Gilmer Buckeyes

From the Longview News-Journal: Buckeyes notch impressive victory From the Tyler Morning Telegraph: Gilmer Rolls Over Jasper From Scout.com: No Doubts About Gilmer From the Jasper Newsboy: Gilmer rolls to easy win over Jasper From The Gilmer Mirror : Buckeyes blast Bulldogs By JOE DODD The Gilmer Buckeyes used a ball-hawking defense, great field position, and superior depth to overwhelm the Jasper Bulldogs 56-28 Thursday night (August 28) in the opening game of the Trinity Mother Frances Football Classic in front of almost 6,000 fans at Tyler's Trinity Mother Frances' Rose Stadium. The Buckeyes' Black Flag defense forced three first quarter turnovers and the Buckeyes' offense started six out of seven first half possessions inside Jasper territory giving Gilmer a commanding 28-7 halftime lead that the Bulldogs could not overcome. “I'm just happy we won,” said Buckeyes' head coach Jeff Traylor. “We really wanted to get this one. We knew our team didn't have a ...

By JOE DODD The Gilmer Buckeyes kick off the 2008 season Thursday night (August 28) at 7:30 p.m. against Jasper in the opening game of the Trinity Mother Frances Football Classic in a game billed as the rematch of the 2004 Class 3A Division II State Championship game. The only similarity to that game according to both Gilmer head coach Jeff Traylor and Jasper head coach Thomas Brooks, is the name of the two teams playing. “None of these kids played, but they did go to the game,” said Brooks. “They know about Gilmer and they know about the program that they have. So I don't have to tell them about the tradition that they have, their winning percentage, or how many times they've been to the playoffs; the kids know about them.” It's hard not to know about Gilmer, who won that first meeting between the two schools, 49-47, on their way to their first state title. The Buckeyes have gone 34-4 since the last meeting against the Bulldogs, including another trip to the state champion...

Lunch with the Coach of the Gilmer Buckeyes starts today (Wednesday, Aug. 27) at the Gilmer Country Club at noon. You must have your Booster Membership Card to get in. Cards will be delivered this week, and those that are undeliverable will be at the door at “Lunch with the Coach.” You can purchase a membership at the door. “Also, lets all wear our orange for this first football game played in Texas this year,” said Buckeye fan Bridget Fowler, referring to Thursday night’s opening game of the annual Trinity Mother Frances Football Classic at TMF Rose Stadium in Tyler. Buckeyes' Traylor discusses 2008 season The Gilmer Mirror's JOE DODD sat down with Gilmer Buckeyes' head coach JEFF TRAYLOR in a question-and-answer session to get his thoughts on the upcoming season. Every season your team chooses a motto. What is this season's motto, and why was it selected? The motto is Henotes. It is a Greek word which means unity; spirit of one. I think it is appropriate because we h...

By JOE DODD Following Gilmer's 5-touchdown victory over Atlanta in the Buckeyes' first scrimmage last week, Gilmer head coach Jeff Traylor admitted that the score was misleading. “I was a little disappointed. We were sloppier than I thought we were going to be,” Traylor said at the time. So what did Traylor think of Thursday's (August 21) 6-touchdown victory over the New Boston Lions at Buckeye Stadium? “Last week the score was not an indication of how we played. This week was a true indication of how well we played." Gilmer's offense piled up 467 total yards on 63 plays, suffering only one turnover while scoring six touchdowns. The Buckeyes' defense held the Lions to 279 total yards on 75 plays, while forcing three turnovers. And while Gilmer's defense did not surrender a touchdown in either scrimmage; Traylor praised the unit's improvement from last week. “I thought we were much more physical. I thought we ran to the ball a lot better.” Gilmer's d...

By JOE DODD The Gilmer Buckeyes host the New Boston Lions in their final pre-season scrimmage Thursday night (Aug. 21) at Buckeye Stadium. Freshmen and junior varsity teams will compete on opposite sides of the field starting at 6 p.m. followed by the varsity squads at approximately 7:15 p.m. The varsity squads will play twenty plays against each other's first team, followed by 15 plays against each other's second team. After the controlled scrimmage, the teams will play a game-situation half. Buckeyes head coach Jeff Traylor expects improvement over Saturday's scrimmage against Atlanta. “We huddled up for a whole scrimmage; that's a tremendous disadvantage for us,” offered Traylor. “Every scrimmage we've ever done where we have to huddle we don't play well. Once you take us out of the huddle, we play pretty good. I fully expect us to play better Thursday night when we get to the game situation half.” Traylor also expects the Lions, who moved back up to class 3A...

By JOE DODD Gilmer Buckeyes' head coach Jeff Traylor warns Buckeyes' fans to not read too much into Gilmer's 5-0 touchdown margin over the Atlanta Rabbits in Saturday's (Aug. 16) scrimmage. “I was a little disappointed,” admitted Traylor. “We were sloppier than I thought we were going to be. We just didn't execute very well; we weren't very crisp.” The Buckeyes' first string offense faced the Rabbits first string defense the first 20 plays of the controlled scrimmage. Gilmer managed 162 total yards and a touchdown when returning junior quarterback Stump Godfrey hit Zack Jones on a 55-yard pass on the eighth play. The Buckeyes also suffered three turnovers in their first 10 plays; two fumbles and one interception on a tipped pass. “All three of them you can attribute to lack of concentration;” said Traylor. “So we hope that we can clean that up. Obviously that is a huge concern.” Another concern for Traylor was the play of his defense, which gave up 90 rushin...

By JOE DODD The Gilmer Buckeyes will become one of only five Texas high schools to feature a specialized audio system for in-stadium broadcasts this football season. The Gilmer Athletic Booster Club purchased the system from Smart Bug Corporation of Jefferson with the total cost shared between Etex Telephone and Gilmer National Bank. The new system will replace the poor quality FM transmitter used to broadcast the Buckeyes' play-by-play signal to regular FM radio receivers. The new audio system delivers a clear signal up to one-half mile. To receive the broadcast signal, fans must purchase a special receiver called a Buckeye Bug for $20. The receiver is specially programmed to tune in to the Buckeyes' broadcast in the stadium and will work at both home and away games. All proceeds from sales of the Buckeye Bug will go to the Gilmer Athletic Booster Club, and will be used for scholarships and needed equipment for all Gilmer athletes. The Buckeye Bug is about the size of a small ...

Season tickets for the 2008 Gilmer Buckeye football season will be sold from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 18 to 22 in the field house at the north end of Buckeye Stadium. Current season ticket holders may purchase their seats for $25 each. Tickets for the Trinity Mother Frances Football Classic, in which the Buckeyes will face the Jasper Bulldogs, will also be available to the general public Aug. 18 to 22. The game will be played on Thursday, Aug. 28, at Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium in Tyler. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. All seating is reserved, and ticket prices are $8 for adults and $6 for students. All tickets will be $10 at the stadium. Ticket information will be updated each week on the Buckeye Ticket Line at 903-841-7777. 2008 Gilmer High School Media Day

The Gilmer Buckeyes will host the Atlanta Rabbits on Saturday morning, Aug. 16, here in Gilmer at Buckeye Stadium in a last-minute switch of location. The freshmen/junior varsity scrimmages begin at 9 a.m. with the varsity following at approximately 10 a.m. Buckeyes take on Atlanta in first scrimmage By JOE DODD The Gilmer Buckeyes start their pre-season schedule Saturday with a scrimmage at Atlanta. Gilmer head coach Jeff Traylor said the Rabbits are the perfect team to prepare his young squad for the season. “We just like playing good people who are close, and can run,” said Traylor. “Obviously Atlanta is probably one of the top three speed teams in the state of Texas.” The Rabbits finished as the Class 3A runner-up in this spring’s state track meet, complementing their three state championships in track this decade. And while the football team has struggled in recent years, the Rabbits are one of only five teams to beat the Buckeyes the past five seasons. Atlanta ended Gilmer’s 2003...

For the ninth straight year, Buckeye Head Coach Jeff Traylor on Tuesday (Aug. 5) gave a preseason talk to the Gilmer Rotary Club. This year, he provided a deeply personal view of how he sees the role he and other coaches play. The Gilmer varsity will be trying for an eighth straight district championship and a second state championship, the coach said. But this is not the record he and the other coaches will be judged by, he added. “My record will be decided 20 years from now,” he said, adding that a win for him will be if today’s players are leading constructive lives. Traylor traced his current philosophy back to 1994, when he attended a Promise Keepers rally at the Astrodome in Houston and found his life changed. This put him on a mission to be a great father, and changed the way he coached, he said. Two years ago, Gilmer lost a bi-district game to Liberty-Eylau, which Traylor saw as an inferior team, and was eliminated from the state playoffs. “God dropped me on my knees,” he said....

By JOE DODD Eighty-nine Buckeyes reported to Buckeye Stadium Monday (Aug. 4) to start preparations for the 2008 football season. The first practice session was from 6 to 7:30 p.m. followed by another practice from 8:30 until 10 p.m. Forty-two freshmen reported to practice on Tuesday morning. With only six starters returning from last year’s state finalist team, Gilmer head coach Jeff Traylor said that the emphasis of practice has changed from the last two seasons. “Our big focus right now is to try to become two-deep everywhere,” said Traylor. “This is much like 2004 and 2005 where we lost so many kids the year before. Last year we pretty much hit the ground running.” Traylor said that despite the high temperatures, no serious heat-related problems were reported. “Our kids did a great job in summer workouts,” commented Traylor. “All of our kids reported in shape. We probably had two or three cramps during practice.” Despite only five losses the previous five years and two trips to the ...

By JOE DODD The Gilmer Buckeyes football team will begin practice Monday, Aug. 4. Sophomores through seniors are expected to report to the field house at 4:30 p.m. with practice starting at 6 p.m. and running until 7:30 p.m. Following a one hour break, practice will resume from 8:30 p.m. until 10 p.m. All practices will be held at Buckeye Stadium. Freshmen football players should report to the field house Tuesday at 8 a.m. with practice starting at 9 a.m. and ending at 11 a.m. Gilmer head coach Jeff Traylor encourages Buckeyes' fans to watch practice. The Buckeyes’ first scrimmage is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 16, at Atlanta. Gilmer starts the regular season schedule on Thursday, Aug. 28, against Jasper in the East Texas Football Classic at Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium in Tyler.