By JOE DODD
When the top-ranked Gilmer Buckeyes (10-0) enter Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium (pictured above) in Tyler today at 3 p.m. they will see a familiar foe across the field.
The Jasper Bulldogs (8-2) will be the team on the other side. The Buckeyes and Bulldogs opened the regular season against each other almost three months ago.
The Buckeyes will also be facing a familiar situation. Just like this season, the 2006 Buckeyes’ team started as the pre-season favorite to win a state title and remained the number one ranked team the entire regular season. That Buckeyes’ team lost in the first round of the playoffs.
“We’re reminded of it every day,” said senior Tristan Holt who leads the Buckeyes with 18 touchdowns scored.
Gilmer head coach Jeff Traylor admits to reminding his players about the team that stumbled three years ago, but said that he doesn’t like to compare the two teams. “That was 2006; that was a long time ago. This is a different group of kids,” said Traylor.
It may be a different group of kids, but the similarities between the two teams are amazing. Both teams were led by record-setting senior quarterbacks. Both teams scored 554 points in the regular season. Both teams had defenses that allowed an average of only 14 points per game. Both teams ended the regular season with difficult wins over huge underdogs.
And just like the 2006 first round matchup against Liberty-Eylau, Jasper is an opponent that could challenge for a state championship. “It’s a terrible matchup for us because we’ve already beaten them once; they’re a power football team; they’re physical and run fast on defense. If I could pick our playoff opponent it wouldn’t be them,” lamented Traylor.
“It’s hard to beat the same team twice,” continued Traylor, who recalled the Buckeyes’ slim 8-7 halftime lead over Jasper in the season’s first game. Gilmer would go on to a 42-14 victory over the Bulldogs, who were playing their first game under new head coach Mike Bickham, who was installing a new Triple-I option offense and a 3-3 Stack defense.
“I don’t know if anybody has an advantage playing the second time,” insisted Bickham. “I’ve been on both sides. If you won the first time, you felt like it was going to be hard to win the second time. If you lose the first time, you wonder if you can do anything different to beat them. I think it makes the game harder for both teams.”
Gilmer senior quarterback Stump Godfrey said that the first game against the Bulldogs was the hardest. “We didn’t have a good game plan for them the first game because they didn’t run the same defense as the year before,” explained Godfrey about the Gilmer offense that managed only 91 total yards in the first half against Jasper. “We’ll have a better game plan for them this time.”
If the game plan produces similar results as the 328 yards and 34 points the Buckeyes amassed in the second half of that first meeting against the Bulldogs, then Gilmer won’t have to worry about repeating the history of the 2006 team.
But Traylor warns that the Bulldogs are much improved since that August game. “They’ve gotten better each week,” said Traylor.
Jasper certainly didn’t let the loss to the Buckeyes get them down, as the Bulldogs went on to knock off Class 2A’s number 4 ranked team Kirbyville in its second game and then take down West Orange Stark in the third game. West Orange Stark was ranked 3rd in Class 3A at the time. The Bulldogs only other loss was to the defending Class 3A D.II state champion Carthage.
“They’ve got two losses; to the number one and number two ranked teams in the state of Texas; that’s it,” exclaimed Traylor, who is impressed with Jasper’s schemes. “They’re committed to what they do; and what they do can beat us.”
Bickham said the Bulldogs believe they can play the spoilers just like Liberty-Eylau did in 2006. “We go into every game feeling like we have a chance to win. You have to feel that way,” stated Bickham. “Our philosophy is; respect everyone, fear no one.”
The Bulldogs’ belief is based on a ball-control offense much like the one Tatum employed last week to rack up 368 total yards and control the clock for almost 40 minutes against the Buckeyes.
“Their pride is hurt,” said Traylor about his defense. “Nobody likes to have the ball run all over you. I expect them to bounce back like they always do.”
It’s not just the Buckeyes’ defense that needs to respond this week. “It puts pressure on our offense,” Traylor said. “Our offense just cannot turn the ball over. If we score it puts pressure on them and gets them out of their game plan. If we turn the ball over, we’re in trouble. We lost to Canton that way and we lost to Liberty-Eylau the same way. That’s the recipe to beat us.”
Jasper’s defense gave the Buckeyes’ fits in the season opener. “They really hurt us with their pressure last time,” said Traylor. “We’ve got to be able to block them better. They won the line of scrimmage last time we played them.”
Traylor also believes that the Bulldogs won’t be as generous with the turnovers in this game as they were in the first game. “I don’t think they will fumble four times like they did last time,” predicted Traylor.
“We’ve got to do things to not turn the football over,” agreed Bickham as he explained how the Bulldogs’ turnovers destroyed their game plan. “It’s no big secret that we were trying to play keep away. We were going to grind it out,” Bickham said. “We were going to try to keep their offense on the sideline and we did for a lot of the game.”
Jasper has managed to keep most opponents’ offenses off the field thanks to a rushing game that averages 287.2 yards per game, led by quarterback Sam Alvis.
“Their quarterback is a heck of a player. He’s the one that makes them go,” stated Traylor about the first year, senior starter who leads the Bulldogs with 743 yards and 11 touchdowns rushing.
Ben Armstrong, who alternates between fullback and tailback, is second on the team in rushing with 721 yards and 7 touchdowns.
Jarrodd Adams and Karrion Morrisey have combined for another 918 yards and 7 touchdowns on the ground for Jasper, who trailed Gilmer and Carthage by a combined total of only 5 points at the half in both games.
“We’ve got to put two halves together,” admitted Bickham who said, “We haven’t made a whole lot of changes.” when asked about personnel or schemes since the season started.
“I think we’re better, and obviously I think Gilmer’s better too,” Bickham surmised.
Traylor knows all too well what happened the last time an underdog playoff opponent put two good halves together. “I was extremely disappointed after the Liberty-Eylau loss because I didn’t think we played very well,” said Traylor.
Now the Buckeyes have a chance to distance themselves from the memory and the comparisons of the 2006 team. “I would be more worried if we had a young team,” Traylor said. “This is a real veteran team.”
One of those veterans knows what to expect against Jasper. “It’s going to be a war,” promised Tristan Holt.
JASPER HIGH SCHOOL
MASCOT: Bulldogs
SCHOOL COLORS: Crimson/White
DISTRICT: 18-3A
ENROLLMENT: 813
Head Football Coach: Mike Bickham
1st season at Jasper
Record at Jasper: 8-2
Overall Record: 51-23
Team Leaders
PASSING
Sam Alvis 10 games 28-74 428 yard 3 TD’s
RUSHING
Sam Alvis 10 games 119 carries 743 yards 11 TD’s
Ben Armstrong 10 games 145 carries 721 yards 7 TD’s
Jarrodd Adams 10 games 64 carries 536 yards 4 TD’s
Karrion Morsey 10 games 79 carries 382 yards 3 TD’s
RECEIVING
Jarrodd Adams 10 games 10 catches 232 yards 1 TD
TEAM OFFENSE
Rushing 2,431 yards 243.1 ypg
Passing 441 yards 44.1 ypg
Total 2,872 yards 287.2 ypg
Jasper History
Overall Record: 561-342-37
Undefeated Seasons: 6 (1924, 1953, 1970, 1980, 1982, 1983)
Winless Seasons: 1 (1963)
Last District Championship: 2005
Last Playoff Appearance: 2008
All-Time Playoff Appearances: 40
All-Time Playoff Record: 38-39-2
LIVE WEBCASTS:
GilmerBuckeyes.com
KJAS.com
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