Gilmer Buckeyes

By JOE DODD The Gilmer Buckeyes’ varsity blanked the Pittsburg Pirates 39-0 in the championship game of the 9th annual Buckeyes’ 7-on-7 tournament to win the title for the first time in three years. “It was really a good day for us, although we struggled all day,” said Gilmer head coach Jeff Traylor, who saw his team dominate their first game; lose their second game; then win in overtime of their third game to make it out of pool play. Gilmer started the day with an impressive 61-18 thrashing of Class 4A Pine Tree. Buckeyes’ quarterback Darian “Stump” Godfrey threw touchdown passes on Gilmer’s first six possessions before giving way to backup Luke Turner, who threw touchdown passes on the Buckeyes’ final two possessions. Godfrey connected with Turner on the first score, before consecutive touchdown passes to Tristan Holt and Paul Chesnut were sandwiched around a scoring strike to Ben Griffith. Turner’s touchdown passes went to Gus Osborne and Tevin Godfrey. The Buckeyes’ other score ca...

Manuel Johnson brought his former coach, Jeff Traylor, some souvenirs from his collegiate career Wednesday. The Dallas Cowboys draftee brought jerseys from the University of Oklahoma, the East-West Shrine Game and the Senior Bowl. On two of the three, Johnson wore the number one. “I never allow anyone to use number one here,” Coach Traylor mused as he looked at the East-West Shrine Game jersey, “and that is the number he wore.” Many fans of the Gilmer Buckeyes, though, would be quick to acknowledge that if any alum of the school deserved to wear that numeral on his jersey, it would have to be the young man who led the Buckeyes to an undefeated 16-0 season and the state championship in 2004. As a rookie with the Dallas Cowboys, Johnson has the number 87, his first 2-digit number. “Yes, and I do not like it either,” Johnson commented. Recently, the Upshur County native went to his first workout with fellow Cowboy draft picks. Johnson was picked in the seventh round. On the second of the ...

By MARY L. KIRBY The phone rang in the other room, and everyone held their breath. “Hey, Daddy, I’m going to be a Dallas Cowboy!” came the shout from Manuel Johnson. Minutes later, about 5:30 p.m. Sunday, the ESPN2 channel flashed the message across the bottom of the screen: “Dallas Cowboys, Round 7, Number 229, Manuel Johnson, Oklahoma.” Whoops and hollers went up in the home of Eleanor Johnson on FM 2263 in the Long Pine Community. Lula Johnson started videotaping the reaction of her brother, Manuel Johnson, Sr., while her mother, Helen Johnson, stood in the doorway taking it all in. Manna Johnson, Reyven Osborne and Landon Osborne all joined in the celebration of the success of their cousin, Manuel Johnson, Jr., only the second National Football League draft pick in history from Gilmer High School. Kenneth Pettway, the first GHS pick, was selected in 2005 by the Houston Texans in the seventh round out of Grambling State. He has spent four years in the NFL, playing for the Texans, Ja...

GILMER, Texas — It’s every little boy’s dream…at least the ones who grow up in East Texas. Be the star quarterback of the high school football team. Lead your team to a State Championship. Win the State’s Most Valuable Player Award. Go off to a major university on a football scholarship and score touchdowns on national television. Then get drafted by The Dallas Cowboys. Most guys don’t even get the privilege of experiencing the first two sentences of this paragraph. Then again, as anybody from Gilmer, Texas will tell you…Manuel Johnson is not “Most guys.” One of Gilmer’s favorite sons, the All-State Wide Receiver, 3A State Player of the Year and State Champion, turned star Oklahoma Sooner Super Star, has now reached the stratospheric highlight of his athletic career…selected in the 2009 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys. To put it mildly, he is “Living the Dream.” And once again, Manuel Johnson has invited his home town along for the ride. For those who really know Manuel, he’s about as ...