2009 Gilmer Buckeyes
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.
This is your 10th season as head coach at Gilmer. Does that make this year special?
It’s amazing that it’s gone by that fast. Ten years is a long time to stay in one place for a job, especially coaching football. It’s been a blur; it’s gone by so fast. We’ve been very fortunate. There’s no way I would have dreamed that we would have had the amount of success that we’ve had.
You became the winningest coach in school history last season, and this season have the opportunity to get your 100th win. What does all of this mean to you personally?
I can remember seeing all of those coaches that had 100 wins and thinking “golly can you imagine what they must have gone through to win a hundred games?” It just makes me think of all the kids we’ve coached. I can describe every single loss in detail, but not the wins. You never think about the wins; you always think about the losses. It’s a terrible thing about this job.
You have lost to the eventual state champion for three years in a row. How difficult has that been for you and for the program?
Each one was different. I was extremely disappointed after the Liberty-Eylau loss because I didn’t think we played very well. The Liberty Hill loss, I have mixed feelings because the score was not an indicator of how close those teams were matched up, because of the weather and Stump’s injury. That was a different kind of loss; I guess that was more of a frustration because I know we didn’t get to show our best that day. And then the Carthage loss I was extremely proud of our kids playing and battling a team that was probably better than us. Since 2003, we’ve either been the state champion or lost to the state champion five out of six years. The secret to winning it, is always being around it, and then you’re going to win it.
Gilmer is ranked number one in most pre-season polls. The last time that happened was in 2006 when the Buckeyes lost in the first round of the playoffs after a perfect regular season. Will that experience help you and your team this season?
I think so. There is so much more media, so much more attention to a team that’s number one, that’s the hardest thing about doing it. I learned a lot about the hype that comes along with being number one.
This is one of the largest senior classes that you’ve ever had at Gilmer. How will you remember this class? That remains to be seen.
So far they’ve been a very, very productive group. We’ve gotten a lot out of this group already. Thirteen of them participated as sophomores on the state finalist team. I told them that if they can win it all, I think they’ll go down as the greatest group that has ever come through Gilmer because they’ve been second three years in a row. If they could win it this year; wow what a career.
How does it feel to start another season with the challenge of extending the Buckeyes’ impressive 39-game district and 30-game home winning streaks?
That’s exciting to me. Those are things that keep kids excited during the regular season. I know that every group that wins their final district game is relieved and anxious to pass that on to the next group.
What is the theme for this year’s team and how was it chosen?
Code Red is the theme. The idea came from Buckeyes’ play-by-play announcer Matt Camp’s positive attitude in his battle against cancer. He said you have to think it, speak it and act it. I thought we would be ranked number one and people say we’re number one, now we have to act like we’re number one. Thinking it and saying it will not be the hard part, but acting it will be the hard part. That’s the code and the red came from Kilgore and Carthage both wearing red and being the only teams that beat us last year.
Mirror Photo / Mary Laschinger Kirby
GILMER BUCKEYES VARSITY for 2009 include, from left, kneeling, Terry Whitaker, Kedon Franklin, Tristan Holt, Daniel McLaren, Luis Castro, Braylon Webb, Luke Turner, Vance Green, Adan Olivares and Darian Godfrey; second row, Paul Chesnut, Xavier Easley, Jordan Abron, Wesley Johnson, Ben Turner, Chris Miller, Tevin Godfrey, Kavin Patton, Ben Griffith, Marlon Granville, J.T. Beecham and Gus Osborne; third row, Harvey Horton, Marqualon Tate, Exavian Johnson, Tamil Harris, Chad Tennison, Jordan McCraven, Gavin Holt, Jeremy Jackson, Dakota Cannon, Mikey Wilson, Jordan Traylor and Ben Martin; fourth row, Jeremy McMillan, Carlos Sanchez, Sam Haynes, Eric Miller, Devonte Brooks, Ty Barr, Caleb Denton, Cory Davis, Jasper Cox, Dustin Hardin, Barry Kennedy and Floyd Hollins; fifth row, Nathan Shelton, Leland Montgomery, Jordan Goodrich, Zach Davidson, Beau Blair, Jacob Jenkins, Nick Richardson, Hurashio Morgan, Austin Hollingsworth, Chase Spencer and Colton Hill. Not shown are Josh Gordon, Richard Quezada, Trey Webb, Wesley Lambert, Daniel Arrington and Michael Boddie.
LUNCH WITH COACH TRAYLOR
This feature of Gilmer Buckeyes Booster Club membership began at noon Wednesday, Aug. 26. It will be held each Wednesday at the Gilmer Country Club and will continue for the entire season.
District 17-3A: Gilmer Team To Beat, But Parity Reigns Supreme
THE ZONE: 'Super Six'
Longview News-Journal: Lobos, Buckeyes, Tigers ranked No. 1
No questions at quarterback for Buckeyes
Tyler Morning Telegraph: Texas Football Ranks 4 East Texas Teams as Tops in Its Class
Gilmer Buckeyes High School Football Team Preview 09-10
Courtesy Photo / KETKnbc.com
COACH JEFF TRAYLOR discusses his team's No. 1 ranking with Danny Elzner of KETK Channel 56.
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.
This is your 10th season as head coach at Gilmer. Does that make this year special?
It’s amazing that it’s gone by that fast. Ten years is a long time to stay in one place for a job, especially coaching football. It’s been a blur; it’s gone by so fast. We’ve been very fortunate. There’s no way I would have dreamed that we would have had the amount of success that we’ve had.
You became the winningest coach in school history last season, and this season have the opportunity to get your 100th win. What does all of this mean to you personally?
I can remember seeing all of those coaches that had 100 wins and thinking “golly can you imagine what they must have gone through to win a hundred games?” It just makes me think of all the kids we’ve coached. I can describe every single loss in detail, but not the wins. You never think about the wins; you always think about the losses. It’s a terrible thing about this job.
You have lost to the eventual state champion for three years in a row. How difficult has that been for you and for the program?
Each one was different. I was extremely disappointed after the Liberty-Eylau loss because I didn’t think we played very well. The Liberty Hill loss, I have mixed feelings because the score was not an indicator of how close those teams were matched up, because of the weather and Stump’s injury. That was a different kind of loss; I guess that was more of a frustration because I know we didn’t get to show our best that day. And then the Carthage loss I was extremely proud of our kids playing and battling a team that was probably better than us. Since 2003, we’ve either been the state champion or lost to the state champion five out of six years. The secret to winning it, is always being around it, and then you’re going to win it.
Gilmer is ranked number one in most pre-season polls. The last time that happened was in 2006 when the Buckeyes lost in the first round of the playoffs after a perfect regular season. Will that experience help you and your team this season?
I think so. There is so much more media, so much more attention to a team that’s number one, that’s the hardest thing about doing it. I learned a lot about the hype that comes along with being number one.
This is one of the largest senior classes that you’ve ever had at Gilmer. How will you remember this class? That remains to be seen.
So far they’ve been a very, very productive group. We’ve gotten a lot out of this group already. Thirteen of them participated as sophomores on the state finalist team. I told them that if they can win it all, I think they’ll go down as the greatest group that has ever come through Gilmer because they’ve been second three years in a row. If they could win it this year; wow what a career.
How does it feel to start another season with the challenge of extending the Buckeyes’ impressive 39-game district and 30-game home winning streaks?
That’s exciting to me. Those are things that keep kids excited during the regular season. I know that every group that wins their final district game is relieved and anxious to pass that on to the next group.
What is the theme for this year’s team and how was it chosen?
Code Red is the theme. The idea came from Buckeyes’ play-by-play announcer Matt Camp’s positive attitude in his battle against cancer. He said you have to think it, speak it and act it. I thought we would be ranked number one and people say we’re number one, now we have to act like we’re number one. Thinking it and saying it will not be the hard part, but acting it will be the hard part. That’s the code and the red came from Kilgore and Carthage both wearing red and being the only teams that beat us last year.
Mirror Photo / Mary Laschinger Kirby
GILMER BUCKEYES VARSITY for 2009 include, from left, kneeling, Terry Whitaker, Kedon Franklin, Tristan Holt, Daniel McLaren, Luis Castro, Braylon Webb, Luke Turner, Vance Green, Adan Olivares and Darian Godfrey; second row, Paul Chesnut, Xavier Easley, Jordan Abron, Wesley Johnson, Ben Turner, Chris Miller, Tevin Godfrey, Kavin Patton, Ben Griffith, Marlon Granville, J.T. Beecham and Gus Osborne; third row, Harvey Horton, Marqualon Tate, Exavian Johnson, Tamil Harris, Chad Tennison, Jordan McCraven, Gavin Holt, Jeremy Jackson, Dakota Cannon, Mikey Wilson, Jordan Traylor and Ben Martin; fourth row, Jeremy McMillan, Carlos Sanchez, Sam Haynes, Eric Miller, Devonte Brooks, Ty Barr, Caleb Denton, Cory Davis, Jasper Cox, Dustin Hardin, Barry Kennedy and Floyd Hollins; fifth row, Nathan Shelton, Leland Montgomery, Jordan Goodrich, Zach Davidson, Beau Blair, Jacob Jenkins, Nick Richardson, Hurashio Morgan, Austin Hollingsworth, Chase Spencer and Colton Hill. Not shown are Josh Gordon, Richard Quezada, Trey Webb, Wesley Lambert, Daniel Arrington and Michael Boddie.
LUNCH WITH COACH TRAYLOR
This feature of Gilmer Buckeyes Booster Club membership began at noon Wednesday, Aug. 26. It will be held each Wednesday at the Gilmer Country Club and will continue for the entire season.
District 17-3A: Gilmer Team To Beat, But Parity Reigns Supreme
THE ZONE: 'Super Six'
Longview News-Journal: Lobos, Buckeyes, Tigers ranked No. 1
No questions at quarterback for Buckeyes
Tyler Morning Telegraph: Texas Football Ranks 4 East Texas Teams as Tops in Its Class
Gilmer Buckeyes High School Football Team Preview 09-10
Courtesy Photo / KETKnbc.com
COACH JEFF TRAYLOR discusses his team's No. 1 ranking with Danny Elzner of KETK Channel 56.
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