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Buckeyes destroy Roughriders, 63-6

By JOE DODD

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? If the Gilmer Buckeyes win a game in the forest and no one is around to see it, does it count? The piney wood forests that surround Center may hold the answers to both questions.

In front of an estimated crowd of under 1,000 people, the Buckeyes chopped down the Center Roughriders 63-6. Gilmer fans largely stayed at home, instead of making the 100-mile drive south for fear of a Buckeyes’ blowout. That’s exactly what happened as Gilmer piled up 405 total yards to take a 50-0 halftime lead.

The small crowd was just one reason Buckeyes’ head coach Jeff Traylor felt like he was in a time warp. “I felt like I was coaching in a junior high football game,” admitted Traylor. “We had a small crowd, there was no pregame music. We expected it to be like this, so we worked hard on trying to be real focused on doing our job, because there was not going to be any high school game excitement. It was like a scrimmage, so I was proud of the kids’ intensity and focus.” That intensity was most evident in the first quarter as Gilmer scored 29 points in 23 plays. The first points came on a 22-yard screen pass from Darian Godfrey to Justin Johnson with just 1:35 off the game clock. The Buckeyes added two points on a pass from Braylon Webb to Johnson, giving Gilmer an 8-0 lead.

On the ensuing kickoff, the hapless Roughriders committed the first of their five turnovers for the game, when the Buckeyes’ kick landed in the middle of several Center players who just looked at the football while Gilmer’s Brennan Thompson pounced on the live ball, giving the Buckeyes possession at the Roughriders’ 21-yard line.

After a Buckeyes’ penalty, and an incomplete pass, Godfrey threw his first interception of the season to Center’s Alex Cloudy at the Roughriders’ 5-yard line. That would be the only possession the Buckeyes failed to score on in the first half.

Center gained only a yard in three plays before punting to the Buckeyes from their own end zone.

Gilmer got the football at the Center 45-yard line and scored six plays later on a 3-yard pass from Godfrey to Devane Clark. Adan Olivares kicked the first of his six extra points to make the score 15-0 with 7:08 left in the first quarter.

Center’s rough ride continued on the kickoff as the Buckeyes’ Ross Stevens recovered the fumbled football at the Center 34-yard line. Three plays later, Johnson scored his second touchdown from a yard out, giving Gilmer a 22-0 lead just 45 seconds after their last score.

The Roughriders offense showed signs of life on their next possession, gaining 40 yards before the Buckeyes’ Kendrick Starling picked off Jaelyn Short’s pass and returned it to the Gilmer 22-yard line.

Six plays later Godfrey scored on an impressive 40-yard run to increase the Buckeyes’ lead to 29-0 with 2:06 still left in the opening quarter.

Center responded with their longest drive of the game, 52 yards on 9 plays before an incomplete pass on fourth down returned the football to the Buckeyes at their own 4-yard line. Gilmer’s quick-strike offense covered most of the 96 yards in two plays; a 53-yard pass from Godfrey to Lamar Harris, and a 41-yard touchdown pass from Godfrey to Hunter Harrison that made the score 36-0.

The Buckeyes’ defense forced another three-and-out punt from the Roughriders, returning the ball to the offense at the Buckeyes’ 41-yard line. Six plays later, Godfrey connected with Houston Tuminello on a 41-yard touchdown pass to extend the Gilmer lead to 43-0 with 4:30 to play in the first half. Center’s next possession consisted of an offensive penalty and a fumble recovered by the Buckeyes’ Mikey Wilson at the Roughriders’ 31-yard line. Godfrey scored the seventh touchdown of the first half on a 2-yard keeper six plays later.

Traylor was pleased with the first half. “I thought our kids came out there and played well,” Traylor said. “The offensive line played a lot better, especially Daniel Jenkins; he played real well. Stump [Darian Godfrey] was very accurate with the football again. Our receivers did a good job, and our backs ran well.”

Gilmer’s Stevens said the dominant first half was needed after the Buckeyes last performance. “We all knew that we played mediocre against Daingerfield, and we all wanted to come back and really show what we can do,” said Stevens. Since the Center football team couldn’t keep the Buckeyes out of the end zone, the Center scoreboard operator decided to do it himself, running the clock almost non-stop throughout the second half, limiting Gilmer to only 13 offensive plays. “I’ve seen clocks run, but I’ve never seen one run straight through,” laughed Traylor. “I was disappointed because we had a lot of kids that didn’t get to play very much.”

Despite the limited number of offensive plays, the Buckeyes made the most of them, with a spectacular 52-yard touchdown run by Jeremy Jackson on Gilmer’s first possession of the second half, and a 5-yard touchdown run by Webb to finish the Buckeyes’ scoring barrage.

Those two scores were separated by the Roughriders third fumble of a kickoff return, another first for Traylor. “I’ve never seen that happen,” said Gilmer’s 8th-year head coach. The Roughriders finally managed to get on the scoreboard when Cloudy ran the football in from 4 yards out with 1:02 remaining in the game. The extra point attempt was wide. Traylor admitted that it was hard to judge his teams’ performance based on Center’s poor play. “We wished we had been challenged a little bit more, but that’s just the way it is right now.”

Buckeye offensive lineman David Snow said that he is focusing on the big picture. “In this game we were preparing for on down the road, and the big challenges ahead.”

STATISTICS

Gilmer Center
20 First downs 10
18-26-4-1 Passing (c-a-td-int) 7-28-0-1
309 Passing yds 79
28-254 Rushes-yds 27-106
563 Total yds 185
23:38 Time of possession 24:22
5-31 Penalties-yds. 2-10
0 Fumbles lost 4
SCORE BY QUARTERS
1 2 3 4 T
Gilmer 29 21 13 0 63
Center 0 0 0 6 6



Mirror Photo / Mary Laschinger Kirby
GILMER’S HUNTER HARRISON hauls in a pass from Darian Godfrey with nothing but green grass ahead. Harrison’s touchdown on a 41-yard play put the 4th-ranked Buckeyes ahead 36-0 with 9:20 remaining in the second quarter. Gilmer (4-0) overwhelmed the Center Roughriders in Center last Friday night, 63-6. The Atlanta Rabbits (1-4) come to Buckeye Stadium this Friday night in the final tuneup for both teams before they begin play in their respective districts.



Mirror Photo / Mary Laschinger Kirby
GILMER QUARTERBACK Darian “Stump” Godfrey lowers his head as he heads for the final touchdown of the first half despite the efforts of two Center Roughriders. Gilmer led 50-0 at half and won the game, 63-6.



Mirror Photo / Mary Laschinger Kirby
JUSTIN JOHNSON bursts through a huge hole to dash to a 1st-and-goal at the Center five to set up Gilmer’s second touchdown against the Roughriders on the road last Friday night.



Mirror Photo / Mary Laschinger Kirby
BUCKEYE RUNNING BACK Kedon Franklin follows the blocks of Garrett Adkins and Dakota Hagler to pick up a first down against Center.



Mirror Photo / Mary Laschinger Kirby
GILMER’S VANCE GREEN has an in-your-face approach to handling the Center quarterback. Jaelyn Short. This collision occurred just a split second after the Rider got the ball in the air. Gilmer defeated Center 63-6.



Mirror Photo / Mary Laschinger Kirby
ADAN OLIVARES, with Braylon Webb holding, kicks the last of his six PATs during Gilmer’s 63-6 stomping of the Center Roughriders. The Buckeyes face Atlanta here Friday night at 7:30 p.m.



Mirror Photo / Mary Laschinger Kirby
BUCKEYE PAUL CHESNUT completes his swing around the left corner on a reverse late in the second quarter in Center. Buckeye tackle Garrett Adkins (73) escorts Chesnut on his run.

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