Gilmer Buckeyes

From the Tyler Morning Telegraph: Godfrey, Gilmer Rip Center, 63-6 From the Longview News-Journal: Godfrey guides Gilmer to rout of Center From the Nacogdoches Daily Sentinel: Gilmer crushes Center, 63-6

By JOE DODD When the Center Roughriders made the 100-mile trip to Gilmer last year, things couldn’t have been much worse for coach Ron Callahan’s team. The Roughriders were 1-3 and had scored only 20 points in their first four games while allowing 130 points. Fast forward one year and things are worse for Center as the Roughriders are 0-4 and have scored only 8 points in their first four games while giving up 157 points to their opponents. The only thing that has gotten better for the Roughriders this season is Gilmer has to make the 100-mile trek to Center for Friday night’s 7:30 kickoff. The Buckeyes were rude hosts last season, jumping out to a 43-0 halftime lead before finishing off the Roughriders, 64-6, giving Center their worst loss in a miserable 2-8 season. And despite Gilmer losing three offensive starters to major colleges, Callahan believes that this year’s Buckeyes will be harder to stop. “I think Gilmer is better than they were last year. I think on offense they are more ...

By JOE DODD The Gilmer Buckeyes sprinted to a 21-0 first quarter lead, then set the cruise-control for the final three quarters in a 35-12 victory over the Daingerfield Tigers Friday night at Buckeye Stadium. The win was the 22nd in a row at home for the Buckeyes and improved their season record to 3-0. Despite racking up an impressive 570 yards in total offense, and holding the Tigers to only two fourth quarter touchdowns, Gilmer Head Coach Jeff Traylor was unhappy with the play of his team. “It wasn’t near the performance I was hoping it would be,” admitted Traylor, who improved his record against the Tigers to 6-3. “I’ve been in this business long enough to understand that you better enjoy your wins. Whenever you beat Daingerfield by 23 points you got to be happy; I just think we can play better.” Favored by more than five touchdowns, the 4th ranked Buckeyes needed only 1:44 to get on the scoreboard with a 19-yard touchdown run by Justin Johnson that capped an impressive 5-play, 74-...

From the Longview News-Journal: Godfrey leads Buckeyes past Tigers, 35-12 From the Tyler Morning Telegraph: Gilmer Scores 35-12 Win Over Daingerfield

By JOE DODD 1930. That’s how far back you have to go to find a Gilmer team that scored as many points in a game as the Buckeyes did in last week’s 71-28 crushing of Tatum. 1930 is also the first year that the Buckeyes met the Daingerfield Tigers on the football field. Gilmer won that first meeting 35-0 in a season that saw the Buckeyes record scores of 76, 86, 88 and 91 points for coach Henry McClelland. The Buckeyes and Tigers have met 50 more times since 1930, with Daingerfield holding a series lead of 30-21 over Gilmer. The 52nd installment of this great East Texas rivalry will take place Friday night at Buckeye Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Gilmer could make a strong argument as the area’s most dominant team during McClelland’s tenure from 1924-1935. Nobody argues Daingerfield’s title as the most dominant team of the 1980s, as the Tigers went a combined 114-15-4 that decade and took home two state championships. Gilmer, with a 73-14 record and one state championship, ...

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By JOE DODD With an offensive performance not seen since 1930, and a defensive domination that made the final score deceptive, the Gilmer Buckeyes dismantled the Tatum Eagles 71-28 Thursday night in the opening game of the Trinity Mother Frances Football Classic in Tyler. Before an estimated crowd of 9,000 fans at Rose Stadium, the Buckeyes unleashed a scoring fury last witnessed by Buckeye fans 77 years ago when Gilmer downed Atlanta 88-0. Fueled by senior running back Justin Johnson’s 173 yards rushing and three touchdowns, and sophomore quarterback Darian Godfrey’s 225 yards and four touchdowns passing, along with two rushing touchdowns; the Buckeyes’ offense rolled up 516 total yards. Gilmer’s Black Flag Defense harassed the Eagles all night, forcing three Tatum turnovers and dropping the Eagles for 12 tackles for losses and four sacks. Vaunted Eagle running back Bryce Beall was limited to only 23 yards rushing on 10 carries. The rest of the Eagles’ backs didn’t fare any better aga...

From the Tyler Morning Telegraph: By SHANE STARK Staff Writer Gilmer has been an offensive powerhouse during the Jeff Traylor era, but the Buckeyes reached new heights Thursday night. From the Longview News-Journal: By RICK KRETZSCHMAR Friday, September 07, 2007 TYLER — Gilmer's football team has had many impressive offensive displays since Jeff Traylor took over as head coach in 2000. Considering the points the Buckeyes put up, and the quality of their opponent, Thursday may have been the most impressive display of them all. WeSpotted: Photo Gallery 09-06-07 Tatum vs. Gilmer (September 07, 2007)

By JOE DODD In what has become an almost annual tradition, the Gilmer Buckeyes and Tatum Eagles will face off in a game featuring two of the best teams in the state Thursday night at Tyler’s Trinity Mother Frances’ Earl Campbell Field at Rose Stadium. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. Both teams are state-ranked. Both teams feature top college recruits. Both teams have won recent state titles. Gilmer’s title came in 2004, while Tatum won a 3A title in 2005, then followed with a 2A title in 2006. For a rivalry that didn’t get started until 1986, the Buckeyes and Eagles have provided some of the best football in East Texas over the last 21 years. Only 39 points separate the two teams over the 17-game life of the series. That’s an average of only 2.3 points per game. The Buckeyes hold an 11-6 all-time advantage in the series, with Gilmer winning the past four games in a row. That 4-game winning streak belongs to Gilmer head coach Jeff Traylor, who lost to the Eagles in 2000; his first season as t...

Mirror Photo / Mary Laschinger Kirby MEN IN BLACK smother Greg Johnson, the Rams’ leading rusher, with Buckeye defenders, from left, Lamar Harris, Ross Stevens, Damian Redditt, Dakota Hagler, Kendrick Starling, Dustin Jones and David Smith closing in on the hapless runner during Gilmer’s win over Richwood. The state-ranked Buckeyes will travel to Tyler tomorrow night to participate in the opening game of the 2007 Trinity Mother Frances East Texas Football Classic at TMF Rose Stadium in Tyler. Kickoff in the game against the Tatum Eagles is set for 8 p.m. Listen live at GilmerBuckeyes.com.

Mirror Photo / Mary Laschinger Kirby DISAPPEARING IN a sea of black, Richwood’s Greg Hudson goes down surrounded by, from left, Zach Jones, Josh Thompson, Paul Chesnut, David Snow, Justin Johnson, Brennan Thompson and Ross Stevens. The Buckeyes shut out the visiting Rams. 39-0. to win their season opener here. By JOE DODD The Gilmer Buckeyes used an oppressive defense and an impressive rushing attack to win the season opener 39-0 over the Richwood (La.) Rams Friday night at Buckeye Stadium. It was an emotional victory for the Buckeyes after losing former teammate Josh Nelson to cancer the day before. “They’re emotionally tired, but they focused and they made Josh proud,” said Gilmer head coach Jeff Traylor, whose record in season openers improved to 7-1. “There wasn’t a ‘win one for the Gipper’ speech; there was no ‘win one for Josh’. We just wanted to play the way Josh played, and that’s what we did.” With nine new starters, Gilmer’s Black Flag Defense forced two Ram turnovers and lim...

From the Tyler Morning Telegraph: GILMER—The Richwood (La.) Rams trekked from out of state Friday night to discover they were out of luck. From the Longview News-Journal: GILMER — Behind a stifling defense and the play of senior tailback Justin Johnson, the Gilmer Buckeyes opened their 2007 campaign with a convincing 39-0 victory over Richwood, La. here Friday night at Buckeye Stadium. From the News Star (Monroe, La.): GILMER, Texas - Richwood moved the ball but failed to light up the scoreboard as Texas’ Gilmer High School took the season-opening win at home.

Gilmer's Josh Nelson loses fight against leukemia

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers when you face trials of many kinds.” (James 1:2) The first time I read this verse I thought that the author had to be insane. No one wants to hurt. To see someone you love helpless in pain or agony isn’t a pleasant thing. It is human nature not to enjoy suffering. Why then would the author of this verse make a statement like that? This verse used to be an enigma to me, but in recent trials I fully grasp the meaning of it. I can recall 2 1/2 years back, on my first day of high school, when my assigned seating in Geography class landed me beside Josh Nelson. Josh and I had known who each other was since third grade, yet we didn’t know anything about each others true self. Who could have foreseen that that mild acquaintanceship would evolve into an unbreakable brotherhood. Throughout the course of our freshman year Josh and I got to know each other on a more personal level. We seemed to somewhat be at the same place in our walks with God. The closer we g...

By JOE DODD There have been a lot of firsts for the Gilmer Buckeyes’ football team in their seven seasons under head coach Jeff Traylor. There was the team’s first perfect season and first state championship in 2004. There was the first preseason number one ranking and first-ever out-of-state opponent in 2006. Now the Buckeyes have another first to add to that resume: hosting their first out-of-state opponent. The Richwood (Louisiana) Rams visit Buckeye Stadium Friday night to kick off the 2007 season for the 7th-ranked Buckeyes. Richwood finished the 2006 season 8-5, losing in the Louisiana Class 3A Quarterfinals despite a 3-game losing streak to start the season. That’s something that Rams receiver Richard Wilson would like to avoid this year. “Last year we started off 0-3 and we kind of got down,” confessed Wilson. “We’re trying to start off on the right track this year, so we hope to win and continue on from there.” Gilmer however, would love to start the season off exactly the way...

By JOE DODD At the end of the Gilmer Buckeyes final preseason scrimmage, head coach Jeff Traylor stood in front of his kneeling players and reminded them that they had 85 days remaining to reach their off-season focus. What? Wasn’t the Buckeyes’ regular season opener only eight days away? “That’s the first playoff game,” explained Traylor. “And I would hope that our program is to the point now that we would expect to be in the playoffs.” Expectations are something that Traylor knows all about. His 2006 team started the season ranked number one in Class 3A. Buckeyes quarterback G.J. Kinne was on the cover of Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Magazine. Nothing less than a state championship was expected. The Buckeyes responded with a 10-0 regular season record. On Nov. 17, the unexpected happened. Gilmer lost in the first round of the playoffs to eventual state champion Liberty-Eylau. “We started counting down the days we got to play Liberty-Eylau again the day after,” admitted Traylor. “Pe...

The Gilmer Buckeyes’ Athletic Booster Club’s Lunch with Coach Traylor started Monday, Aug. 27, at the Gilmer Country Club at noon. Attendees must present their Buckeye Booster Club Membership Card at the door. Memberships will be sold before the lunch. Regular memberships are only $25. Gilmer head football coach Jeff Traylor will give Booster Club members behind-the-scenes insight into the Buckeyes, and preview each week’s opponent. These will be held each Monday during the season (except for Labor Day; lunch that week will be on Tuesday).

By JOE DODD The Gilmer Buckeyes prepared for the circus of the regular season by taming the New Boston Lions 4-0 in the team’s final scrimmage Thursday night in New Boston. The Buckeyes’ Justin Johnson saw his first action of the preseason, and made the most of the opportunity with three touchdown runs. Houston Tuminello scored the other Gilmer touchdown, catching a Darian Godfrey pass. Tuminello’s score came in the controlled portion of the scrimmage, along with Johnson’s first touchdown run, as the Buckeyes took advantage of two Lion turnovers. Dakota Hagler recovered a fumble, and Ross Stevens collected the first of his two interceptions on the night, giving Gilmer a comfortable lead heading into the final 20-minute game-condition scrimmage. The Buckeyes’ offense failed to crank on its first possession, gaining only a yard before getting off a 26-yard punt, giving the ball to the Lions at their own 43-yard line. New Boston got down to the Buckeyes’ 18-yard line in only five plays, b...

By JOE DODD “We’ve got a lot to do.” That’s how Gilmer Buckeyes head football coach Jeff Traylor summarized his team’s performance following their first scrimmage of the season Saturday, Aug. 18, against the Kilgore Bulldogs. Despite two touchdowns for each team, the Bulldogs looked better on the statistics sheet, out-gaining the Buckeyes 338 to 254 total yards. Gilmer also committed three turnovers, while Kilgore had none. “The statistics don’t look good,” admitted Traylor, who blamed the low yardage totals on dropped passes. “If you weren’t at the game, those drops make the quarterbacks look bad. So if you catch the ones you’re supposed to, and [do not have] a couple of bad choices by the quarterbacks, we would have been okay in the passing game.” Buckeyes’ quarterbacks combined to complete only eight passes out of 27 attempts, while throwing two interceptions. “When you throw the ball as much as we do, you’re going to look bad that early,” said Traylor. Even though the offense was i...

By CHERIE HOBBS GILMER ROTARY CLUB recently heard about prospects for the coming football season from Gilmer High School Coach Jeff Traylor and some of the 2007 Buckeyes. From left are Justin Johnson, David Snow, Coach Traylor, Lamar Harris and Brennan Thompson. “Building character in young men and women is what Gilmer Buckeye Athletics is all about.”—Coach Jeff Traylor Jeff Traylor, Gilmer High School athletic director and head football coach, recently spoke to the Gilmer Rotary Club for the eighth consecutive year, promising to do his best. The Buckeyes’ first scrimmage was scheduled for last Saturday morning against Chapel Hill, but due to the fatal car accident of one of their players, it was cancelled. The Buckeyes were able to schedule a replacement scrimmage against Kilgore. Their final scrimmage is tomorrow evening (Aug. 23) beginning at 6 p.m. in New Boston. The season opens here at home on Aug. 31 against Richwood (La.). Kickoff at Buckeye Stadium is set for 7:30 p.m. Coach T...