Skip to main content

Buckeyes reload for 2012



Mirror Photos / Mary Laschinger Kirby
HIGH CLOUDS help cool summer temperatures to the low 90s as the Gilmer Buckeyes open their football practices Monday under the watchful eye of Head Coach/Athletic Director Jeff Traylor. Tanner Barr looks back at Josh Walker as the line blocks during the opening series of downs. In photo below, taking a break after opening drills are, from left, Blake Rice, Justin Vestal, William Harrison; Britt Rice, standing; Jason Thorpe, Jackson McQueen and Christian Loyd. MaxPreps recently rated the Buckeyes as one of the 10 most consistent high school football programs in Texas. They are 134-22 since 2000 with three appearances in the state championship game, winning it twice. Gilmer opens the season in Tyler against Atlanta on Thursday, Aug. 30.







Mirror Photo / Mary Laschinger Kirby
CATCHING A PASS during the first drill of the season, Devondrick Dixon heads downfield as the Gilmer Buckeyes battle for starting positions in the 2012 football season. The Buckeyes’ first scrimmage of 2012 will be against the Whitehouse Wildcats there on Friday, Aug. 17. They will then return home to Buckeye Stadium to scrimmage the New Boston Lions on Thursday, Aug. 23.



Mirror Photo / Mary Laschinger Kirby
RUSHING THROUGH the defense, black-clad Adrian Johnson moves in the open field during the first day of practice for the Gilmer Buckeyes Monday. Coach Jo Ed Bowin, left, moves to get out of way of the running back. Multiple players are battling for the starting job as the ball carrier for Gilmer as the coaches rebuild the offense.



Mirror Photo
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM approaches Buckeye Stadium shortly before 8 p.m. Thursday. Gilmer Head Coach Jeff Traylor said the Buckeyes had already concluded the outdoor portion of football practice that day and were in the Field House studying game video. The heavy weather this week was, in fact, a welcome contrast with what the players and coaches had to go through during the first week of practices in 2011 when the high temperatures under mostly cloudless skies here averaged in excess of 105 degrees. The forecast for the annual Meet the Buckeyes rally at the stadium at 7 p.m. Saturday is for clear skies and temperatures in the low 90s.

Meet the Buckeyes Saturday

Meet the Buckeyes will kick off 7 p.m. Saturday when the Buckeye Band and the Stars march into Buckeye Stadium for the national anthem.
Cheerleaders, Stars, the volleyball squads, crosscountry, and the three football squads: freshmen, junior varsity and varsity will be introduced by their respective coaches.
After the school song concludes the public portion of the program at 8:10, parents will meet with their students’ coaches, football from seventh grade through varsity in the field house and volleyball at the gymnasium.
Special appreciation is offered by the Buckeye Boosters for the assistance given by Etex Communications, First National Bank and Mike Craig Ford in assisting with the cost of feeding the almost 300 students involve in the affair.
Reserve seat tickets will go on sale Aug. 20 through Aug. 24 at the Field House, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.



Also: 2012 LSG Texas High School Football Team Preview — Gilmer Buckeyes

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