Mirror Photo / Mary Laschinger Kirby
THE BLACK FLAG defense hauls down Jasper’s Ben Armstrong. Pictured are Buckeyes J.T. Beecham (21), Exavian Johnson (26), Dakota Cannon (33), Chris Miller (16), Mikey Wilson (34) and Luis Castro (5).
The Gilmer Buckeyes (11-0) will take on the Waco La Vega Pirates (7-4) on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Mesquite Memorial Stadium in Mesquite.
This is a second round matchup in UIL Class 3A Division I Region III.
Directions to the stadium can be found at www.gilmermirror.com.
Gates open at 1 p.m. Tickets at the gate are $7.
Advance tickets ($6 for adults; $4 for students) are on sale from 9 a.m. to noon on Thursday at the Gilmer ISD Central Administration Building on Trinity St.
Gilmer is the visiting team and will be wearing white.
Joe Dodd’s preview of this game with comments from the coaches will be published in Saturday’s Mirror.
November 21- La Vega @ Memorial Stadium, Mesquite
Mascot: Pirates
Colors: Blue & Gold
District: 19-3A
Enrollment: 650
Record: 7-4, 3-2 District
Last meeting: This will be the first meeting between the two teams
Head Coach: Willie Williams (135-84-2 in 20th season at La Vega & Overall)
Returning Starters: 2 Offense/4 Defense
Did you know? The Pirates lost 17-10 to Prosper in last year’s Class 3A Division I Final.
La Vega Pirates 2009 Season Results
Aug. 28 @ Marlin, won: 47-0
The Pirates started the 2009 season with a bang, scoring twice on special teams in a 47-0 romp over 2A Marlin. Senior tailback Arron Brandon led the La Vega rushing attack with 104 yards, while the Pirates’ defense limited Marlin to 72 yards rushing in the game.
Sep. 4 Brownwood, lost 24-7
The Pirates couldn’t stop the aerial attack of Brownwood, giving up 228 yards through the air. La Vega led 7-3 after one quarter, but Brownwood scored 21 unanswered points to drop La Vega to 1-1, despite 114 yards rushing from Kenneth Coleman.
Sep. 11 @ Dallas Roosevelt, won 28-0
The Pirates’ trip to the Metroplex was a good one, even if it was a wet one. La Vega rolled up 171 rushing yards and a 28-0 lead in the first half before massive rainfall forced coaches to agree to call the game at halftime.
Sep. 18 Abilene Wylie, lost 46-29
La Vega continued their inconsistent play, falling behind 39-0 to Abilene Wylie at the half before losing 46-29. The Pirates were behind 22-0 before picking up their initial first down, and finished the first half with only 43 yards and 3 first downs before Wylie pulled their starting defense. La Vega’s Arron Brandon finished with 171 yards rushing and Tevin Thompson added 127 rushing yards as the Pirates fell to 2-2 on the season.
Sep. 25 @ Crockett, won 42-0
The Pirates created three first-half turnovers, including defensive end Jose Fajardo’s interception return for a touchdown for a 28-0 first-half lead in La Vega’s final tune-up before starting district play.
Oct. 9 @ Mexia, lost 46-28
La Vega opened district 19-3A play on the road and Mexia proved rude hosts, recovering 3 onside kicks and sending the Pirates home 46-28. Mexia quarterback Trae Davis and running back Doug Gentry combined for 373 yards rushing and 6 touchdowns to counter La Vega’s Arron Brandon’s 104 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns.
Oct. 16 Waco Connally, won 28-21
La Vega continued their win one, lose one season with their first home win of the year. Connally took a 7-0 lead 53 seconds into the game and led 14-7 at the half, but the Pirates outscored Connally 21-7 in the second half. La Vega running back Arron Brandon set the pace with over 100 yards rushing in the second half.
Oct. 23 @ Waco Robinson, won 54-46
The Pirates won their first back-to-back game of the season, but it took 4 overtimes to do it. After trailing 21-7 at the half, La Vega roared back and took the lead with a field goal with 1:05 left to play. Robinson forced overtime with their own field goal as time expired. Arron Brandon proved to be the difference maker, running for 119 yards and 2 touchdowns, including the game winner in the fourth overtime after the Pirates’ Melvin Allen intercepted a Robinson pass to start the final overtime period.
Oct. 30 Groesbeck, won 31-6
La Vega won their third game in a row behind Tevin Thompson’s 189 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Thompson scored the game’s first touchdown on a 20-yard run in the first quarter. The Pirates put the game out of reach with Thompson’s 6-yard touchdown run and a Devin McGowan 55-yard interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Nov. 6 @ Lorena, lost 21-7
Lorena never trailed on their way to claiming the District 19-3A championship. La Vega suffered from poor field position the whole game, starting inside their own 15-yard line 6 times. Any hopes of a La Vega come-back ended when Pirates’ quarterback Tony Montoya fumbled in the end zone and Lorena’s Brent Berryhill recovered it for a touchdown.
Nov. 14 Athens @ Hanby Stadium, Mesquite, won 21-20
La Vega scored 14 points over the final 6:42 to deny Athens their first playoff victory since 1990. The Pirates held Athens to -4 yards in the second half as they overcame a 20-7 deficit to start the fourth quarter. La Vega took a 7-0 lead on Lorenzo Davis’ 10-yard run. Athens countered with 20 straight points before the Pirates scored on a Davis 7-yard run and a 65-yard pass from Tony Montoya to Tim Garner with 3:19 remaining to improve La Vega’s playoff record to 10-3 since 2006.
THERE ARE only 16 teams left in Class 3A Division I. The winner of the Gilmer-La Vega game will play the winner of the Silsbee-Navasota game being played Friday night at Woodforest Bank Stadium in Conroe/The Woodlands area. Another game Friday night involving Division I teams will be an easy drive from Gilmer — the game in Hallsville between Liberty-Eylau (fortunate enough to have been in one of the four districts receiving first round byes) and Lucas Lovejoy.
BUCKEYE TICKET LINE:
841-7777
LUNCH WITH THE COACH:
Noon Wednesdays, Buckeyes Booster Club meets at Gilmer Country Club
LIVE WEBCAST:
GilmerBuckeyes.com
Bounty Hunter of the Week: Eric Miller
Special Teams Player of the Week: Paul Chesnut
Scout Team Players of the Week:
Cody Manshack, Offense; Brandon Barnes, Defense
From the Waco Tribune-Herald:
Central Texas football teams face King Kong-like opponents this week
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