For a third straight season, the Boyd Yellowjackets couldn’t tame the Gunter Tigers.
Garrett Hunter was the primary reason why.
The Tigers’ back rushed for 226 yards and two touchdowns Friday in Gunter’s 35-21 victory at Tiger Stadium.
Hunter scored on runs of 99 and 35 yards in the season-opening win for one of Class 3A Division II’s top teams.
His 99-yard dash to the end zone in the final seconds of the first quarter put Gunter up 14-7.
Gunter added a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 28-7 halftime lead. Gunter recovered a Clay Barnett fumble in the end zone with 3:32 left in the first half. Then with 33 seconds left in the half Kevin Teems scored on a 13-yard run.
Boyd took advantage of a roughing the passer call on a fourth down in Gunter territory with Qualynn Wells scoring from 8 yards out. Wells also found the end zone from 3 yards away in the first half. He finished with 103 yards on 25 carries.
On the ensuing kickoff, Boyd’s Xavier Kyle recovered a fumble at the Gunter 33-yard line. The Yellowjackets couldn’t take advantage of the opportunity as Barnett was intercepted by Teems at the Gunter 45 on a second-and-21. Gunter turned the turnover into a 35-yard touchdown run by Hunter.
Boyd scored with two seconds remaining on a 10-yard pass from Barnett to Preston Montgomery.
Barnett fnished 14-for-34 for 221 yards with two interceptions.
Boyd turned the ball over four times on the night.
GUNTER 35, BOYD 21
Boyd … 7 … 0 … 7 … … 7 – 21
Gunter … 14 … 14 … 7 … … 0 – 35
FIRST QUARTER
Boyd – 7:00, Qualynn Wells 3 run, Spencer Pellegrini kick
Gunter – 6:43, Kevin Teems 90 kickoff return, kick failed
Gunter – 0:12, Garrett Hunter 99 run, Lashley Good pass from Austen Gressett
SECOND QUARTER
Gunter – 3:32, Fumble recovered in end zone, Cameron Hern kick
Gunter – 0:33, Teems 13 run, Hern kick
THIRD QUARTER
Boyd – 4:13, Wells 8 run, Pellegrini kick
Gunter – 2:28, Garrett 35 run, Hern kick
FOURTH QUARTER
Boyd – 0:02, Preston Montgomery 10 pass from Clay Barnett, Pellegrini kick
BOYD … GUNTER
First Downs … 22 … 10
Rushes-Yards … 40-155 … 32-301
Passing Yards … 221 … 68
Total Yards … 376 … 367
Comp-Att-Int … 14-32-2 … 7-14-0
Punts-Avg … 2-34 … 2-32
Penalties-Yards … 12-109 … 23-196
Fumbles-Lost … 2-2 … 1-1
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing – Boyd, Qualynn Wells 25-103. Gunter, Garrett Hunter 14-226.
Passing – Boyd, Clay Barnett 14-32-2-221. Gunter, Austen Gressett 6-9-0-53.
Receiving – Boyd, Xavier Kyle 7-139. Gunter, Garrett Hunter 1-15.
