By JOE DODD
“We’ve got a lot to do.” That’s how Gilmer Buckeyes head football coach Jeff Traylor summarized his team’s performance following their first scrimmage of the season Saturday, Aug. 18, against the Kilgore Bulldogs.
Despite two touchdowns for each team, the Bulldogs looked better on the statistics sheet, out-gaining the Buckeyes 338 to 254 total yards. Gilmer also committed three turnovers, while Kilgore had none.
“The statistics don’t look good,” admitted Traylor, who blamed the low yardage totals on dropped passes. “If you weren’t at the game, those drops make the quarterbacks look bad. So if you catch the ones you’re supposed to, and [do not have] a couple of bad choices by the quarterbacks, we would have been okay in the passing game.”
Buckeyes’ quarterbacks combined to complete only eight passes out of 27 attempts, while throwing two interceptions. “When you throw the ball as much as we do, you’re going to look bad that early,” said Traylor.
Even though the offense was inconsistent, Traylor was happy with his big men. “Offensive line played well,” said Traylor. “It was good to see Cody Lee come back from his injury. We were really worried about how he was going to look, and he played well. Chip Elms played well. [Daniel] Jenkins has gotten more physical, and Garrett [Adkins] played well.”
Defensively, Traylor was pleased with his unit’s results, but not their intensity. “We weren’t very physical on defense,” Traylor lamented. “We tackled well, we didn’t miss many tackles. “We just weren’t very physical.”
Despite yielding 338 total yards and 15 first downs, the Buckeyes held the Bulldogs scoreless until Kilgore’s final possession of the scrimmage. “If we had played more physical, I’d really be excited about this team, but since we didn’t, I’m a little scared,” explained Traylor. “I hope we’re not too nice.”
Traylor also hopes that his younger players can mature quickly. “We had twelve sophomores play,” stated Traylor. “You have to remember that the last time they played in a football game it was against Spring Hill’s freshman team, and now they’re playing Kilgore’s varsity, so the game is moving a lot faster for those sophomores,” Traylor explained.
“We’ve got about 15 players that need a little bit of work in the scrimmages, and we’ve got about 25 that need an NFL preseason; they need five games,” Traylor joked. “I don’t need to watch Lamar Harris, Justin Johnson and those guys play. I know that they can play, we’re looking for the other guys.”
“We’ve got a lot to do, but it’s that time of the year,” summarized Traylor. “I’ve never had a scrimmage where I didn’t have that to say.”
The Buckeyes travel to New Boston Thursday, Aug. 23, for the team’s final scrimmage. Freshmen will start at 5 p.m. Junior Varsity will play at 6 p.m., followed by the varsity teams around 7 p.m.
Gilmer Offense
Total Plays-50
Total Yards-254
Rushing-23 attempts for 45 yards
Passing-8 of 27 for 209 yards, 2 TDs
First Downs-4
Turnovers-3 (2 int., 1 fumble)
Kilgore Offense
Total Plays-53
Total Yards-338
Rushing-33 attempts for 129 yards, 2 TDs
Passing-11 of 20 for 209 yards
“We’ve got a lot to do.” That’s how Gilmer Buckeyes head football coach Jeff Traylor summarized his team’s performance following their first scrimmage of the season Saturday, Aug. 18, against the Kilgore Bulldogs.
Despite two touchdowns for each team, the Bulldogs looked better on the statistics sheet, out-gaining the Buckeyes 338 to 254 total yards. Gilmer also committed three turnovers, while Kilgore had none.
“The statistics don’t look good,” admitted Traylor, who blamed the low yardage totals on dropped passes. “If you weren’t at the game, those drops make the quarterbacks look bad. So if you catch the ones you’re supposed to, and [do not have] a couple of bad choices by the quarterbacks, we would have been okay in the passing game.”
Buckeyes’ quarterbacks combined to complete only eight passes out of 27 attempts, while throwing two interceptions. “When you throw the ball as much as we do, you’re going to look bad that early,” said Traylor.
Even though the offense was inconsistent, Traylor was happy with his big men. “Offensive line played well,” said Traylor. “It was good to see Cody Lee come back from his injury. We were really worried about how he was going to look, and he played well. Chip Elms played well. [Daniel] Jenkins has gotten more physical, and Garrett [Adkins] played well.”
Defensively, Traylor was pleased with his unit’s results, but not their intensity. “We weren’t very physical on defense,” Traylor lamented. “We tackled well, we didn’t miss many tackles. “We just weren’t very physical.”
Despite yielding 338 total yards and 15 first downs, the Buckeyes held the Bulldogs scoreless until Kilgore’s final possession of the scrimmage. “If we had played more physical, I’d really be excited about this team, but since we didn’t, I’m a little scared,” explained Traylor. “I hope we’re not too nice.”
Traylor also hopes that his younger players can mature quickly. “We had twelve sophomores play,” stated Traylor. “You have to remember that the last time they played in a football game it was against Spring Hill’s freshman team, and now they’re playing Kilgore’s varsity, so the game is moving a lot faster for those sophomores,” Traylor explained.
“We’ve got about 15 players that need a little bit of work in the scrimmages, and we’ve got about 25 that need an NFL preseason; they need five games,” Traylor joked. “I don’t need to watch Lamar Harris, Justin Johnson and those guys play. I know that they can play, we’re looking for the other guys.”
“We’ve got a lot to do, but it’s that time of the year,” summarized Traylor. “I’ve never had a scrimmage where I didn’t have that to say.”
The Buckeyes travel to New Boston Thursday, Aug. 23, for the team’s final scrimmage. Freshmen will start at 5 p.m. Junior Varsity will play at 6 p.m., followed by the varsity teams around 7 p.m.
Gilmer Offense
Total Plays-50
Total Yards-254
Rushing-23 attempts for 45 yards
Passing-8 of 27 for 209 yards, 2 TDs
First Downs-4
Turnovers-3 (2 int., 1 fumble)
Kilgore Offense
Total Plays-53
Total Yards-338
Rushing-33 attempts for 129 yards, 2 TDs
Passing-11 of 20 for 209 yards
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