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Last-chance touchdown gives Buckeyes victory over Abilene Wylie

By JOE DODD

After watching his defense turn back Abilene Wylie for the second time in less than two minutes despite being deep inside Gilmer territory, Buckeyes’ head coach Jeff Traylor was left with a choice when his offense was given the football at their own 36-yard line with the score tied 21-21.

“I had a decision because I had 34 seconds and 3 timeouts; whether to just go to overtime or not,” explained Traylor. “And true to who we are, we decided we were going to go try to score with 34 seconds left and the kids responded.”

Senior wide receiver Lamar Harris rewarded his coach’s faith with a spectacular 34-yard touchdown on an underneath pass route with 9 seconds on the clock to give the Buckeyes a dramatic 28-21 win over the Bulldogs, and a berth in the Class 3A Division I state championship game.

“We knew they were going to drop back, and we just guessed right,” conceded Traylor. “We talked to our receivers about down-field blocks and sure enough, down-field blocks is what got it done. It was just a great job by Lamar, and the receivers and line blocking the play.”

Harris’ touchdown capped a furious comeback for Gilmer, who trailed 21-14 entering the fourth quarter, despite cruising to a 14-0 lead with 3:17 to play in the first quarter. “We got our first 14 a little easier than our last 14,” said a relieved Traylor.

The Buckeyes started the game with a 16-play 82-yard drive that took 6:21 off the clock before Darian Godfrey found Houston Tuminello in the end zone from 4-yards out, giving Gilmer a 7-0 lead on a fantastic catch from the senior receiver, and the extra- point kick from Adan Olivares.

Three plays later, Buckeyes’ sophomore Paul Chesnut intercepted a Jared Wallace pass at his own 42-yard line and returned it to the Bulldogs 29-yard line. Two plays later Godfrey hooked up with Tuminello again, this time on a spectacular falling down catch by Tuminello for a 29-yard touchdown and 14-0 Gilmer lead less than 9 minutes into the game.

“We came out with two big touchdowns and we kind of relaxed,” stated Godfrey, who completed 14 of 23 passes for 166 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Even Harris admitted that he didn’t expect to provide the game winning touchdown. “At first I thought we were going to blow them out, but then things just started going bad.”

Despite the Bulldogs turning the ball over on downs at Gilmer’s 26-yard line, the Buckeyes couldn’t take advantage of the defensive stop when Justin Johnson fumbled the football back to Abilene Wylie three plays later at the Buckeyes’ 46-yard line.

With the Bulldogs at Gilmer’s 25-yard line, Chesnut once again provided an out for the Buckeyes’ when he picked off his second pass at the 2-yard line and returned it to the 13-yard line with 5:34 remaining in the half.

The next play started a downward spiral the Buckeyes couldn’t get out of until the fourth quarter. Scrambling backwards under heavy pressure, Godfrey was hit by two Bulldogs’ defenders near the goal line. The football popped free and Wylie linebacker Trevor Casey fell on the ball in the end zone. Despite Gilmer coaches and fans arguing that Godfrey’s arm was moving forward, the officials ruled the play a fumble and rewarded the Bulldogs with a touchdown, cutting the Buckeyes’ lead to 14-7 with 5:23 to play in the half.

Inspired by their defensive touchdown, the Bulldogs held Gilmer’s offense to only 26 yards on the Buckeyes’ next series, forcing a Jake Ashley punt from the Bulldogs 48-yard line.

Ashley’s punt pinned Wylie at their own 13-yard line, and once again the Buckeyes’ Black Flag Defense rose to the occasion, forcing their third turnover of the first half when the Bulldogs’ Cameron Rogers fumbled and Gilmer sophomore linebacker Vance Green recovered the football at the Abilene Wylie 23-yard line with 58 seconds left in the half.

The Bulldogs’ defense rescued Abilene Wylie again when Johnson’s fourth down run came up short and Wylie took over on downs at their own 16-yard line with 28 seconds to go until halftime.

Content in trailing by seven points despite only 79 yards of total offense, the Bulldogs took a knee to run the clock out and go into the locker room trailing 14-7.

Traylor said that he focused on the positive at half-time. “We played bad last week in the first half and we were down seven. This week we played bad and we were up seven,” stated Traylor.

The Buckeyes’ 7-point lead didn’t last long, as the Bulldogs took the opening kickoff and drove 63 yards in 8 plays, scoring on a 1-yard quarterback sneak by Wallace with 8:50 remaining in the third quarter. Bryce Channell’s extra-point kick tied the score at 14.

“We had to come out and stop them in the opening drive,” said Traylor. “Well we didn’t do that. We knew then that momentum was gone.”

“Our kids hung in there and played hard,” said Abilene Wylie head coach Hugh Sandifer. “Gilmer’s got such a good football team that we had to battle back and find a way and we kind of got the momentum going.”

The Buckeyes’ offense remained stuck in neutral on its first series of the second half when Devane Clark fumbled the hand-off exchange with Godfrey on a wide receiver sweep, recovering the loose ball but losing 3 yards. Two plays later Godfrey threw his first interception in nine games, giving Abilene Wylie the football at Gilmer’s 28-yard line.

Four plays later, the Bulldogs’ Cameron Rogers scored from 11 yards out, giving Abilene Wylie a 21-14 lead with 6:09 to play in the third quarter. “Second half I thought we did some things better,” Sandifer said. “We played with more confidence; we played on a short field a couple of times, so we kind of had it going our way.”

“When they pulled ahead of us I told our kids, they think we’re going to go away, and that’s what they’re not used to, because we’re not going to go away,” said Traylor.

Despite Traylor’s admonishment to his team, the Buckeyes’ offense still sputtered on their next series, starting with a 5-yard penalty and ending with a failed fourth-down attempt that gave the football back to the Bulldogs at Gilmer’s own 45-yard line.

The Buckeyes’ defense came to the rescue again, forcing Wylie backwards 4 yards before the Bulldogs punted 4 plays later, returning the ball to the Buckeyes’ offense at the Gilmer 20-yard line.

This time the Buckeyes’ offense put together an impressive 80-yard drive in 8 plays, tying the score on Johnson’s 7-yard run with 11:46 to go in the fourth quarter. “It was a hard game. Their front seven were really good; it was just a battle all night long,” said senior offensive tackle David Snow, who helped the Buckeyes offense pound out 192 rushing yards in the game.

The Bulldogs’ looked ready to answer the Buckeyes’ score right away when Rogers returned the kick into Gilmer territory at the 47-yard line. 12 plays later, Wylie had a 1st-and-goal at the Buckeyes’ 2-yard line. That is when the Black Flag Defense drew their line in the sand. “Jonathan Rockwell made a huge play on the goal line where he just knocked the center backwards on first down; that was a big play. Then Paul Chesnut came back on second down and made a big play,” praised Traylor.

Two plays later the Bulldogs’ Channell lined up for a 25-yard field goal attempt that would have given Abilene Wylie the lead, but the kick veered to the left and the Buckeyes’ took over the football at the 20-yard line with 3:53 to play in the game.

On the Buckeyes’ second play of the possession, Godfrey was sacked for a 19-yard loss back to Gilmer’s own 5-yard line. On the next play, Godfrey tried to hit Harris down the left sideline, but the senior receiver tripped and fell down, allowing Wylie’s Matt Field to intercept the pass and return it to the Buckeyes’ 33-yard line with 2:22 left on the clock.

Once again, Wylie was pushed backwards by the Buckeyes’ defense, losing 4 yards and turning the ball over on downs at Gilmer’s 36-yard line. “The defense played as good as I’ve ever seen them play. They were just relentless, and never would stop,” exclaimed Traylor, who hailed the defense for holding the Bulldogs to only 215 total yards for the game.

“It feels great,” said senior linebacker Brennan Thompson, who finished with 13 tackles and 1 quarterback sack. “We talked about it all week, that we would have to have our best game to win this game.”

“It was just a hard fought win,” said Chesnut, who had 4 tackles and a sack to go with his 2 interceptions. “We kind of struggled on offense and defense, but we fought through and we did it.”

Gilmer’s defensive play set up the Buckeyes’ last-minute heroics. Godfrey started it with a 32-yard gain on a quarterback draw, before throwing the game-winning pass to Harris two plays later. “He’s an amazing competitor,” said Traylor of Godfrey. “His will- power is so strong; our offense just feeds off of him.”

Harris had his own motivation for wanting the ball in his hands at the end of the game. “I really let them down the first time because I caught a screen pass but I didn’t get the extra yards and we turned the ball over. So, I thought if he throws it to me again, I’ve got to score a touchdown,” said Harris.

That thought became a reality once Harris made the first defender miss and turned up field to see who was blocking for him. “I just saw Bus [Justin Johnson] in front of me and I thought there is no way I’m not getting into the end zone with Bus in front of me. He threw a heck of a block and put me into the end zone.”

“We had some chances at the end and it didn’t go our way and Gilmer made some plays and won the game. We wish them all the best and hope they win it all,” said Sandifer, who admitted that the high stakes made the outcome more difficult to bear. “We knew we were playing to play for a championship next week. And when you get this close to play for it all, it hurts. We both have tasted that and we know how hard it is to get there, so it is a tough loss.”

Traylor empathized with his opponent. “We know how they feel. We’ve felt that way the last two years,” said Traylor, who thanked the Bulldogs for their sportsmanship. “I can’t say enough great things about Hugh Sandifer, Abilene Wylie’s fans, Abilene Wylie’s players, everything about Abilene Wylie. I was impressed as I’ve ever been.”

But Traylor saved his greatest accolades for the Black Flag unit. “They were the difference in the ball game. Our defense was just fantastic. They are the reason we’re still playing.”



Mirror Photo / Mary Laschinger Kirby
BUCKEYE DEFENDERS swarm to the loose pigskin after Wylie’s Cameron Rogers fumbled in the semifinal game between Gilmer and Abilene Wylie. Gilmer’s Braylon Webb, Damien Redditt, Brennan Thompson, Ross Stevens, Cody Kern and Vance Green dive after the ball. Green came up with the turnover.



Mirror Photo / Mary Laschinger Kirby
GILMER’S PAUL CHESNUT grabs an interception off Wylie QB Jared Wallace in the second quarter to stop a drive.

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