By JOE DODD
To understand just how thoroughly the Gilmer Buckeyes dominated the Spring Hill Panthers, you just have to look at the numbers. Gilmer quarterback G.J. Kinne passed for 429 yards and five touchdowns. The Buckeyes’ offense had 457 total yards, while the Buckeyes’ defense held the Panthers to only 112 total yards. And those were only the first-half statistics, as Gilmer jumped out to a 41-7 lead at intermission, on their way to a 55-7 victory over the Panthers.
Kinne finished with 456 yards passing and five touchdowns, while completing 15 of 21 passes. The Buckeyes’ offense finished with a season-high 684 total yards, including 211 yards rushing, as Gilmer improved their season record to 9-0 and their district record to 4-0. Spring Hill managed just 176 total yards, as the Panthers fell to 5-4 for the season, and 3-1 in district play. The win was the Buckeyes’ 28th straight in district play, dating back to the 2000 season; and the team’s 20th consecutive win at Buckeye Stadium. Gilmer’s last loss at home was in 2002.
“I was surprised at my own team,” said Gilmer head coach Jeff Traylor. “We were so physical. We were really dominating the football game in every aspect; and that was a pleasant surprise to me. I knew we were going to play, but I didn’t know we were going to play at that level. I was as surprised as anyone at halftime.”
While Traylor was pleasantly surprised, the Panthers were shell-shocked. Buckeyes’ senior receiver Curtis Brown, who had missed the last three games due to an injury, made his presence known on the third play of the game, when he streaked up the home sideline, and Kinne hit him in stride for a 74-yard touchdown just 55 seconds into the game. Brown finished with 158 yards on only three receptions in limited action. “He’s what makes it go,” said Kinne about Brown’s return to the offense. “When he’s back, he’s definitely the go-to guy. I just have to throw it up to him and he’s going to go make a play.”
Traylor echoed his quarterback’s thoughts. “He’s our leader, so I think the kids were excited to see him back out there. We were going to try and get him involved early, and try to get him in the end zone, so that worked out really well.”
For Brown, who has committed to play for the Texas Longhorns next season; his return came just in time to play in his final game at Buckeye Stadium. “I can’t believe it. It seems like I just started. It’s over so fast. What happened to the time?”
It was definitely over fast for the Panthers who suffered three-and-out drives on their first two possessions. The Buckeyes took advantage with a 27-yard Matt Burgin field goal, and a 12-yard Kinne to Jamell Kennedy touchdown pass, to take a 17-0 first quarter lead.
The next two Spring Hill drives ended with the Panthers turning the ball over on downs. Gilmer needed just five plays to score their next two touchdowns, as Kinne dumped off a short pass to running back Justin Johnson, who ran it in for the score from 57 yards out with 10:44 to play in the half. Then Kinne hit Lamar Harris on a quick-strike 8-yard touchdown with 5:53 left in the half.
Three plays later, the Buckeyes’ Dustin Jones intercepted a Chris Lee pass at the 46-yard line and returned it to the Spring Hill 14-yard line before being forced out of bounds. Kinne found Ross Stevens on the very next play for a touchdown, but the Buckeyes were penalized on the play for holding, moving the ball back to the 24-yard line. Two sacks and a penalty on the next three plays, moved the Buckeyes back to the 39-yard line to face third down with 35 yards to go. Kinne’s pass to Johnson gained 27 yards, but was well short of a first down, so Burgin punched a 30-yard field goal with 2:07 remaining in the half.
The Panthers’ Jacob LeTourneau returned the kickoff to the Gilmer 30-yard line, and Spring Hill scored their only touchdown of the night four plays later when Lee snuck it in from a yard out, cutting the Buckeyes’ lead to 34-7 with only 48 seconds to play.
But 48 seconds is more than enough time for the Buckeyes to score, even when they start from their own 26-yard line.
Following a Kinne run for four yards, the Buckeyes turned to Brennan Thompson to cover the remaining 70 yards, as the junior receiver had catches of 15, 9 and 46 yards, the last coming on a spectacular catch on a jump ball in the end zone. Thompson took the ball out of the hands of a Panther defender for the touchdown, giving Gilmer the 41-7 lead at the half.
Thompson was the fifth Buckeye on the receiving end of a Kinne touchdown pass in the first half.
“I just read my progressions and gave it to athletes and let them run. I didn’t really do anything too special,” said Kinne. “The stats are all good and everything, but just coming out here and dominating the first half that was pretty amazing for me.”
“Our game plan was to come in throwing it,” admitted Traylor. “We had a good feeling we were going to have some good mismatches back there. We had prepared Justin that we were going to go to the air a lot.” That turned out to be good for Justin Johnson, who finished with a team-high 176 yards receiving on five catches, to go along with his seven rushes for 40 yards.
“They had seven in the box and we were prepared for that, we knew that the running was going to be tough,” said Justin Johnson. “The screen passes out to the running back helped tonight; there were some big plays made off of them.” Four of Justin Johnson’s catches went for 29, 63, 57 and 27 yards respectively for the junior running back, who usually went uncovered by the Panthers defense. “That’s the exciting part; you turn around and all you can see is two of your players and one of their players, you get happy and see the end zone,” said Johnson.
Justin Johnson and the rest of the Buckeyes’ starters may have seen the end zone five times in the first half, but they only saw the field for one possession in the second half as Spring Hill held the ball for most of the third and fourth quarters. Kinne and company’s lone appearance in the second half lasted all of 3:36 before the Buckeyes turned the football over on downs for the only time of the night.
The Panthers offense fared worse, as the Black Flag defense forced three more turnovers in the second half, including interceptions by Kezie Camp and Jules Johnson, and a fumble recovery by Wes Wynne. The Buckeyes’ defense limited Spring Hill to only 81 yards rushing and 95 yards passing for the game. “That was our best game of the year defensively I thought, as far as our energy level and the way we hit,” praised Traylor.
Jules Johnson and Arsenial Richardson led the Buckeyes’ defense with 11 tackles each; while Dominique Buchanan, Dunterious Goodman, Donte Harris and Kodey Wear each had seven tackles.
The Buckeyes’ two other possessions of the seconnd half ended in touchdowns, as freshman quarterback Stump Godfrey led the offense to 163 total yards on only five plays. Godfrey and sophomore running back Josh Thompson took turns running the football on the first drive, before Godfrey let loose his only pass of the game, a 17-yard touchdown to Camp that made the score 48-7 with 5:33 left to play in the game.
Gilmer’s final touchdown came on a 73-yard run by Godfrey with 2:09 to play, and gave Godfrey 119 rushing yards on only 3 carries. “Stump Godfrey gets better every week,” marveled Traylor. “He really played well.”
Traylor continued the accolades for his offense by praising his front five. “Our offensive line never gets enough credit. Chip Elms does a great job of snapping the football. He’s the leader of that group. He gets us checked into all of our coverages correctly. He doesn’t get near enough credit,” stated Traylor, who added, “Daniel Jenkins had another good game at tackle.”
Traylor finished his thoughts on the Spring Hill win by commenting on his team’s 20 straight wins at home. “That’s pretty remarkable” said Traylor. “That’s why this game Friday (at Gladewater) will be big for us because it could be our sixth consecutive district championship which is just remarkable when you think about it.”
STATISTICS
Spring Hill Gilmer
11 First downs 18
33-81 Rushes-yds 20-211
10-24-3 Passing 16-22-0
95 Passing yds 473
176 Total yds 684
2-10 Penalties-yds 9-63
1 Fumbles lost 0
29:11 Time of possession 18:49
SCORE BY QUARTERS
1 2 3 4 T
Spring Hill 0 7 0 0 7
Gilmer 17 24 0 14 55
Mirror Photo / Mary Laschinger Kirby
G.J. KINNE rolls out to pass against Spring Hill on Nov. 3 at Buckeye Stadium. The Buckeyes' QB passed for 456 yards and five TDs.
Mirror Photos / Mary Laschinger Kirby
BRENNAN THOMPSON (12) makes a spectacular catch of a G.J. Kinne bomb for a 46-yard touchdown and CURTIS BROWN (3) breaks a tackle on his way to a gain of 40 yards to set up a field goal. The Buckeyes (9-0; 4-0) blasted the Spring Hill Panthers last Friday night, 55-7, at Buckeye Stadium. Gilmer closes out the regular season Friday night against Gladewater (4-5; 3-1) there. See Pages 6-7A for more on the Buckeyes.
To understand just how thoroughly the Gilmer Buckeyes dominated the Spring Hill Panthers, you just have to look at the numbers. Gilmer quarterback G.J. Kinne passed for 429 yards and five touchdowns. The Buckeyes’ offense had 457 total yards, while the Buckeyes’ defense held the Panthers to only 112 total yards. And those were only the first-half statistics, as Gilmer jumped out to a 41-7 lead at intermission, on their way to a 55-7 victory over the Panthers.
Kinne finished with 456 yards passing and five touchdowns, while completing 15 of 21 passes. The Buckeyes’ offense finished with a season-high 684 total yards, including 211 yards rushing, as Gilmer improved their season record to 9-0 and their district record to 4-0. Spring Hill managed just 176 total yards, as the Panthers fell to 5-4 for the season, and 3-1 in district play. The win was the Buckeyes’ 28th straight in district play, dating back to the 2000 season; and the team’s 20th consecutive win at Buckeye Stadium. Gilmer’s last loss at home was in 2002.
“I was surprised at my own team,” said Gilmer head coach Jeff Traylor. “We were so physical. We were really dominating the football game in every aspect; and that was a pleasant surprise to me. I knew we were going to play, but I didn’t know we were going to play at that level. I was as surprised as anyone at halftime.”
While Traylor was pleasantly surprised, the Panthers were shell-shocked. Buckeyes’ senior receiver Curtis Brown, who had missed the last three games due to an injury, made his presence known on the third play of the game, when he streaked up the home sideline, and Kinne hit him in stride for a 74-yard touchdown just 55 seconds into the game. Brown finished with 158 yards on only three receptions in limited action. “He’s what makes it go,” said Kinne about Brown’s return to the offense. “When he’s back, he’s definitely the go-to guy. I just have to throw it up to him and he’s going to go make a play.”
Traylor echoed his quarterback’s thoughts. “He’s our leader, so I think the kids were excited to see him back out there. We were going to try and get him involved early, and try to get him in the end zone, so that worked out really well.”
For Brown, who has committed to play for the Texas Longhorns next season; his return came just in time to play in his final game at Buckeye Stadium. “I can’t believe it. It seems like I just started. It’s over so fast. What happened to the time?”
It was definitely over fast for the Panthers who suffered three-and-out drives on their first two possessions. The Buckeyes took advantage with a 27-yard Matt Burgin field goal, and a 12-yard Kinne to Jamell Kennedy touchdown pass, to take a 17-0 first quarter lead.
The next two Spring Hill drives ended with the Panthers turning the ball over on downs. Gilmer needed just five plays to score their next two touchdowns, as Kinne dumped off a short pass to running back Justin Johnson, who ran it in for the score from 57 yards out with 10:44 to play in the half. Then Kinne hit Lamar Harris on a quick-strike 8-yard touchdown with 5:53 left in the half.
Three plays later, the Buckeyes’ Dustin Jones intercepted a Chris Lee pass at the 46-yard line and returned it to the Spring Hill 14-yard line before being forced out of bounds. Kinne found Ross Stevens on the very next play for a touchdown, but the Buckeyes were penalized on the play for holding, moving the ball back to the 24-yard line. Two sacks and a penalty on the next three plays, moved the Buckeyes back to the 39-yard line to face third down with 35 yards to go. Kinne’s pass to Johnson gained 27 yards, but was well short of a first down, so Burgin punched a 30-yard field goal with 2:07 remaining in the half.
The Panthers’ Jacob LeTourneau returned the kickoff to the Gilmer 30-yard line, and Spring Hill scored their only touchdown of the night four plays later when Lee snuck it in from a yard out, cutting the Buckeyes’ lead to 34-7 with only 48 seconds to play.
But 48 seconds is more than enough time for the Buckeyes to score, even when they start from their own 26-yard line.
Following a Kinne run for four yards, the Buckeyes turned to Brennan Thompson to cover the remaining 70 yards, as the junior receiver had catches of 15, 9 and 46 yards, the last coming on a spectacular catch on a jump ball in the end zone. Thompson took the ball out of the hands of a Panther defender for the touchdown, giving Gilmer the 41-7 lead at the half.
Thompson was the fifth Buckeye on the receiving end of a Kinne touchdown pass in the first half.
“I just read my progressions and gave it to athletes and let them run. I didn’t really do anything too special,” said Kinne. “The stats are all good and everything, but just coming out here and dominating the first half that was pretty amazing for me.”
“Our game plan was to come in throwing it,” admitted Traylor. “We had a good feeling we were going to have some good mismatches back there. We had prepared Justin that we were going to go to the air a lot.” That turned out to be good for Justin Johnson, who finished with a team-high 176 yards receiving on five catches, to go along with his seven rushes for 40 yards.
“They had seven in the box and we were prepared for that, we knew that the running was going to be tough,” said Justin Johnson. “The screen passes out to the running back helped tonight; there were some big plays made off of them.” Four of Justin Johnson’s catches went for 29, 63, 57 and 27 yards respectively for the junior running back, who usually went uncovered by the Panthers defense. “That’s the exciting part; you turn around and all you can see is two of your players and one of their players, you get happy and see the end zone,” said Johnson.
Justin Johnson and the rest of the Buckeyes’ starters may have seen the end zone five times in the first half, but they only saw the field for one possession in the second half as Spring Hill held the ball for most of the third and fourth quarters. Kinne and company’s lone appearance in the second half lasted all of 3:36 before the Buckeyes turned the football over on downs for the only time of the night.
The Panthers offense fared worse, as the Black Flag defense forced three more turnovers in the second half, including interceptions by Kezie Camp and Jules Johnson, and a fumble recovery by Wes Wynne. The Buckeyes’ defense limited Spring Hill to only 81 yards rushing and 95 yards passing for the game. “That was our best game of the year defensively I thought, as far as our energy level and the way we hit,” praised Traylor.
Jules Johnson and Arsenial Richardson led the Buckeyes’ defense with 11 tackles each; while Dominique Buchanan, Dunterious Goodman, Donte Harris and Kodey Wear each had seven tackles.
The Buckeyes’ two other possessions of the seconnd half ended in touchdowns, as freshman quarterback Stump Godfrey led the offense to 163 total yards on only five plays. Godfrey and sophomore running back Josh Thompson took turns running the football on the first drive, before Godfrey let loose his only pass of the game, a 17-yard touchdown to Camp that made the score 48-7 with 5:33 left to play in the game.
Gilmer’s final touchdown came on a 73-yard run by Godfrey with 2:09 to play, and gave Godfrey 119 rushing yards on only 3 carries. “Stump Godfrey gets better every week,” marveled Traylor. “He really played well.”
Traylor continued the accolades for his offense by praising his front five. “Our offensive line never gets enough credit. Chip Elms does a great job of snapping the football. He’s the leader of that group. He gets us checked into all of our coverages correctly. He doesn’t get near enough credit,” stated Traylor, who added, “Daniel Jenkins had another good game at tackle.”
Traylor finished his thoughts on the Spring Hill win by commenting on his team’s 20 straight wins at home. “That’s pretty remarkable” said Traylor. “That’s why this game Friday (at Gladewater) will be big for us because it could be our sixth consecutive district championship which is just remarkable when you think about it.”
STATISTICS
Spring Hill Gilmer
11 First downs 18
33-81 Rushes-yds 20-211
10-24-3 Passing 16-22-0
95 Passing yds 473
176 Total yds 684
2-10 Penalties-yds 9-63
1 Fumbles lost 0
29:11 Time of possession 18:49
SCORE BY QUARTERS
1 2 3 4 T
Spring Hill 0 7 0 0 7
Gilmer 17 24 0 14 55
Mirror Photo / Mary Laschinger Kirby
G.J. KINNE rolls out to pass against Spring Hill on Nov. 3 at Buckeye Stadium. The Buckeyes' QB passed for 456 yards and five TDs.
Mirror Photos / Mary Laschinger Kirby
BRENNAN THOMPSON (12) makes a spectacular catch of a G.J. Kinne bomb for a 46-yard touchdown and CURTIS BROWN (3) breaks a tackle on his way to a gain of 40 yards to set up a field goal. The Buckeyes (9-0; 4-0) blasted the Spring Hill Panthers last Friday night, 55-7, at Buckeye Stadium. Gilmer closes out the regular season Friday night against Gladewater (4-5; 3-1) there. See Pages 6-7A for more on the Buckeyes.
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