causing the Wildcats to lose possession of the ball.
On the Panthers ensuing possession, a wide receiver blocked a defensive back down the field, and the defensive back threw a punch, resulting in a near bench-clearing brawl. Coaches and administrators separated the two teams as the refs sorted things out. After meeting, the refs determined two players from each team would be ejected and forced to miss the second half of this game and the first half of next week’s game.
Artis Maddox picked off a desperate pass by Highlands at the goal line with four minutes left in the game and returned it to the other side of the field to the 40-yard line to seal the win and the Panthers’ 69th straight win.
Game 4: Gilbert 40, Butler 0
BUTLER- Butler ran the clock and cheated players out of time in a first half that was played in less than 30 minutes.
Up 16-0, Gilbert added to the score with four minutes left in the half. Turner hauled in a 50-yard pass from Tyrone Williams down to the 7-yard line and followed with a 7-yard run on the ensuing play for a 24-0 lead. Smith added the two point conversion for a 26-0 lead.
A tip ball, thanks to a caravan of blockers and a Christal Smith 2-yard run, resulted in a 60-yard interception returned for a touchdown, giving Gilbert (4-0, 3-0) a 40-0 win and its 68th consecutive win.
Game 3: Gilbert 22, Oceanway 0
OCEANWAY-Oceanway tried to catch Gilbert off guard by onside kicking the opening kickoff, perhaps a sign of things to come.
The Buccaneers came out in a wildcat formation, but Gilbert had an answer on defense, posting their third consecutive shutout.
Christal Smith’s 1-yard run gave the Panthers a 6-0 lead, and Artis Maddox hauled in a 60-yard touchdown pass from Tyrone Williams about four minutes before half, giving the Panthers a 14-0 halftime lead.
While Gilbert was having little trouble on offense, Oceanway was telegraphing its offense, lining up three wide and having the quarterback run to that side of the field.
Oceanway was able to finally break wide for 50 yards, carrying several Panthers down to the 10-yard line. Faced with third and goal from the 2-yard line, the Bucs were hit with a holding penalty, which put them out of the red zone and resulted in a turnover on downs on the ensuing play, squandering the Bucs’ best chance to score.
Smith broke off a 7-yard touchdown run with five minutes left in the game to keep Gilbert (3-0, 2-0) on track to win the Northern Division title again and push the streak to 67 straight wins.
Game 2: Gilbert 42, Northwestern 0
GILBERT-Gilbert opened their Northern Division title defense hosting nemesis Northwestern 42-0 in the home opener for the Panthers.
Gilbert scored nearly every time they had possession of the ball, improving (2-0, 1-0) on the season and extening the streak to 66 consecutive wins.
Game 1: Gilbert 28, Mandarin 0
MANDARIN- In a battle of playoff teams from last season, Gilbert struck early and often in a 28-0 win over host Mandarin in both teams’ season opener.
Ja’Juan Turner and Artis Maddox took over the game and led the Panthers to their 65th straight win.
Ahead 6-0 after the first quarter on a rain-soaked field, Turner picked off a Hawks pass and returned it 50 yards for an apparent score that was called back.
Holding on to the ball after the interception, Turner hauled in a 40-yard touchdown reception from Tyrone Williams to give Gilbert a 12-0 lead at the half.
Maddox returned an interception 80 yards for a score on the first play of the fourth quarter, increasing the lead to 28-0.
Special Feature/North Florida/February 2015
Charon Dorsey- Head Coach
Matthew W. Gilbert Middle School
Corey Davis
The Streak is Over: Matthew Gilbert Middle School’s Unbelievable Run Comes to an End
