By JOE DODD
The Gilmer Buckeyes have a lot on the line Friday night in their final regular season game against the Gladewater Bears at Buckeye Stadium.
No, there are no playoff berths up for grabs, as the Buckeyes (9-0, 4-0) are already assured of their seventh straight trip to the post season. There is no district championship on the line, as Gilmer wrapped up their seventh consecutive district title last week.
But there are the streaks. Like the Buckeyes’ 33-game district winning streak, the 24-game home winning streak, and the 23-game regular season winning streak. “It means a lot because we want to teach the younger kids that pride and tradition is in your heart, and we want to keep that going,” senior receiver Lamar Harris said.
While the streaks are a big motivator to the Buckeyes, head coach Jeff Traylor believes that will not be the focus of his team this Friday night. “This is my seniors’ last home game, and when they play their last home game, every kid that I’ve ever coached, that night is a little different. It’s like they start to realize that life really does go by fast and I’m never going to play at Buckeye Stadium again,” Traylor said.
That realization may be particularly strong to this year’s seniors, who are the most successful class that has ever suited up for the Buckeyes, sporting a 45-3 overall record in their four seasons. “It’s your last time,” Traylor cautioned. “And you don’t want your last time to be a way that you don’t want to remember it.”
Enter the Gladewater Bears. Much like their animal namesake, Gladewater is like a trapped, wounded bear. “They’re the most dangerous; what have they got to lose?” asked Traylor. “They’re not going to the playoffs no matter what. What do you think the only thing they’re shooting for over there is? It’s to ruin our perfect season.”
The Bears have stumbled to a 3-6 record this season and will miss the playoffs under second-year head coach Scott Callaway who admits, “It’s been a season of adversity and we’ve taken some lumps throughout the year. We’ve struggled a little bit this year,” said Callaway.
Despite their struggles, Traylor is convinced that the Bears can provide a serious challenge for the Buckeyes. “They’re awfully talented. They are the most talented team in our district,” Traylor said. “Just look at the kids that can score every time that they touch it. Julian Griffin is a division one football player at receiver. Their running back Edwin Harris had over 100 yards rushing on us last year. Cameron Price took the opening kickoff against Sabine and went 75-yards for a touchdown. Cardarian Lewis can go at any time. That’s a lot of kids that can take it to the house at any time.”
Callaway thinks that Traylor is exaggerating just a little. “We’re probably one of the bottom tier teams in our district based on the reults,” Callaway admitted. “The two teams that they’ve blown away the last two weeks, those two teams put us away. We know we have our work cut out to be competitive with them.”
Callaway argues that the Buckeyes are literally “loaded for bear” with the highest-scoring offense in the state and Class 3A’s second-ranked scoring defense. “Our goal is to be competitive and give them a good district ball game to finish up the year before they start the playoffs,” Callaway said.
Traylor warns Gilmer fans to ignore websites that have the Buckeyes listed as 54-point favorites over the Bears. “It doesn’t matter what the records are, you can throw the records out,” stated Traylor. “It’s Gladewater and Gilmer and I expect it to be a battle.”
Callaway agrees with Traylor on this point. “I still think it will be exciting,” Callaway said. “Our kids know the Gilmer kids; Gilmer knows our kids; they know each other real well.”
That knowledge is one of the reasons Traylor feels his team will not underestimate the Bears. “Our kids know their kids. They know what kind of athletes they are, because they play against them all the time.”
Traylor has also warned his team to be ready for anything from the Bears. “I expect them to run every little trick play, onside kick, and fake punt,” said Traylor who is 80-14 as head coach at Gilmer, including 6-1 against the Bears.
Traylor’s first win at Gilmer was against Gladewater and it serves as a reminder that anything can happen when these two teams meet on the football field. “In 2000, Gladewater was state-ranked, and we were the underdogs. They were kicking our tails all over the field out here, and we just kept hanging with them, and finally we came back and beat them,” Traylor recalled.
Callaway would love for that scenario to repeat itself this year. “You play every game every week to win; so that’s our goal here, to win the ball game. Whether it’s to get in (to the playoffs) or just playing for pride; we’re going in to this week with a goal of trying to win this ball game,” Callaway said. “Our kids are prepared to come over there and get after them and see what happens.”
Buckeyes’ senior linebacker Brennan Thompson gave one more reason that Gilmer needs to be prepared Friday night. “It’s real big for us because we’ve got Liberty-Eylau the next week, so we need to play good [against Gladewater] to carry it on to L-E.”
Did you know?
Gilmer can even the all-time series against Gladewater with a win. The Bears hold a 25-24-2 advantage against the Buckeyes, despite Gilmer’s 14-2 record against Gladewater since 1991.
The Buckeyes have won 53 of their last 54 regular season games.
Buckeyes’ sophomore quarterback Darian Godfrey needs 60 yards to reach 2,000 passing yards for the season. Gilmer senior running back Justin Johnson needs 286 yards to reach 1,500 rushing yards on the season.
Hector's Wrecker - Adam Martin
Black Attack - Tamile Harris
Mirror Photo / Mary Laschinger Kirby
JEREMY JACKSON turns the corner before turning on the afterburners for the second of his two explosive scoring bursts last Friday night.
Mirror Photo / Mary Laschinger Kirby
BUCKEYE RECEIVER Houston Tuminello takes Spring Hill defensive back for a ride into the end zone as the Panther defender hangs on for a third quarter ride. Gilmer closes out its regular season at home against Gladewater Friday night.
Mirror Photo / Mary Laschinger Kirby
PAUL CHESNUT pulls down the Spring Hill running back for a short loss and Brennan Thompson closes in on the play as Gilmer’s Black Flag Defense turned up the heat on the Panthers last Friday night.
The Gilmer Buckeyes have a lot on the line Friday night in their final regular season game against the Gladewater Bears at Buckeye Stadium.
No, there are no playoff berths up for grabs, as the Buckeyes (9-0, 4-0) are already assured of their seventh straight trip to the post season. There is no district championship on the line, as Gilmer wrapped up their seventh consecutive district title last week.
But there are the streaks. Like the Buckeyes’ 33-game district winning streak, the 24-game home winning streak, and the 23-game regular season winning streak. “It means a lot because we want to teach the younger kids that pride and tradition is in your heart, and we want to keep that going,” senior receiver Lamar Harris said.
While the streaks are a big motivator to the Buckeyes, head coach Jeff Traylor believes that will not be the focus of his team this Friday night. “This is my seniors’ last home game, and when they play their last home game, every kid that I’ve ever coached, that night is a little different. It’s like they start to realize that life really does go by fast and I’m never going to play at Buckeye Stadium again,” Traylor said.
That realization may be particularly strong to this year’s seniors, who are the most successful class that has ever suited up for the Buckeyes, sporting a 45-3 overall record in their four seasons. “It’s your last time,” Traylor cautioned. “And you don’t want your last time to be a way that you don’t want to remember it.”
Enter the Gladewater Bears. Much like their animal namesake, Gladewater is like a trapped, wounded bear. “They’re the most dangerous; what have they got to lose?” asked Traylor. “They’re not going to the playoffs no matter what. What do you think the only thing they’re shooting for over there is? It’s to ruin our perfect season.”
The Bears have stumbled to a 3-6 record this season and will miss the playoffs under second-year head coach Scott Callaway who admits, “It’s been a season of adversity and we’ve taken some lumps throughout the year. We’ve struggled a little bit this year,” said Callaway.
Despite their struggles, Traylor is convinced that the Bears can provide a serious challenge for the Buckeyes. “They’re awfully talented. They are the most talented team in our district,” Traylor said. “Just look at the kids that can score every time that they touch it. Julian Griffin is a division one football player at receiver. Their running back Edwin Harris had over 100 yards rushing on us last year. Cameron Price took the opening kickoff against Sabine and went 75-yards for a touchdown. Cardarian Lewis can go at any time. That’s a lot of kids that can take it to the house at any time.”
Callaway thinks that Traylor is exaggerating just a little. “We’re probably one of the bottom tier teams in our district based on the reults,” Callaway admitted. “The two teams that they’ve blown away the last two weeks, those two teams put us away. We know we have our work cut out to be competitive with them.”
Callaway argues that the Buckeyes are literally “loaded for bear” with the highest-scoring offense in the state and Class 3A’s second-ranked scoring defense. “Our goal is to be competitive and give them a good district ball game to finish up the year before they start the playoffs,” Callaway said.
Traylor warns Gilmer fans to ignore websites that have the Buckeyes listed as 54-point favorites over the Bears. “It doesn’t matter what the records are, you can throw the records out,” stated Traylor. “It’s Gladewater and Gilmer and I expect it to be a battle.”
Callaway agrees with Traylor on this point. “I still think it will be exciting,” Callaway said. “Our kids know the Gilmer kids; Gilmer knows our kids; they know each other real well.”
That knowledge is one of the reasons Traylor feels his team will not underestimate the Bears. “Our kids know their kids. They know what kind of athletes they are, because they play against them all the time.”
Traylor has also warned his team to be ready for anything from the Bears. “I expect them to run every little trick play, onside kick, and fake punt,” said Traylor who is 80-14 as head coach at Gilmer, including 6-1 against the Bears.
Traylor’s first win at Gilmer was against Gladewater and it serves as a reminder that anything can happen when these two teams meet on the football field. “In 2000, Gladewater was state-ranked, and we were the underdogs. They were kicking our tails all over the field out here, and we just kept hanging with them, and finally we came back and beat them,” Traylor recalled.
Callaway would love for that scenario to repeat itself this year. “You play every game every week to win; so that’s our goal here, to win the ball game. Whether it’s to get in (to the playoffs) or just playing for pride; we’re going in to this week with a goal of trying to win this ball game,” Callaway said. “Our kids are prepared to come over there and get after them and see what happens.”
Buckeyes’ senior linebacker Brennan Thompson gave one more reason that Gilmer needs to be prepared Friday night. “It’s real big for us because we’ve got Liberty-Eylau the next week, so we need to play good [against Gladewater] to carry it on to L-E.”
Did you know?
Gilmer can even the all-time series against Gladewater with a win. The Bears hold a 25-24-2 advantage against the Buckeyes, despite Gilmer’s 14-2 record against Gladewater since 1991.
The Buckeyes have won 53 of their last 54 regular season games.
Buckeyes’ sophomore quarterback Darian Godfrey needs 60 yards to reach 2,000 passing yards for the season. Gilmer senior running back Justin Johnson needs 286 yards to reach 1,500 rushing yards on the season.
Hector's Wrecker - Adam Martin
Black Attack - Tamile Harris
Mirror Photo / Mary Laschinger Kirby
JEREMY JACKSON turns the corner before turning on the afterburners for the second of his two explosive scoring bursts last Friday night.
Mirror Photo / Mary Laschinger Kirby
BUCKEYE RECEIVER Houston Tuminello takes Spring Hill defensive back for a ride into the end zone as the Panther defender hangs on for a third quarter ride. Gilmer closes out its regular season at home against Gladewater Friday night.
Mirror Photo / Mary Laschinger Kirby
PAUL CHESNUT pulls down the Spring Hill running back for a short loss and Brennan Thompson closes in on the play as Gilmer’s Black Flag Defense turned up the heat on the Panthers last Friday night.
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