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 after a two-year hiatus in Class 2A, to provide the Buckeyes with a challenge. “This will be our third straight year to scrimmage them, and Rick Barker always does a good job with his teams,” said Traylor.
Barker is one of the few coaches that has ever recorded a win against Traylor, when his Pleasant Grove team defeated the Buckeyes in the 2001 playoffs.
Traylor said the Buckeyes need the experience. “We're not where I want to be. We need to play a bunch of football before we play Jasper, but this scrimmage is all we have.”
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 after a two-year hiatus in Class 2A, to provide the Buckeyes with a challenge. “This will be our third straight year to scrimmage them, and Rick Barker always does a good job with his teams,” said Traylor.
Barker is one of the few coaches that has ever recorded a win against Traylor, when his Pleasant Grove team defeated the Buckeyes in the 2001 playoffs.
Traylor said the Buckeyes need the experience. “We're not where I want to be. We need to play a bunch of football before we play Jasper, but this scrimmage is all we have.”
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