Skip to main content

7-on-7 tourney held at stadium

By JOE DODD

BUCKEYE STADIUM — The Sulphur Springs Wildcats played spoiler for the second consecutive year, knocking the host Buckeyes out in the semifinals and going on to win the 8th annual Gilmer Buckeyes 7-on-7 Tournament for the second time in as many years.

Gilmer's varsity squad, led by returning quarterback Darian “Stump” Godfrey, finished with a 3-0 record in pool play before losing to the Wildcats 42-22. The Buckeyes downed White Oak 47-18 in their first game. Then Gilmer defeated Pittsburg 33-6, before blanking Troup 40-0.

“We did some good things, and we did some bad things,” said Gilmer head coach Jeff Traylor. “We would have liked to have won, but Sulphur Springs is a good team.”

Traylor praised the play of Wildcats quarterback Tyrik Rollison, who is considered to be one of the nation's top recruits for 2009. “I thought it was exciting watching Sulphur Springs’ quarterback,” Traylor said. “I thought it was good for Stump to see that kid. Stump really watched him and studied him from the press box.”

Gilmer's Junior Varsity team finished with a 2-2 record, losing only to varsity squads from Tyler's Grace Prep and Como-Pickton, while defeating Pittsburg and Sulphur Springs. The Buckeyes' freshman squad won their division with a perfect 3-0 record; beating Sulphur Springs once and Whitehouse twice.

“What I was excited about were the numbers of kids participating,” said Traylor. “We had 20 freshmen kids, 20 JV kids and about 20 varsity kids playing, so we had about 60 skill kids participating. We also had linemen competing in the lineman's challenge, so we had about 75 kids competing on a Saturday.”

Gilmer's Dakota Hagler won the varsity division of the lineman's challenge, while the Buckeyes' Michael Boddie captured the junior varsity title. “We'll only be as good as our linemen,” commented Traylor. “That's the way it's always been and always will be. They're the ones that hit somebody every play; the rest of them hit somebody sometimes.” The Buckeyes' 7-on-7 team will participate in the East Texas Baptist University Tournament in Marshall on Saturday, May 31.





Mirror Photos / M.L. Kirby
GILMER’S Tristen Holt above is stopped by a clutch of shirtless Pittsburg Pirates, while in top photo Buckeyes QB Darian Godfrey throws to a receiver during that same game in pool play Saturday morning (May 17). Sulphur Springs eliminated Gilmer in the semifinals to win the 8th annual Gilmer Buckeyes 7-on-7 Tournament for the second year in a row.

Buckeyes win ETBU 7-0n-7 tournament



By JOE DODD

The Gilmer Buckeyes' 7-on-7 team closed out their spring season as champions of the East Texas Baptist University 7-on-7 tournament Saturday, May 31.

“We were disappointed with our play in our own tournament,” admitted Gilmer head coach Jeff Traylor. “So they really worked hard the last couple of weeks getting ready for this tournament.”

Sulphur Springs beat the Buckeyes 42-22 in the semifinals of the Gilmer tournament two weeks ago.

And like two weeks ago, the Buckeyes finished with a 3-0 record in pool play before advancing to the playoff bracket. Gilmer blanked Jefferson 30-0 in game one, then outlasted Pine Tree 33-27, before blowing out Shelbyville 42-14.

But unlike two weeks ago, Gilmer managed to overcome a difficult playoff opponent in the first round. Despite being down two touchdowns, the Buckeyes came from behind to beat Marshall 40-34 in overtime. “That was a big win,” said Traylor. “I was just so proud of our effort.”

Pittsburg was no match for the Buckeyes, losing 48-0 in the semifinals. Gilmer then rolled over Carthage 33-6 to take home the championship trophy. “Carthage was just physically spent, and our kids still had a lot left in the tank,” praised Traylor.
The Buckeyes' efforts were helped by the return of several players who missed the Gilmer tournament while competing in the baseball playoffs. “Our depth and our effort just wore out the other teams,” said Traylor. “We took 20 kids over there and we played all 20 of them; everybody played a lot.”

“I was excited for our kids because they played hard, and they prepared hard for that tournament,” Traylor continued. “It was good for our kids to go out on a positive note for the summer.”

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

How Gilmer came to be known as the Buckeyes

By JOE BLOUNT Long before the birth of Christ the buckeye was known to have medicinal value. The nutlike seed, found abundantly on shrubs here in East Texas, first got its notoriety as a curative agent from the Greco-Roman culture. Their god of medicine was Aesculapian. Even today botanical scientists place the buckeye within the genus Aesculus, recognize it as a member of the horse-chestnut family and are still highly puzzled by its many and varied phytochemicals. “Phyto,” as you may recall from biology, simply means “from plants.” There are a great number of antioxidants and maintenance chemicals found in the buckeye’s pulp. There are also many toxic compounds and several of the substances are downright poisonous. Early Greek docs would skin the buckeye and boil the endosperm, producing a brew that was taken internally. Most often, just as the case may still be today, the cure inevitably turned out to be worse than the disease. So now, we see that the buckeye is poisonous. We also b

Gilmer Buckeyes to play for the state championship tonight

By JOE DODD The top ranked and undefeated Gilmer Buckeyes will try to win the school’s second state championship when they face the Abilene Wylie Bulldogs today at Gerald J. Ford Stadium on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. The matchup between the Buckeyes and the Bulldogs in the final state title game this decade is a fitting tribute to the two most dominant teams in class 3A since 2000. Gilmer has won more games this decade than any other class 3A team, going 111-17 since 2000. Abilene Wylie is close behind with a 106-26 record. The Buckeyes and Bulldogs will be playing in their third state final in the last 10 years. Both teams won a state title in 2004. Gilmer and Abilene Wylie have combined for nine semifinal appearances this decade, including the 2007 Class 3A Division I semifinal that pitted the two teams against each other for the first time. That game wasn’t decided until the Buckeyes’ Lamar Harris scored on a 34-yard pass

Buckeyes in title game against Abilene Wylie

The Gilmer Buckeyes (14-0) will take on the Abilene Wylie Bulldogs (12-1) on Saturday, Dec. 12, at 6 p.m. The game will be played at Gerald J. Ford Stadium on the campus of Southern Methodist University in University Park, a municipality within the city of Dallas. This is the UIL Class 3A Division I state championship game. It is the second time in the last three years Gilmer has qualified to play for the state title in Division I. Gates will open at 4:30 p.m. Tickets at the gate are $10. Advance tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for students. They went on sale Tuesday at 8 a.m. at the Gilmer ISD Admiministration Building on Trinity St. and sales will continue through 3 p.m. Thursday. General parking is $5 with several lots avail­able. Gilmer is the visiting team and will be wearing white. Joe Dodd’s preview of this game with comments from the coaches will be published in Saturday’s Mirror. BUCKEYE TICKET LINE: 841-7777 LUNCH WITH THE COACH: Noon Wednesday, Buckeyes Booster Club meets