From the Longview News-Journal:
Buckeyes win battle of No. 1s
From the Tyler Morning Telegraph:
Gilmer Drills Daingerfield Tigers
From CoachesAid:
Gilmer beats Daingerfield in battle of No. 1s
From KLTV's The Red Zone:
From KETKnbc:
Gilmer Still The One
From MaxPreps:
Box Score: Daingerfield @ Gilmer
From The Gilmer Mirror:
By JOE DODD
The Gilmer Buckeyes used a balanced offense and a stingy defense to defeat the Daingerfield Tigers 43-20 Friday night, in a game featuring the top-ranked teams in Class 2A and 3A.
The Buckeyes, the top-ranked team in Class 3A, improved their record to 5-0 and extended their home winning streak to 32 games. The Tigers, Class 2A’s top-ranked team, fell to 4-1 on the season and saw their own winning streak end at 15 games.
Gilmer’s offense picked up 216 yards through the air and 215 yards on the ground on an even 32 passes and 32 rushes.
Gilmer’s defense allowed Daingerfield a first-drive touchdown and then shut the door on the Tigers’ scoring until the game was well in hand.
“We knew how good they are,” said Daingerfield head coach Barry Bowman, who led the Tigers to a state championship last year in his first season as the Tigers’ head coach.
“I’m not taking anything away from the people that we’ve played. We play a tough schedule,” said Bowman, who is 6-2 against Cass 3A teams. “This is the best team we’ve seen, and it will be the best team we will see, it doesn’t matter how long we play.”
Gilmer head coach Jeff Traylor, who improved his record to 8-3 against Daingerfield, praised the Tigers’ effort against the Buckeyes. “They really got after us,” said Traylor. “Coach Bowman does a wonderful job and the kids play hard for him. We knew they we’re going to give us all we could handle and they did.”
The Buckeyes entered the game with heavy hearts as long-time play-by-play announcer Matt Camp passed away the day before, after a 3-year battle with cancer. Camp’s 9-year old son Cade was asked to call the coin flip for the Buckeyes and won the toss.
“He was a big part of the program,” said Gilmer quarterback Stump Godfrey when asked about Camp. “He gave us great motivation. He was the one who came up with our motto. We play every game for him; to honor him.”
Gilmer’s Tristan Holt got the Buckeyes in good field position with a 57-yard return to the Tigers’ 40-yard line. Six plays later, Holt was on the receiving end of a perfect 16-yard touchdown pass from Godfrey. The Buckeyes faked the extra point attempt and Chris Miller ran into the end zone untouched for the 2-point conversion and an 8-0 Gilmer lead with 9:43 to play in the first quarter.
Daingerfield responded in Gilmer-like fashion. After David Mims’ kickoff return to the Tigers’ 35-yard line, quarterback Tyler Boyd picked up 27 yards on first down. Boyd then flipped a screen pass out to wide receiver Chris Jones, who exploded down the sideline for a 38-yard touchdown. The Tigers’ 2-point conversion attempt was incomplete, and the Tigers trailed 8-6 with 9:04 left in the first quarter.
The defenses dominated the rest of the first quarter, with the Buckeyes and Tigers punting on each of their next two possessions. Daingerfield’s defense relied on confusion, coming out in a formation with three players lined up back to back over Gilmer’s center.
“I don’t know that I’ve ever seen anybody do that,” admitted Traylor. “I’ve never seen anyone stack them all in a row. It was just kind of a junk defense and it kind of threw us for a loop.”
The Buckeyes got back on the scoreboard on the first play of the second quarter with a little trickery of their own, as they came out of the break in a swinging gate formation. Vance Green took the direct snap from the Tigers’ 26-yard line and followed a wall of Buckeyes’ blockers untouched into the end zone. Adan Olivares kicked the first of five successful PATs for a 15-6 Gilmer lead with 11:56 remaining in the first half.
Green, the converted linebacker, finished with 91 yards rushing on only nine carries and added another 31 yards on three receptions. “I’m getting comfortable. I’m getting it down now. I know what I’m doing,” said Green, who took over starting running back duties when Gus Osborne went down in the season’s first game.
The Tigers were forced to punt on their next possession also, giving the Buckeyes the ball back at their own 30-yard line. Gilmer covered the 70 yards in nine plays, ending with Godfrey connecting with his cousin Tevin Godfrey on a diving catch for an 18-yard touchdown, and a 22-6 advantage with 6:13 to go in the first half.
Tevin Godfrey finished the game with three receptions for 42 yards, almost doubling his first-4-game totals of 52 yards on five catches. “It was just my time,” said Tevin Godfrey. “Hard work never goes unnoticed; so you’ve got to keep on working and you’ll get your time.”
Gilmer’s defense continued their hard work, stopping the Tigers next possession four plays later when Marlon Granville intercepted Boyd’s pass at the Buckeyes’ own 33-yard line.
Daingerfield returned the favor four plays later when Mims intercepted a deep Godfrey pass intended for Holt at the Tigers’ 15-yard line and returned it all the way to the Gilmer 45-yard line.
A big pass from Boyd to Jones got Daingerfield inside the Buckeyes’ 15-yard line, but three plays later Gilmer’s Jasper Cox recovered a Tigers’ fumble at the 5-yard line to end the scoring threat.
“We had a chance to get it in and we fumbled the ball down inside the five. I thought that was a big play,” confessed Bowman, as the Tigers went into halftime trailing 22-6.
Down by 16, Daingerfield hoped to take the second-half kickoff and make it a one-score ball game, but Gilmer’s Black Flag Defense had other ideas. The Buckeyes pushed the Tigers back a yard on their first three plays to force a punt from the Daingerfield 24-yard line. Gilmer’s Josh Gordon blocked Boyd’s punt and the Buckeyes’ offense took over at the Tigers’ 11-yard line.
“Our defense stepped up when theirs didn’t. That’s what changed the game,” said Godfrey, who scored two plays later on a 2-yard quarterback keeper for a 29-6 lead with 10:25 left in the third quarter.
“The blocked punt kind of put the game away,” said Traylor, who praised his defense. “To hold those guys to 20 points, as good as their skill kids are; our defense is just really good.”
Gilmer’s defense bent but didn’t break on Daingerfield’s next drive, stopping the Tigers on a 4th and 12 at the Buckeyes’ 17-yard line when Boyd’s pass to Jones fell incomplete.
Gilmer’s offense managed to move the ball to midfield before Luke Turner’s punt pinned the Tigers back at their own 18-yard line.
The Black Flag Defense then forced another three-and-out series of the game, making Daingerfield punt from their own end zone. The punt rolled to the Tigers’ 39-yard line, giving the Buckeyes excellent field position.
Gilmer covered that distance in four plays, with Holt scoring on a 4-yard run with 2:24 to go in the third quarter, pushing Gilmer’s lead to 36-6.
Daingerfield’s offense finally got back on track the next possession, going 56 yards in 8 plays. Jones dazzled the standing-room-only crowd with an amazing 28-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 36-12 with 11:42 left in the fourth quarter.
Jones, a University of Texas commitment, finished with 140 total yards and two touchdowns on only eight touches. “He’s on a whole other planet,” marveled Traylor, who also praised Boyd and Smith for their performance. “I have unbelievable respect for those two; they never quit. They just keep playing so hard. They’re three of the best players we’ve played against.”
Not to be out done, Gilmer’s offense responded with a 91-yard, 7-play drive, punctuated by Granville’s explosive 55-yard touchdown run for a 43-12 lead with 9:15 to play in the game.
Daingerfield replied with a 71-yard, 9-play scoring drive that ate 4:41 off the clock before Boyd connected with Keyarris Garrett on a 23-yard touchdown pass. The Tigers’ 2-point conversion was good to make the final score 43-20.
“I’m proud of the fact that we did not stop playing until the game was over,” said Bowman, who fell to 0-2 against the Buckeyes.
Traylor gave all of the credit to his team. “It really comes down to the players. Our kids just made more plays than their kids did.”
One of those players was Stump Godfrey, who surpassed 9,000 total yards in his career with his 279 yards against the Tigers. “Now we go into the bye week and just practice on the things we need to improve on,” said Godfrey. “We don’t have to worry about anything. It’s a good feeling.”
STATISTICS
Daingerfield Gilmer
18 First downs 23
41-234 Rushes-yds 32-215
11-25-2-1 Passing 24-32-2-1
110 Passing yds 216
344 Total yds 431
1 Fumbles lost 2
26:36 Time of possession 21:24
5-45 Penalties-yds 5-55
SCORE BY QUARTERS
1 2 3 4 T
D’field 6 0 0 14 20
Gilmer 8 14 14 7 43
Courtesy Photo
CADE CAMP, 9-year-old son of Gilmer Buckeyes broadcaster Matt Camp, who passed away last Thursday morning at the age of 38 after a courageous battle against cancer, has just called the coin toss for Gilmer before last Friday night’s game here between the Buckeyes and Daingerfield. Gilmer won the toss and, of course, elected to receive. Standing next to young Camp is Gilmer QB Darian “Stump” Godfrey, one of the team’s captains, who said the team is playing every game for his father in order to honor him. The Buckeyes were honorary pallbearers at Matt Camp’s funeral Sunday afternoon, Sept. 27, which filled the First Baptist Church in downtown Gilmer to capacity. Hundreds more watched the service on a big-screen TV in another nearby church building.
Mirror Photo / Mary Laschinger Kirby
BUCKEYE MARLON GRANVILLE follows the blocks of Dustin Hardin (55) and Caleb Denton (52) for a gain. Barry Kennedy (56) has already made his block. Granville broke free in the fourth quarter for 55 yards and the last Gilmer touchdown as Gilmer defeated Daingerfield 43-20.
Gilmer Buckeye Band and Stars Drill Team:
Part 1
Part 2
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