Skip to main content

DEZign8


By ELWYN HENDERSON

Mirror Photos / Mary Laschinger Kirby<br> DESTINY BROOKS, left, and DIMITRI FORT remind everyone at the pep rally Wednesday night what is foremost in Gilmer students' minds about the state championship game Friday. Kickoff is at 12 noon. If you cannot make it to the game, you can watch the live telecast on FOX Sports Southwest (Channel 25 on Etex).
Mirror Photos / Mary Laschinger Kirby
DESTINY BROOKS, left, and DIMITRI FORT remind everyone at the pep rally Wednesday night what is foremost in Gilmer students' minds about the state championship game Friday. Kickoff is at 12 noon. If you cannot make it to the game, you can watch the live telecast on FOX Sports Southwest (Channel 25 on Etex).
Just as he has been dancing through the defenses opposing Gilmer all season long, CHASE TATE takes to the gym floor to dance while the Buckeye Band drumline entertains during the pep rally Wednesday night sending the Buckeyes off to the 4A Division II State Championship Game at AT&T Stadium Friday.
Just as he has been dancing through the defenses opposing Gilmer all season long, CHASE TATE takes to the gym floor to dance while the Buckeye Band drumline entertains during the pep rally Wednesday night sending the Buckeyes off to the 4A Division II State Championship Game at AT&T Stadium Friday.
COACH JEFF TRAYLOR waves to those gathered around the square in downtown Gilmer during the Buckeyes Sendoff to Arlington Thursday.
COACH JEFF TRAYLOR waves to those gathered around the square in downtown Gilmer during the Buckeyes Sendoff to Arlington Thursday.
ONE of the two chartered buses loaded with Gilmer Buckeyes which proceeded around the square before heading Thursday afternoon to an undisclosed hotel near AT&T Stadium.
ONE of the two chartered buses loaded with Gilmer Buckeyes which proceeded around the square before heading Thursday afternoon to an undisclosed hotel near AT&T Stadium.






I have been a Gilmer Buckeye since birth in 1955, and have been blessed to have been able to see countless Buckeye football games through the years. Quite by accident back in 1974, shortly after I graduated from Gilmer High School, I ended up working for KHYM Radio in Gilmer. I began in advertising sales, then added news and sports duties, and finally began doing color commentary on the tape-delayed broadcasts of the games back in 1975.

The first couple of years I had the fortune of being able to work beside the silver-throated Jay Dugger, who always provided a chuckle or two during every broadcast. For a number of years, my good friend Ronnie Morrison was the play-by-play man and I assisted him. Ultimately, I took over the play-by-play duties and was assisted through the years by a number of gentlemen who did a superb job.

The years that I enjoyed most were the years we did the delayed video broadcasts on Gilmer Cable TV. Russ Greene of The Gilmer Mirror was my very talented partner. Without a doubt, those were my favorite years because most of them were in the Jeff Traylor era when the Buckeye Football Program put our town on the map in a positive way that will never be forgotten by Gilmer Buckeye fans.

I have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly of Buckeye Football. I called games that we lost by as much as 72 points, and called victories that included several deep playoff runs and a State Championship.

I was at Buckeye Stadium as a young eighth grader the night the very talented Eddie Ray Hayes suffered a concussion that would tragically take his young life. I remember the ambulance getting stuck on the football field as the emergency team was frantically trying to get him help to save his life.

I remember the tragic loss of the brave young man Josh Nelson, who the Buckeyes dedicated a successful season to. I remember the exciting 2004 season when Manuel Johnson led the “Kui” team to an unexpected undefeated State Championship, the first in the history of Gilmer Buckeye Football.

I decided after the 2005 season after nearly 30 years of doing Gilmer game broadcasts that it was time I turned things over to the next generation, and was proud to see Matt Camp pick up the baton and keep things rolling with his quality broadcasting of the games, and I remember his tragic departure in 2009 at a young age. I also remember the “MC” theme of that year and how it propelled the Buckeyes to their second State Championship trophy.


Read more: The Gilmer Mirror - DEZign8

Comments

Post a Comment

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
Post a Comment
Read more

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
Post a Comment
Read more

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
Post a Comment
Read more