GIBSON CITY — The Seniors remain winless after losing their Week 4 game to Gibson City 36-6.

In the first six minutes of the game, PBL compiled 50 penalty yards and had two fumbles en route to six turnovers throughout the game.

As a partial result, Gibson City took a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

“GCMS was definitely the better team, but we are really hurting ourselves with turnovers and mental mistakes, especially early in game,” PBL head coach Rocky Marron said. “Once we get past the first 3-4 minutes of the game, we are alright. We have to do a better job of focusing before the game starts.”

After GCMS made the score 22-0 on a 65-yard touchdown in the second quarter, the Seniors put together a drive of 10 plays that covered 56 yards. However, they could not get a touchdown out of it.

A third-quarter drive by PBL was halted by a 45-yard interception return for a touchdown that extended Gibson City’s lead to 28-0.

The Seniors got on the scoreboard later in the third quarter, as a 57-yard drive ended on a four-yard touchdown run to make the score 28-6 after three quarters.

Gibson City put the icing on the cake in the fourth quarter, scoring on a 55-yard drive.

In the end, PBL threw the ball for 56 yards and ran it for 117 more.

“We were able to have some success passing the ball today, which was nice to see,” Marron said. “It was nice to see our quarterback have some success. He gained a little confidence today and had a nice game.”

The Seniors will play their home finale this Saturday against last year’s CIFL runner-up in Watseka at 5 p.m.

“We are really not that far off,” Marron said. “We are a good-hitting team and we play hard. Eventually, that is going to play off. We just have to step on the field ready to play and stop hurting ourselves.”

The Mighty Mites will start the action with their game at 1 p.m. and the Juniors will follow at 3 p.m.

Juniors
The fifth and sixth-graders  lost their first game of the year to Gibson City 30-12 to fall to 3-1 on the year.

“This was our first test against a top, quality team,” PBL head coach Andy Pound said. “I think we came in a little too relaxed. It looked like we made our blocks, but we just didn’t stay on them. We made hits defensively, but there was no wrap-up and take down.”

The Juniors damaged their chances of winning by, among other things, penalties. According to Pound, they had almost as many penalties in the Gibson City game as they had in the previous three weeks.

“It seemed like every time the kids made a big play offensely or defensively, there was a holding, block in the back or facemask that would negate the play,” Pound said. “I can’t be mad at these kids with the numbers we’ve put up this year. If there’s such a thing asa good loss, this was it.”

Pound also said PBL was slowed down by a recurring injury bug.

“It seems like every time we have a player come back from injury, we have another,” Pound said. “We’re fairly short on linemen this year, and we had one get his teeth knocked out at school on Friday. He’ll more than likely be back for the playoffs, but that’s just the kind of luck we’ve had.”

Mighty Mites
The PBL offense could only muster three first downs, including none in the first half, en route to their 18-0 defeat to Gibson City.

“The PBL Mighty Mites continued to struggle putting points on the board,” Mighty Mites head coach Jim Hobson said.

After Gibson City scored in the first quarter to make the score 6-0, PBL’s defense stopped them twice on drives that went inside the red zone.

Gibson City, however, scored a touchdown in the third and fourth quarters each to seal the victory.

“We just could not get our defense off the field today,” Hobson said. “Our offense has to do a better job of keeping the ball and putting some points on the board.”

There was a silver lining to the loss, which dropped PBL to a record of 0-4. The Mighty Mites offense completed their first pass of the season on one of their five throwing attempts.

“We will find our positives and build on them and improve the areas that we made mistakes,” Hobson said. “Despite the final score of the game, there is always something positive that will come out of the game. We have a great group of kids who will continue to learn football and work hard everyday.”