By JOE DODD
Gilmer Buckeyes’ head coach Jeff Traylor has wanted his undefeated team to face some adversity this season. Friday night at Buckeye Stadium Traylor got his wish, as the Gladewater Bears became the first team to lead the Buckeyes this season when Bears’ quarterback Dalton Waters raced untouched 42 yards for a touchdown, giving Gladewater a 7-0 lead with 7:56 to play in the first quarter.
That adversity lasted exactly 94 seconds before Buckeyes’ QB Darian Godfrey tied the score with a 1-yard run, starting a 33-point onslaught by Gilmer that propelled the Buckeyes to a 53-17 win.
The win was the Buckeyes 6th straight over the Bears, and marked Gilmer’s 7th consecutive undefeated season in district play; a span of 34 straight district wins. The victory also marked the 25th home win in a row, as well as pushed the Buckeyes’ regular season winning streak to 24 games.
“I’m glad that’s over,” replied Traylor when asked about the pressure of keeping the winning streaks alive. “It was a great warm-up game for us. Gladewater has some kids that can run.”
Gilmer was warming up for their first round playoff matchup against defending state champion Liberty-Eylau, while Gladewater had nothing more to play for than to upset their longtime rival’s winning streaks. Early in the game, it looked like the Bears might get their wish.
Gladewater struggled on their first possession, gaining only three yards before punting. The Buckeyes’ first possession looked promising, then ended abruptly when a Godfrey scramble turned into a fumble when the sophomore quarterback ran to his right and started to throw the football, only to have it slip out of his hand and fly straight up into the air. A mad scramble saw the Bears recover the loose ball at their own 45-yard line.
Two plays later, Waters scored, and the Buckeyes trailed for the first time since losing to Liberty-Eylau last November. “Other than that one big play, we played really well on defense,” stated Traylor, whose defense allowed only 229 total yards on the night. “Like always, they all played pretty good. I was proud of their effort,” stated Traylor who singled out Ross Stevens (8 tackles), Brennan Thompson (7 tackles), Damien Redditt (7 tackles), Dakota Hagler (7 tackles), Vance Green (6 tackles), Marlon Granville (5 tackles)and David Smith (5 tackles) for good games.
The Bears’ touchdown awakened the Buckeyes, who seemed sluggish at the start of the game. Godfrey made amends for his fumble, leading the Buckeyes on a 6-play, 59 yard scoring drive tying the score with 6:22 to go in the first quarter.
Gladewater’s next series didn’t last long and gave Gilmer the football at the Bears’ 44-yard line. Three plays later Godfrey lofted a pass towards the back of the end zone where a diving Houston Tuminello made an unbelievable catch; somehow managing to drag his feet in the end zone before landing out of bounds. Adan Olivares kicked the second of his four extra points for the game, giving Gilmer a 14-7 lead with 3:41 remaining in the first quarter.
The Bears’ next possession lasted only 3 plays and resulted in nine negative yards before Gladewater was forced to punt to Tuminello, who fair caught the ball at the Bears’ 40-yard line.
Four plays later Godfrey and Tuminello hooked up again, this time on a jump ball in the opposite side of the end zone, giving the Buckeyes a 21-7 at the end of the first quarter. Neither team had much success on their first possession of the second quarter, with Gladewater going three-and-out and the Buckeyes turning the football over on downs.
The next series wasn’t any better for the Bears, who lined up to punt from their own 30-yard line only to have the ball fumbled by the punter who picked up the football and wildly threw it down field where it fell incomplete, allowing the Buckeyes to take possession at the Bears’ 30-yard line.
Six plays later, Godfrey demonstrated his strength when he took off on a quarterback keeper from the 15-yard line and ran into a wall of Bears’ defenders at the 5-yard line and powered his way into the end zone for a touchdown with several Bears on his back. The extra point kick was blocked, making the score 27-7.
Gladewater’s woes continued on the ensuing kickoff when the Bears’ returner slipped and had the ball bounce off of him into the hands of Gilmer’s D.J. Stanley at the Bears’ 18-yard line.
The Buckeyes made short work of the short field, scoring two plays later when Justin Johnson ran it in from 10 yards out with 2:49 to play in the half giving Gilmer a 33-6 lead after a failed two-point conversion attempt.
The Bears’ offense finally came back to life on their last possession of the half scoring on a 4th down play from 18 yards out when Waters connected with Julian Griffin on a touchdown pass with 10 seconds remaining in the half. That capped off an 8-play, 80-yard drive and left the Bears trailing the Buckeyes 33-14 at the half.
Gilmer made sure to stop the Bears’ momentum in the second half by taking the opening kick and driving 71 yards in 4 plays, scoring on a 32-yard touchdown run by Jeremy Jackson just 45 seconds after kickoff to push the Buckeyes’ lead to 40-14.
Gladewater’s first series resulted in another three-and-out for the Bears. Gilmer took possession of the football at their own 33-yard line and proceeded on a 4-play, 67-yard drive alternating between Godfrey to Hunter Harrison pass completions and Jackson runs to cover the distance in only 1:21. Jackson scored his second touchdown of the game from 33 yards out, pushing the Gilmer lead to 46-14 after Olivares’ kick sailed wide.
The Buckeyes added an insurance touchdown in the fourth quarter when Kedon Franklin ran it in from 3 yards out capping off a 5-play, 70-yard drive highlighted by three Josh Thompson runs covering 67 yards.
The Bears countered with a 45-yard field goal from Alex Vasquez as time expired.
The sound of the final horn marked the end of the most successful class in Gilmer history, as this year’s seniors, who sport a 46-3 record, finished undefeated at home for their career.
“I’m going to miss this place so much,” said senior offensive tackle David Snow. “I spent four years in this place and now I’m not going to have it anymore so it’s going to be real sad.”
Fellow senior Lamar Harris echoed Snow’s sentiments. “I was crying, I’m not going to lie. It’s over with now,” said Harris.
While Traylor understood his seniors’ emotions about their last home game, he warned them about repeating their lethargic play against Liberty-Eylau. “ If we play like this next week, it will be over.”
Special Teams Player of the Week- Justin Fielden Bounty Hunter of the Week - Paul Chesnut, Dustin Jones
STATISTICS
G’water Gilmer
12 First downs 29
5-15-1-0 Passing(c-a-td-int) 16-25-2-0
81 Passing yds 198
35-148 Rushes-yds 33-326
229 Total yds 524
28:19 Time of possession 19:41
9-75 Penalties-yds. 4-45
1 Fumbles lost 1
SCORE BY QUARTERS
1 2 3 4 T
G’water 7 7 0 3 17
Gilmer 21 12 13 7 53
Mirror Photo / Mary Laschinger Kirby
GILMER SENIORS celebrate another undefeated regular season by posing on the ‘G’ logo. The Buckeyes beat the Gladewater Bears here 53-17 to tune up for this Friday night’s long-awaited rematch with Liberty-Eylau in Longview.
Mirror Photo / Mary Laschinger Kirby
GILMER’S HUNTER HARRISON picks up 16 yards on his second catch on this fourth quarter drive against the Bears. Jeremy Jackson finished the drive with a touchdown run of 33 yards to put Gilmer ahead 46-14. Both teams scored once more for a final score of 53-17.
Mirror Photo / Mary Laschinger Kirby
BUCKEYE DEFENDERS Braylon Webb, left, Kendrick Starling, and Damien Redditt stop the Bear running attack in the Gladewater backfield. Gilmer defeated the other G-town, 53-17, to set up the bi-district contest with Liberty-Eylau Friday at Lobo Stadium in Longview. Last year on that same field the Leopards eliminated heavily-favored Gilmer from the playoffs, 39-36, and went on to win state.
Gilmer Buckeyes’ head coach Jeff Traylor has wanted his undefeated team to face some adversity this season. Friday night at Buckeye Stadium Traylor got his wish, as the Gladewater Bears became the first team to lead the Buckeyes this season when Bears’ quarterback Dalton Waters raced untouched 42 yards for a touchdown, giving Gladewater a 7-0 lead with 7:56 to play in the first quarter.
That adversity lasted exactly 94 seconds before Buckeyes’ QB Darian Godfrey tied the score with a 1-yard run, starting a 33-point onslaught by Gilmer that propelled the Buckeyes to a 53-17 win.
The win was the Buckeyes 6th straight over the Bears, and marked Gilmer’s 7th consecutive undefeated season in district play; a span of 34 straight district wins. The victory also marked the 25th home win in a row, as well as pushed the Buckeyes’ regular season winning streak to 24 games.
“I’m glad that’s over,” replied Traylor when asked about the pressure of keeping the winning streaks alive. “It was a great warm-up game for us. Gladewater has some kids that can run.”
Gilmer was warming up for their first round playoff matchup against defending state champion Liberty-Eylau, while Gladewater had nothing more to play for than to upset their longtime rival’s winning streaks. Early in the game, it looked like the Bears might get their wish.
Gladewater struggled on their first possession, gaining only three yards before punting. The Buckeyes’ first possession looked promising, then ended abruptly when a Godfrey scramble turned into a fumble when the sophomore quarterback ran to his right and started to throw the football, only to have it slip out of his hand and fly straight up into the air. A mad scramble saw the Bears recover the loose ball at their own 45-yard line.
Two plays later, Waters scored, and the Buckeyes trailed for the first time since losing to Liberty-Eylau last November. “Other than that one big play, we played really well on defense,” stated Traylor, whose defense allowed only 229 total yards on the night. “Like always, they all played pretty good. I was proud of their effort,” stated Traylor who singled out Ross Stevens (8 tackles), Brennan Thompson (7 tackles), Damien Redditt (7 tackles), Dakota Hagler (7 tackles), Vance Green (6 tackles), Marlon Granville (5 tackles)and David Smith (5 tackles) for good games.
The Bears’ touchdown awakened the Buckeyes, who seemed sluggish at the start of the game. Godfrey made amends for his fumble, leading the Buckeyes on a 6-play, 59 yard scoring drive tying the score with 6:22 to go in the first quarter.
Gladewater’s next series didn’t last long and gave Gilmer the football at the Bears’ 44-yard line. Three plays later Godfrey lofted a pass towards the back of the end zone where a diving Houston Tuminello made an unbelievable catch; somehow managing to drag his feet in the end zone before landing out of bounds. Adan Olivares kicked the second of his four extra points for the game, giving Gilmer a 14-7 lead with 3:41 remaining in the first quarter.
The Bears’ next possession lasted only 3 plays and resulted in nine negative yards before Gladewater was forced to punt to Tuminello, who fair caught the ball at the Bears’ 40-yard line.
Four plays later Godfrey and Tuminello hooked up again, this time on a jump ball in the opposite side of the end zone, giving the Buckeyes a 21-7 at the end of the first quarter. Neither team had much success on their first possession of the second quarter, with Gladewater going three-and-out and the Buckeyes turning the football over on downs.
The next series wasn’t any better for the Bears, who lined up to punt from their own 30-yard line only to have the ball fumbled by the punter who picked up the football and wildly threw it down field where it fell incomplete, allowing the Buckeyes to take possession at the Bears’ 30-yard line.
Six plays later, Godfrey demonstrated his strength when he took off on a quarterback keeper from the 15-yard line and ran into a wall of Bears’ defenders at the 5-yard line and powered his way into the end zone for a touchdown with several Bears on his back. The extra point kick was blocked, making the score 27-7.
Gladewater’s woes continued on the ensuing kickoff when the Bears’ returner slipped and had the ball bounce off of him into the hands of Gilmer’s D.J. Stanley at the Bears’ 18-yard line.
The Buckeyes made short work of the short field, scoring two plays later when Justin Johnson ran it in from 10 yards out with 2:49 to play in the half giving Gilmer a 33-6 lead after a failed two-point conversion attempt.
The Bears’ offense finally came back to life on their last possession of the half scoring on a 4th down play from 18 yards out when Waters connected with Julian Griffin on a touchdown pass with 10 seconds remaining in the half. That capped off an 8-play, 80-yard drive and left the Bears trailing the Buckeyes 33-14 at the half.
Gilmer made sure to stop the Bears’ momentum in the second half by taking the opening kick and driving 71 yards in 4 plays, scoring on a 32-yard touchdown run by Jeremy Jackson just 45 seconds after kickoff to push the Buckeyes’ lead to 40-14.
Gladewater’s first series resulted in another three-and-out for the Bears. Gilmer took possession of the football at their own 33-yard line and proceeded on a 4-play, 67-yard drive alternating between Godfrey to Hunter Harrison pass completions and Jackson runs to cover the distance in only 1:21. Jackson scored his second touchdown of the game from 33 yards out, pushing the Gilmer lead to 46-14 after Olivares’ kick sailed wide.
The Buckeyes added an insurance touchdown in the fourth quarter when Kedon Franklin ran it in from 3 yards out capping off a 5-play, 70-yard drive highlighted by three Josh Thompson runs covering 67 yards.
The Bears countered with a 45-yard field goal from Alex Vasquez as time expired.
The sound of the final horn marked the end of the most successful class in Gilmer history, as this year’s seniors, who sport a 46-3 record, finished undefeated at home for their career.
“I’m going to miss this place so much,” said senior offensive tackle David Snow. “I spent four years in this place and now I’m not going to have it anymore so it’s going to be real sad.”
Fellow senior Lamar Harris echoed Snow’s sentiments. “I was crying, I’m not going to lie. It’s over with now,” said Harris.
While Traylor understood his seniors’ emotions about their last home game, he warned them about repeating their lethargic play against Liberty-Eylau. “ If we play like this next week, it will be over.”
Special Teams Player of the Week- Justin Fielden Bounty Hunter of the Week - Paul Chesnut, Dustin Jones
STATISTICS
G’water Gilmer
12 First downs 29
5-15-1-0 Passing(c-a-td-int) 16-25-2-0
81 Passing yds 198
35-148 Rushes-yds 33-326
229 Total yds 524
28:19 Time of possession 19:41
9-75 Penalties-yds. 4-45
1 Fumbles lost 1
SCORE BY QUARTERS
1 2 3 4 T
G’water 7 7 0 3 17
Gilmer 21 12 13 7 53
Mirror Photo / Mary Laschinger Kirby
GILMER SENIORS celebrate another undefeated regular season by posing on the ‘G’ logo. The Buckeyes beat the Gladewater Bears here 53-17 to tune up for this Friday night’s long-awaited rematch with Liberty-Eylau in Longview.
Mirror Photo / Mary Laschinger Kirby
GILMER’S HUNTER HARRISON picks up 16 yards on his second catch on this fourth quarter drive against the Bears. Jeremy Jackson finished the drive with a touchdown run of 33 yards to put Gilmer ahead 46-14. Both teams scored once more for a final score of 53-17.
Mirror Photo / Mary Laschinger Kirby
BUCKEYE DEFENDERS Braylon Webb, left, Kendrick Starling, and Damien Redditt stop the Bear running attack in the Gladewater backfield. Gilmer defeated the other G-town, 53-17, to set up the bi-district contest with Liberty-Eylau Friday at Lobo Stadium in Longview. Last year on that same field the Leopards eliminated heavily-favored Gilmer from the playoffs, 39-36, and went on to win state.
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