Skip to main content

Buckeyes dominate New Boston in final scrimmage

By JOE DODD

The Gilmer Buckeyes’ lightning quick offense dominated the New Boston Lions Thursday night before real lightning sent the two teams home early in the final tune-up before the start of the regular season.
The Buckeyes scored six touchdowns in the controlled portion of the scrimmage and had just scored their first touchdown under game conditions when lightning lit up the sky around Lion Stadium, forcing officials to end the scrimmage.
“We really wanted to get to play game situation,” lamented Gilmer head coach Jeff Traylor. “I hate going into Jasper without getting more game situation. We got a little bit, but not near what we wanted.”
The Lions didn’t get what they wanted either, as the Buckeyes scored early and often, racking up 574 total yards on 42 plays.
“I thought we were a lot sharper tonight offensively than we were against Atlanta; much sharper,” said Traylor.
After completing only 16 of 34 passes last week against Atlanta, the Buckeyes connected on 20 of 26 passes for 453 yards and 6 touchdowns against the Lions. Starting quarterback Stump Godfrey threw two of those touchdowns to Ben Griffith and one to Gus Osborne, while back-up signal-caller Braylon Webb hit Tristan Holt, Osborne and J.T. Beecham with scoring strikes.
Godfrey had the Buckeyes lone rushing touchdown on a 5-yard run and had a 70-yard touchdown run called back on a holding penalty away from the play. Gilmer finished with 121 rushing yards on 16 carries.
While Traylor was pleased with the offense’s improvement since the last scrimmage, he was unhappy with the progress of the defense. “I didn’t think we were near as physical on defense,” Traylor stated. “I think we took a step backward defensively. We played pretty well but I just didn’t think we had that intensity like we did against Atlanta.”
After holding Atlanta to only 70 total yards on 53 plays last week, the Buckeyes’ defense allowed 147 total yards on 43 plays to the Lions. Gilmer also forced 7 turnovers last week compared to only 2 against the Lions.
Traylor did admit that the Lions had something to do with the defense’s trouble. “They hit a few plays,” said Traylor. “They’re well coached. They do a good job coaching.”
The Buckeyes will face Jasper Friday, Aug. 28 at 7:30 p.m. in Nacogdoches; a regular season opener that can’t get here soon enough according to Traylor. “I can tell we’re ready to play a real game,” Traylor said. “I mean we’re not ready, but our kids need the excitement of a real game.”

LUNCH WITH COACH TRAYLOR


This feature of Gilmer Athletic Booster Club membership begins Wednesday, Aug. 26, at 12 noon at the Gilmer Country Club and will continue for the entire season.

THE ZONE: 'Super Six'

Longview News-Journal: Lobos, Buckeyes, Tigers ranked No. 1

No questions at quarterback for Buckeyes

Tyler Morning Telegraph: Texas Football Ranks 4 East Texas Teams as Tops in Its Class


Mirror Photo / Mary Laschinger Kirby
SCORING THE FIRST touchdown of the scrimmage, Gilmer’s Stump Godfrey pushes into the end zone despite the efforts of New Boston’s Brandon Raney. Gilmer outpaced the Lions 6-0 in the controlled portion of the workout Thursday.


Mirror Photo / Mary Laschinger Kirby
GILMER BACK Vance Green cuts around his blockers and heads up field past an empty-handed New Boston Lion during the abbreviated scrimmage there Thursday evening.


Mirror Photo / Mary Laschinger Kirby
GRABBING AS BEST he can, a New Boston tackler puts a choke hold on Gilmer’s Gus Osborne and rides him out of bounds when the fleet-footed running back broke into the open during the controlled scrimmage Thursday.


Mirror Photo / Mary Laschinger Kirby
BUCKEYE RECEIVER Ben Griffith high steps into the end zone after breaking a New Boston tackle to score one of the six touchdowns Gilmer had in the controlled portion of the scrimmage. Lightning Thursday night cut short the game simulation phase.

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