Skip to main content

Buckeyes travel to Chapel Hill to face undefeated Bulldogs

By JOE DODD

The 6th-ranked Gilmer Buckeyes (5-1, 1-0) put their seven consecutive undefeated district championships and 35-game district winning streak on the line Friday night when they travel to Chapel Hill to face the 9th-ranked Bulldogs (5-0, 1-0) in a matchup that should decide the District 17-3A championship.

“Best game in East Texas; might be the best game in the state,” proclaimed Gilmer head coach Jeff Traylor, who prepared for the big game atmosphere last Saturday by attending the annual Red River Rivalry where he enjoyed watching five of his former players take the field in either Texas burnt orange or Oklahoma crimson.

“It's Texas-OU. It's not the championship, but it should be,” explained Traylor. “You're not going to win the championship Friday night, but it's going to put you in a position to win the championship. Texas did not win the Big 12 Saturday; it just put them in the position to, and Oklahoma is now counting on somebody else. It's the exact same scenario. I compare it totally to that game. We're not number one versus number five, but we are number six versus number nine.”

The annual Cotton Bowl rivalry provided Traylor with more examples of a tenet he teaches his players. “Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games,” said Traylor, as former Buckeyes' Manuel Johnson scored three touchdowns for the Sooners, and Curtis Brown made a big tackle for the Longhorns on a fourth down.

“Manuel Johnson and Curtis Brown will be talked about forever because they made big-time plays in a big-time game,” predicted Traylor, who hopes to see some of his current Buckeyes step up against the Bulldogs.

“If you can't get ready for this one; why are you even playing? These [games] are the reason you do it. This is fun,” said Traylor.

Chapel Hill head coach Phil Castles claimed that his Bulldogs are ready. “Our kids have been looking forward to this game. We're ready for Friday night,” stated Castles, who is 20-18 in his fourth year at Chapel Hill.

Castles is enjoying his most successful season with the Bulldogs thanks in large part to Class 3A’s returning rushing leader from last season, Matthew Tucker. Tucker (6-1, 210, 4.4), rushed for 2,297 yards and 28 touchdowns in 12 games as a junior, and is on pace to pass those numbers this season with 1,367 yards and 16 touchdowns after only five games.

“He looks like Justin Johnson, except that he's faster,” described Traylor when asked about Tucker, who has been offered scholarships by Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Texas A&m, TCU and UTEP.

Traylor said it is no secret what Chapel Hill will do on offense. “They're going to get the ball to the tailback and then they are going to have plays off of him.”

Castles admitted that the Bulldogs are predictable on offense. “We're going to give him the ball. We'd be ignorant if we didn't,” claimed Castles.

While Tucker is the workhorse, rushing for over 300 yards in three games this season, Traylor said Chapel Hill's quarterback, DeKerrian Cooper (5-10, 165, 4.4), and fullback Jordan Antley (6-1, 190, 4.6) are impressive as well. “Their three best players are lined up right in a row,” appraised Traylor about the I-formation Bulldogs’ offense that is averaging 444.6 yards and 39.6 points per game.

Traylor wants his defense to concentrate on two areas this week: gang-tackling the runner and creating turnovers. “We have to create more turnovers,” lamented Traylor. “We haven't caused fumbles which means we're not hitting hard enough.” The Buckeyes have recorded only three take-aways in the last three games, while compared to eight in the first three games of the season.

Gilmer's Mikey Wilson, who has three interceptions and two fumble recoveries from his linebacker position, said the Black Flag Defense is anxious to face Tucker and the Bulldogs. “It's a big challenge for us, but it's one that we've been looking forward to for the past couple of weeks,” Wilson said. “It gives us a good opportunity to see how we really are on the running game.”

Castles is impressed with the Buckeyes' defense that allows an average of 163.5 rushing yards a game. “They're a very good defensive squad,” Castles said. “Size is not near as important on defense as quickness, and they are super quick. I will compromise size any time for quickness and I think that's what Gilmer has done.”

Traylor is happy with the performance of his undersized defense, but he points out that the Bulldogs are even quicker and have more size. “We're going to struggle blocking them. They're very physical up front; very fast and big,” said Traylor, who is particularly concerned with, “Their nose guard Kadarius Reeder (6-1, 280, 5.0) is an all-state nose guard.”

Traylor praised the Bulldogs' secondary, which rotates seven players, all with 4.5 speed or better. Linebackers, sophomores Kevinski Pitts (5-11, 185) and Andrew Tucker (6-0, 195) enjoy 4.6 and 4.5 speed respectively, and even three of the Bulldogs' defensive linemen run a 4.8 or faster. “They're just so big and athletic; they're just everywhere,” Traylor cautioned.

Another concern for Traylor is off the field this week as Gilmer hosts the annual Yamboree, providing players a huge potential distraction. “They've got to be smart,” warned Traylor. “You can't stay out all night, you won't play well. You've got to have your sleep, you've got to eat correctly. You can't eat 15 corn dogs. Do all of that on Saturday.”

Gilmer quarterback Stump Godfrey claimed the Buckeyes will not be distracted this week. “We play during the Yamboree every year,” said Godfrey. “They're a good team, so we just have to stay focused and go out there and play our game.”

Traylor said he believes Godfrey. “This is a very mature team. I've got great seniors, and I've got great captains. I'll be shocked if the Yamboree is an issue.”

Did you know?

• Gilmer has a 4-0 series record against Chapel Hill, with games played in 1951, 1962, 1963 and 1970.

• Gilmer's last district loss was 14-6 to Tatum in 2000.

• Gilmer quarterback Stump Godfrey needs 113 total yards to reach 5,000 for his career.

• Gilmer quarterback Stump Godfrey needs 306 passing yards to reach 4,000 for his career.

Bounty Hunter of the Week: Vance Green
Special Teams Player of the Week: Vance Green
Offensive Scout Team Player of the Week: Xavian Johnson
Defensive Scout Team Player of the Week: Brian Boyd


Mirror Photo / Mary Laschinger Kirby
GILMER’S ZACK JONES gets behind the Bullard secondary for his deep-pass reception from Stump Godfrey in the second quarter. Despite being tripped up at the five, Jones stumbled into the end zone for a touchdown. Gilmer faces Chapel Hill there Friday night.

State-Ranked Gilmer, Chapel Hill Clash In 17-3A

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

How Gilmer came to be known as the Buckeyes

By JOE BLOUNT Long before the birth of Christ the buckeye was known to have medicinal value. The nutlike seed, found abundantly on shrubs here in East Texas, first got its notoriety as a curative agent from the Greco-Roman culture. Their god of medicine was Aesculapian. Even today botanical scientists place the buckeye within the genus Aesculus, recognize it as a member of the horse-chestnut family and are still highly puzzled by its many and varied phytochemicals. “Phyto,” as you may recall from biology, simply means “from plants.” There are a great number of antioxidants and maintenance chemicals found in the buckeye’s pulp. There are also many toxic compounds and several of the substances are downright poisonous. Early Greek docs would skin the buckeye and boil the endosperm, producing a brew that was taken internally. Most often, just as the case may still be today, the cure inevitably turned out to be worse than the disease. So now, we see that the buckeye is poisonous. We also b

Padilla Poll Coaches 2023 All State Team

Padilla Poll Coaches 2023 All State Team 4A D-II Offensive Player of the Year Sr Will Henderson Gilmer RB Defensive Player of the Year Sr Aron Bell Gilmer LB Coach of the Year Alan Metzel Gilmer 1st Team Special Jr Brayden Pate Gilmer K Jr Ty WellMan Sanger P Sr Bryan Ramirez Ferris P Jr Josiah Groeneweg Glen Rose Ret 2nd Team Special Sr Jax Rodriguez Lago Vista K Sr Jack Atkinson Orange Grove Ret Sr Jadyn Forbes Sweetwater Ret Padilla Poll Coaches 2023 All State Team 4A D-II 1st Team Offense Sr Ozzie Andrade Bellville OL Sr Spencer Murphy Gilmer OL Sr Caden Romo Wimberley OL Jr Lucas Cano Gilmer OL Sr Jarom Pilcher Gilmer OL Sr Camden Raymond Glen Rose TE Sr Ta'Erik Tate Gilmer WR Jr Brendan Webb Gilmer WR Sr Jaydon Smith Ingleside WR Sr Dre'lon Miller Silsbee WR Jr Jos

Video: Gilmer Buckeyes seeking community support to acquire championship rings