Gilmer Buckeyes

From The Gilmer Mirror : By JOE DODD Following Gilmer’s 42-14 victory over the Jasper Bulldogs last Friday night, Buckeyes’ head coach Jeff Traylor promised his players a hard week of practice in hopes of improving his team’s lackluster offensive performance in the first half. Unfortunately for the Rains Wildcats, the Buckeyes’ opponent in Thursday night’s Trinity Mother Frances Football Classic, Gilmer is determined to correct their mistakes. “You always have to take the opponent into consideration some,” said Traylor, about the underdog Wildcats. “But we’re always going to worry about us, especially because we didn’t play real well. There will be a tremendous emphasis on small things and execution no matter who we were playing this week.” Who the Buckeyes are playing this week is a team that lost 43-0 last week to Mount Vernon. The same team that Gilmer destroyed 77-21 last season. Despite those lopsided scores, Rains head coach Brannon Kidd is happy to be playing the Buckeyes. “We’r...

Courtesy Photo / KLTV.com GILMER QB STUMP GODFREY prepares to hand off to Gus Osborne in the first quarter of the game at Homer Bryce Stadium in Nacogdoches between the Buckeyes and the Jasper Bulldogs. From the Tyler Morning Telegraph: Buckeyes Erupt In Second Half From the Longview News-Journal: ET Football: Gilmer 42, Jasper 14 From the Jasper Newsboy/Beaumont Enterprise: Gilmer breaks open close contest in second half to win 42-14 From KJAS: Bulldogs fall to the Buckeyes 42-14 From The Gilmer Mirror : From The Gilmer Mirror : Buckeyes drop Jasper in season opener By JOE DODD Gilmer’s first football game of the 2009 season started at 8 p.m. Friday in Nacogdoches. The Buckeyes got started at 9:40 p.m. That’s when Gilmer received the second half kickoff from the Jasper Bulldogs and began to erase the bad memory of a disappointing 8-7 halftime lead. Coming into the game ranked number one in Class 3A, the Buckeyes struggled offensively in the first half. They managed only 91 yards on fi...

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...

By JOE DODD August 28- Jasper @ Homer Bryce Stadium, Nacogdoches Mascot: Bulldogs Colors: Crimson & White District: 18-3A Enrollment: 813 2008 Record: 4-6, Div. I Bi-district Finalist Last meeting: 2008, Gilmer won 56-28 Series Record: Gilmer leads 2-0 Head Coach: Mike Bickham (1st year, 53-21 overall) Returning Starters: 4 Offense/4 Defense Did you know? Since the Buckeyes beat the Bulldogs 49-47 to win the 2004 Class 3A Division II State Championship, Jasper has gone through three different head coaches. Coach Traylor says: “I hope it brings back some good memories,” said Traylor when asked about meeting Jasper on the same field as the state championship game. September 3- Rains @ TMF Rose Stadium, Tyler Mascot: Wildcats Colors: Blue/White/Black District: 13-3A Enrollment: 485 2008 Record: 2-8 Last meeting: 2008, Gilmer won 77-21 Series Record: Gilmer leads 11-0 Head Coach: Brannon Kidd (2nd season, 2-8, 10-20 overall) Returning Starters: 6 Offense/5 Defense Did you know? Rains’ ...

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 th...

Jasper Bulldogs Bickham era to start Monday as two-a-days begin Football: Is back Jasper gets physical in second week Bickham pleased with first look at Dawgs Meet the Dawgs; Bickham finds blend of experience, youth on this year's varsity squad Are you ready? Bickham expects Dawgs to be aggressive on both sides of ball Season begins; Jasper opens up year against state-ranked Gilmer Friday Jasper vs. Gilmer Predictions? Jasper vs Gilmer ticket info

By JOE DODD The Gilmer Buckeyes’ lightning quick offense dominated the New Boston Lions Thursday night before real lightning sent the two teams home early in the final tune-up before the start of the regular season. The Buckeyes scored six touchdowns in the controlled portion of the scrimmage and had just scored their first touchdown under game conditions when lightning lit up the sky around Lion Stadium, forcing officials to end the scrimmage. “We really wanted to get to play game situation,” lamented Gilmer head coach Jeff Traylor. “I hate going into Jasper without getting more game situation. We got a little bit, but not near what we wanted.” The Lions didn’t get what they wanted either, as the Buckeyes scored early and often, racking up 574 total yards on 42 plays. “I thought we were a lot sharper tonight offensively than we were against Atlanta; much sharper,” said Traylor. After completing only 16 of 34 passes last week against Atlanta, the Buckeyes connected on 20 of 26 passes f...

More than nine years after he became head football coach of the Gilmer Buckeyes, Jeff Traylor is still excited about the prospects of a new season. But one thing has changed: the job has become so big he has lost contact with the players, “the kids.” He reminisced about those years as well as looking at this year’s prospects Tuesday when he spoke to the Gilmer Rotary Club. He was introduced by Rotarian Larry Cowan, who expressed pride in both the Gilmer High football program and the character of the man who heads it. Traylor said he sometimes has parents who threaten to remove a son from the football squad because he doesn’t see enough action. He said he tells them two things: “One kid doesn’t make the program,” and, their son will be deprived of the chance to be around “15 of the most incredible men on the planet.” He was referring to his “unbelievable” staff. “If you don’t like football you can still be glad of the people these kids are around,” Traylor said. The coach gave his assis...

The Gilmer Buckeyes will travel to New Boston on Thursday, Aug. 20, to face the Lions in their second and final scrimmage of 2009. The Freshman/JV scrimmages start at 5 p.m. and the Varsity scrimmage at Lion Stadium starts at 6 p.m. View Larger Map

By JOE DODD The Gilmer Buckeyes looked every bit the pre-season number one team Saturday in a six touchdowns to none thrashing of Atlanta in a scrimmage at Rabbit Stadium. The Buckeyes amassed a whopping 541 total yards on 54 plays, while limiting Atlanta to only 70 total yards and forcing six turnovers. “Our depth and conditioning just wore Atlanta down,” explained Gilmer head coach Jeff Traylor. Atlanta’s first series of 20 plays were marred by an interception by senior defensive back Ben Griffith and a fumble recovery by senior linebacker Mikey Wilson. Gilmer’s first possession wasn’t very impressive either as the Buckeyes totaled 134 total yards and only one score, a 3-yard touchdown run by junior running back Gus Osborne. The Buckeyes offense got rolling on their second possession, totaling 217 yards and three scores on only 15 plays. Back-up quarterback Braylon Webb hit senior receiver Daniel McLaren for a 66-yard touchdown followed by a 28-yard touchdown to senior receiver J.T....

By JOE DODD Gilmer head football coach Jeff Traylor was all smiles after his top-ranked Buckeyes finished their first week of practice. “It was one of our better two-a-days,” said Traylor, who enters his 10th season at the helm of his alma mater. “We still have some question marks. We don’t know some of the answers yet, but we’re getting closer.” Traylor credited the good first week to the large number of seniors and experienced veterans who return to the team ranked as state championship favorites by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Magazine. But Traylor was quick to put the first week into perspective. “The first week there’s no pad work hardly; you’ve got one day of pads on Friday,” Traylor explained. “So it will be a lot more physical this week because they’ll have three days of pads and then scrimmage on Saturday. This will be the most physical week of practice the entire season.” That physical week ends with a Saturday morning trip to Atlanta, where the Buckeyes will scrimmage the ...

By JOE DODD The 2009 Gilmer Buckeyes are ranked number one in Class 3A by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football magazine and Monday’s opening day of practice showed that many players want to be a part of this season. “We had 85 out here today. We’re probably missing five more, and we expect about 40 freshmen out tomorrow so we’ll have around 130,” said Gilmer head coach Jeff Traylor after Monday’s workouts. The Buckeyes return an abundance of starters from a team that went 12-2 last season, losing to eventual state champion Carthage by only three points. “We’ve got a lot of players back and that always makes it better,” admitted Traylor. But the Buckeyes are looking for a few good men to fill holes left by graduation. “Were not solid at some places; we’re looking,” Traylor stated. “At the defensive line we lost a lot of kids there. We need to find two or three offensive linemen. We lost several receivers. So those are the holes we’re looking to fill.” Despite the early August start, Traylor s...

By JOE DODD The public is invited to come and Meet the Buckeyes Saturday night at Buckeye Stadium. The 2009 Gilmer football, volleyball and cross-country teams will be introduced, along with the band, cheerleaders, drill team and majorettes. Activities get underway at 7 p.m. and are scheduled to conclude around 8:15 p.m. “I think it’s just neat that all the groups are out here,” said head football coach and athletic director Jeff Traylor. “It’s like a pep rally to start the year off, and I think the kids enjoy it.” Meet the Buckeyes will cap off a very busy day for the Gilmer students. The football and volleyball teams will have their pictures taken for media day, and the football players will begin selling the discount Buckeye Cards. All students will then be treated to a free meal by the Gilmer Athletic Booster Club before the event. Following the event, parents’ meetings will be held for football and volleyball parents. The Gilmer Athletic Booster Club will have a table to sign up m...

By JOE DODD The 2009 edition of Gilmer Buckeyes’ football gets underway Monday evening with the start of two-a-day practices. Varsity and Junior Varsity players report to the Field House at 4:30 p.m. with the first practice running from 6 to 7:30 p.m. The second practice starts at approximately 8:45 p.m. Freshmen report Tuesday morning at 8 and practice from 9 to 11. “We’re excited,” said Gilmer head coach Jeff Traylor. “We have so many players returning, there’s not as many question marks as there usually are. We’ve got to find some receivers, a couple of offensive linemen, and a couple of defensive linemen. But the rest of our team is pretty much intact.” That should bode well for the Buckeyes, who finished last season with a 12-2 record, losing to eventual State Champion Carthage by only three points. Despite the depth of seasoned veterans, Traylor plans to stick to the fundamentals when practice starts. “We have to develop our lower level kids, our JV, and our back-ups,” explained ...

The 2009 edition of the Gilmer Buckeyes is getting ready to suit up for two-a-days. The junior varsity and varsity will both report at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 3, to the Field House at Buckeye Stadium. Team meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. and the first practice starts at 6. On Tuesday, Aug. 4, the freshmen report at 8 a.m. to the Field House, with practice set to begin at 9.

By MARY L. KIRBY Kenny Pettway, Gilmer High Class of 2000 and National Football League defensive lineman, conducted his third annual Kenny Pettway Football Camp at Buckeye Stadium Friday. He was joined by five other professional players, Gilmer Buckeye coaches and former players in coordinating drills for some 80 youngsters. Among those helping Friday were also three former Gilmer quarterbacks, Bran Webb, Olan Johnson and Derek McKenzie. After conducting drills for both offensive and defensive skills, the young people heard from some of the athletes attending the camp. Buckeye coaches Max Low and Ryan Pate, who helped at the camp, well remember Stephan Hodge, the sixth-round draft pick for the Dallas Cowboys who came along with Jason Hatcher of the Cowboys. Gilmer faced Hodge, who played for Tatum in the playoffs in both 2003 and 2004, and was happy to come away with wins over Tatum both years. After four years at Texas Christian University, Hodge goes to camp this month to seek a job ...

Oklahoma running back Justin Johnson will transfer to Abilene Christian University to this fall, according to a report in the Oklahoman on Friday. The Oklahoman said Johnson, who played for Gilmer when the Buffaloes beat Wylie in the 2007 high school playoffs, told Tyler radio station KTBB on Thursday that he plans to transfer to ACU. Also Thursday, OU coach Bob Stoops told the Oklahoman during the Sooner Caravan in Dallas that Johnson was leaving the Sooners. Blogger's Note: If Gilmer plays Abilene Wylie again, we must emphasize the fact that we are not named the Buffaloes!

Gilmer free safety Braylon Webb has given his verbal commitment to play for Gary Pinkel and the Missouri Tigers. Webb, 6-1, 190, 4.5, recorded 68-tackles, 4-Interceptions, 2-FR, 1-QB pressure, 5-passes broken up, 2-sacks, and was named to the Class 3-A all-state team and was a member of All-Smoaky.com. Buckeyes head coach Jeff Traylor told KTBB's David Smoak, "Braylon committed right after our 7-on-7 game on Thursday night, and let me tell you this is one of the best kids you'll ever know." Webb is the 22nd East Texan to give a verbal commitment to the Class of 2010, and could join Gilmer graduate Daniel Jenkins who is currently a redshirt freshman on the Missouri roster. http://www.smoaky.com/news/View.php?ArticleID=1946

July 13-16 - 6:00pm - 9:00pm Camp Hosted at Gilmer Buckeye Stadium Jeff Traylor has coached the Gilmer Buckeyes to 8 consecutive undefeated district championships and 2 state final appearances, including 1 state championship in 8 years. He is joined by Matt Turner and Alan Metzel from that championship staff. Nike sponsors the camp and provides topquality Nike gear including gloves, balls, shirts, etc. as give-a-ways. http://etpassingacademy.com/

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