By JOE DODD
Gilmer Buckeyes’ head coach Jeff Traylor has many great memories of Homer Bryce Stadium on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches. There are the two regular season wins against Hemphill in 2000 and 2001; playoff victories against Tatum in 2004 and Mabank in 2007. And of course the Buckeyes’ only state championship win against Jasper in 2004.
But Traylor and the Buckeyes’ most recent visit to Nacogdoches was a disappointing 31-28 loss to last year’s state champion, the Carthage Bulldogs.
“That’s the first time we’ve ever lost in Nacogdoches,” said Traylor, as he prepared his Buckeyes to open the 2009 regular season in the same stadium that hosted the end of their 2008 season.
Gilmer meets the Jasper Bulldogs Friday at 8 p.m. in Homer Bryce Stadium, in a rematch of the 2004 Class 3A Division II State Championship Final.
The Buckeyes are 46-6 with another state finals appearance since that 49-47 thriller over the Bulldogs five years ago. Jasper, on the other hand, is 20-23 in the past five years.
Gilmer is ranked number one in Class 3A to start the season, while Jasper starts the season with their third head coach in five seasons.
Despite the disparity between the two programs in the last five years, new Jasper head coach Mike Bickham said that Friday’s game presents a great opportunity for the Bulldogs. “We’d love to come in and knock the king off the mountain,” Bickham said.
But Bickham knows the odds of his Bulldogs doing that are long, considering that he’s installing a new Triple-I option offense and 3-3 Stack defense. “A brand new offense and a brand new defense; it’s bound to be tough,” admitted Bickham, who is 53-21 as a head coach in six seasons with Tenaha, Brookshire Royal and Carthage.
“His dad was a head football coach, so he’s been around it his whole life,” said Traylor about Bickham. “He’s won everywhere he’s been, so he obviously knows something. He’s won at three different schools and I’m sure he’s going to win in Jasper.”
“When you jump into a job like this you’ve got to concentrate on getting better every week,” explained Bickham, who was a coordinator at John Tyler when he accepted the Bulldogs’ job.
“We still have to work on the timing of things,” said Bickham. “Things that teams that have been running the same offense year after year already have worked out; we have to work those things out right now.”
Traylor, who is 97-17 entering his 10th season in Gilmer, thinks that could be an advantage for his Buckeyes. “You just hope he’s not ready week zero. You’d like to think 10 years against week zero would give us a tremendous advantage,” reasoned Traylor.
“We don’t ever change,” Traylor continued. “We’re still in the spread, we’re still in the “50” defense, we still punt the same way, we still kick off the same way, and we still return the same way. People can prepare for us so much easier.”
While the Buckeyes present no surprises for their opponent, they still present a challenge; stopping an offense that averaged over 465 yards and 44 points per game last season.
“It’s not Gilmer’s offense,” insisted Bickham. “It’s the kids they have running that offense. When you’ve got a seasoned quarterback that is very talented and very well coached and understands the offense, you’re going to be very, very good.”
Buckeyes’ quarterback Stump Godfrey returns for his third season at the helm of Gilmer’s vaunted offense with the opportunity to finish his career as one of the best passers in Texas history.
If the Buckeyes make a deep playoff run this season, Godfrey’s career averages suggest that he will finish in the top 12 in passing yards and touchdown passes among all classifications. “That’s pretty fascinating,” said Traylor. “He can climb right up the Texas all-time leaders list.”
While Godfrey and the Buckeyes’ offense get most of the attention, Bickham believes the Buckeyes’ Black Flag Defense may be the key to Gilmer’s season. “I think their kids fly to the football; they’re extremely aggressive, they don’t make many mistakes, they’re great tacklers,” stated Bickham. “Their defense may be the very thing that may propel them in living up to that number one ranking.”
Traylor admits that the number one ranking has his kids eager to start the season Friday night. “They’re tired of practicing, so I think they’ll be really ready to go.”
NOTES
*Gilmer is 8-1 in season openers under Jeff Traylor (only loss: 20-14 to Gladewater in 2001)
*Gilmer is 63-2 in their last 65 regular season games
*Gilmer's Stump Godfrey needs 189 passing yards for 6,000 in his career
*Gilmer's Stump Godfrey’s 74 career touchdown passes ranks as 4th best all time in Class 3A
**Direct link to Friday night’s Internet audio stream: http://nhsbn.ezstream.com/play/index.cfm?fuseaction=embstay&id=1317A5B55F
You can also access the stream via www.GilmerBuckeyes.com. Pregame show begins at 7:45 p.m.
See ad on Page 4B of Aug. 26 print edition of The Gilmer Mirror for schedule of video replays of the game. This ad will also run on the front page of the TV guide in Saturday's Mirror throughout the season.
Mirror Photos / Mary Laschinger Kirby
HOMER BRYCE STADIUM on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State Univ. in Nacogdoches was the scene of the Gilmer football program’s greatest triumph on Dec. 18, 2004. Players in above photo hold a banner proclaiming the Buckeyes as state champs after the 49-47 win over the Jasper Bulldogs. However, it was also the scene of the Buckeyes’ most recent setback, a hard-fought 31-28 quarterfinal loss to another pack of Bulldogs, the eventual state champs from Carthage, on Dec. 6, 2008. In the photo below, Gilmer QB Darian “Stump” Godfrey scores from a yard out to even that game up at 7-7 in the first quarter. On Friday night, the Buckeyes meet the Jasper Bulldogs again at SFA. Last year the two teams met at TMF Rose Stadium in Tyler and Gilmer won again, 56-28.
Gilmer Buckeyes’ head coach Jeff Traylor has many great memories of Homer Bryce Stadium on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches. There are the two regular season wins against Hemphill in 2000 and 2001; playoff victories against Tatum in 2004 and Mabank in 2007. And of course the Buckeyes’ only state championship win against Jasper in 2004.
But Traylor and the Buckeyes’ most recent visit to Nacogdoches was a disappointing 31-28 loss to last year’s state champion, the Carthage Bulldogs.
“That’s the first time we’ve ever lost in Nacogdoches,” said Traylor, as he prepared his Buckeyes to open the 2009 regular season in the same stadium that hosted the end of their 2008 season.
Gilmer meets the Jasper Bulldogs Friday at 8 p.m. in Homer Bryce Stadium, in a rematch of the 2004 Class 3A Division II State Championship Final.
The Buckeyes are 46-6 with another state finals appearance since that 49-47 thriller over the Bulldogs five years ago. Jasper, on the other hand, is 20-23 in the past five years.
Gilmer is ranked number one in Class 3A to start the season, while Jasper starts the season with their third head coach in five seasons.
Despite the disparity between the two programs in the last five years, new Jasper head coach Mike Bickham said that Friday’s game presents a great opportunity for the Bulldogs. “We’d love to come in and knock the king off the mountain,” Bickham said.
But Bickham knows the odds of his Bulldogs doing that are long, considering that he’s installing a new Triple-I option offense and 3-3 Stack defense. “A brand new offense and a brand new defense; it’s bound to be tough,” admitted Bickham, who is 53-21 as a head coach in six seasons with Tenaha, Brookshire Royal and Carthage.
“His dad was a head football coach, so he’s been around it his whole life,” said Traylor about Bickham. “He’s won everywhere he’s been, so he obviously knows something. He’s won at three different schools and I’m sure he’s going to win in Jasper.”
“When you jump into a job like this you’ve got to concentrate on getting better every week,” explained Bickham, who was a coordinator at John Tyler when he accepted the Bulldogs’ job.
“We still have to work on the timing of things,” said Bickham. “Things that teams that have been running the same offense year after year already have worked out; we have to work those things out right now.”
Traylor, who is 97-17 entering his 10th season in Gilmer, thinks that could be an advantage for his Buckeyes. “You just hope he’s not ready week zero. You’d like to think 10 years against week zero would give us a tremendous advantage,” reasoned Traylor.
“We don’t ever change,” Traylor continued. “We’re still in the spread, we’re still in the “50” defense, we still punt the same way, we still kick off the same way, and we still return the same way. People can prepare for us so much easier.”
While the Buckeyes present no surprises for their opponent, they still present a challenge; stopping an offense that averaged over 465 yards and 44 points per game last season.
“It’s not Gilmer’s offense,” insisted Bickham. “It’s the kids they have running that offense. When you’ve got a seasoned quarterback that is very talented and very well coached and understands the offense, you’re going to be very, very good.”
Buckeyes’ quarterback Stump Godfrey returns for his third season at the helm of Gilmer’s vaunted offense with the opportunity to finish his career as one of the best passers in Texas history.
If the Buckeyes make a deep playoff run this season, Godfrey’s career averages suggest that he will finish in the top 12 in passing yards and touchdown passes among all classifications. “That’s pretty fascinating,” said Traylor. “He can climb right up the Texas all-time leaders list.”
While Godfrey and the Buckeyes’ offense get most of the attention, Bickham believes the Buckeyes’ Black Flag Defense may be the key to Gilmer’s season. “I think their kids fly to the football; they’re extremely aggressive, they don’t make many mistakes, they’re great tacklers,” stated Bickham. “Their defense may be the very thing that may propel them in living up to that number one ranking.”
Traylor admits that the number one ranking has his kids eager to start the season Friday night. “They’re tired of practicing, so I think they’ll be really ready to go.”
NOTES
*Gilmer is 8-1 in season openers under Jeff Traylor (only loss: 20-14 to Gladewater in 2001)
*Gilmer is 63-2 in their last 65 regular season games
*Gilmer's Stump Godfrey needs 189 passing yards for 6,000 in his career
*Gilmer's Stump Godfrey’s 74 career touchdown passes ranks as 4th best all time in Class 3A
**Direct link to Friday night’s Internet audio stream: http://nhsbn.ezstream.com/play/index.cfm?fuseaction=embstay&id=1317A5B55F
You can also access the stream via www.GilmerBuckeyes.com. Pregame show begins at 7:45 p.m.
See ad on Page 4B of Aug. 26 print edition of The Gilmer Mirror for schedule of video replays of the game. This ad will also run on the front page of the TV guide in Saturday's Mirror throughout the season.
Mirror Photos / Mary Laschinger Kirby
HOMER BRYCE STADIUM on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State Univ. in Nacogdoches was the scene of the Gilmer football program’s greatest triumph on Dec. 18, 2004. Players in above photo hold a banner proclaiming the Buckeyes as state champs after the 49-47 win over the Jasper Bulldogs. However, it was also the scene of the Buckeyes’ most recent setback, a hard-fought 31-28 quarterfinal loss to another pack of Bulldogs, the eventual state champs from Carthage, on Dec. 6, 2008. In the photo below, Gilmer QB Darian “Stump” Godfrey scores from a yard out to even that game up at 7-7 in the first quarter. On Friday night, the Buckeyes meet the Jasper Bulldogs again at SFA. Last year the two teams met at TMF Rose Stadium in Tyler and Gilmer won again, 56-28.
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