Troup's seventh-graders fall, 12-28, to district rivals
Gibson leads offense with 2 big TDs

Seth Gibson gets behind the Arp defense and runs for the first of two touchdowns in the Troup seventh grade team's 12-28 loss last Thursday.

Despite a big game by Seth Gibson, the seventh grade Troup team fell to Arp last Thursday, 12-28.

The Tigers from Arp led 14- 0 before Troup lit up the scoreboard in the second quarter.

Gibson took a handoff from quarterback Hunter Clark and raced 80 yards down the home sideline for the touchdown. Troup failed on the two-point conversion but narrowed Arp's lead to 6-14 with 4:12 left in the first half.

Arp fumbled on the ensuing kickoff, with Clark recovering on the Troup 49.

A first-down pass completion to Kody Welch and a short yardage run left Troup with a thirddown and-three situation. The home team fumbled, but thanks to a flag against Arp, Troup got a new set of downs on the Arp 41 yard line.

Gibson got the call and this time found room around the left side for another long-distance score for Troup. Although the two-point conversion failed again, the Tigers had tightened the game to within two points, 12-14, with a little over two minutes left to play in the half.

Photo/Charlotte Smith Kirby Lyon attempts a pass reception from quarterback Carson Clark in the eighth grade game against Arp last Thursday. Troup's middle school teams are in Waskom this week.

A short kick gave Arp good field position on the Troup 46. Troup's Ricky Hale made a nice one-handed grab to bring the Arp ball carrier down for a fouryard loss on first down.

An illegal motion penalty pushed the visiting team back another five yards, setting up second and 19 from their own 45.

Arp quickly squashed the building Troup momentum, when a quarterback keeper turned into a 55-yard TD run.

Troup's Bradley Stewart made a nice stop on the twopoint attempt to keep the home team to within eight, 12-20, with just over a minute left before halftime.

Troup ran a nice reverse on first down, featuring QB Clark, Lancy Hampton and Gibson, but suffered a loss on the next play. The half ended with two failed pass attempts by the home team.

Troup got a break on the opening kickoff, when Gibson's tackle led to an Arp fumble. Troup recovered and took over on its own 25. The home team picked up one first down, but then suffered a series of losses and a penalty to force a punt.

Arp's QB proved just as deadly on the punt return, picking up another TD at the 1:23 mark in the third quarter. The two-point conversion would be the final score of the night, handing the Troup seventhgraders a 12-28 loss.

Troup's Wesley Thompson had some key stops in the fourth to lead the Tiger defense.