JOE DODD: Gilmer v. Kilgore 2023 Game Info & Notes

By Joe Dodd

September 1- @ Kilgore 

STADIUM: R.E. St. John Memorial Stadium 

STADIUM CAPACITY: 7,600 

STADIUM SURFACE: Artificial Turf (2022) 

KILGORE 

Mascot: Bulldogs 

Colors: Red/Black/White 

District: 9-4A DI 

Enrollment: 1,163 

Head Coach: Clint Fuller (3rd season, 21-7 at Kilgore; 21-7 overall) Offensive Formation: Multiple 

Defensive Formation: 4-2-5 

Kilgore Bulldogs 2022 Season Summary 

Record: 10-4, 5-1 in District; 4A D-I Region III Semifinalists Returning Lettermen: 25 

Returning Off. Starters: 6 

Returning Def. Starters: 7 

Kilgore Bulldogs 2023 Season Results 

Date Opponent Result 08/25/23 Carthage lost: 30-27 Overall Record: 0-1 

Kilgore Players to Watch: 

#9 QB Derrick “D.D” Williams, Sr., 5’9”, 140, 4.9 (Last week against Carthage: 12 of 16 passing for 110 yards, 65 yards and 1 touchdown rushing)

#4 DB/WR Zaylon Stoker, Sr., 6’0”, 170, 4.5 (Last week against Carthage: 29 yard catch that set up a touchdown and 1 interception) 

#9 QB Derrick “D.D” Williams, Sr., 5’9”, 140, 4.9 (Last week against Carthage: 12 of 16 passing for 110 yards, 65 yards and 1 touchdown rushing) 

#67 LT Braydon Nelson, Sr., 6’3”, 270, 5.0 (2022 stats: 51 pancake blocks) 

#3 DB/WR Jayden Sanders Jr., 6’2”, 170, 4.5 

#5 RB Isaiah Watters, So., 5’11”, 183, 4.6 (Last week against Carthage: 73 yards rushing, 1 touchdown on 8 carries) 

#84 DL Cameron Christian, So., 6’1”, 270 

GILMER 

Mascot: Buckeyes 

Colors: Black & Orange 

District: 7-4A DII 

Enrollment: 783 

Head Coach: Alan Metzel (4th season, 39-6 at Gilmer; 39-6 overall) Offensive Formation: Spread 

Defensive Formation: 3-4 

2022 Season Summary 

Record: 11-1, 5-0 in District; 4A D-II Regional Semi-Finalists Returning Lettermen: 25 

Returning Off. Starters: 5 

Returning Def. Starters: 5 

Gilmer Buckeyes 2023 Season Results 

Date Opponent Result 08/25/23 Chapel Hill lost: 71-53

Overall Record: 0-1 

Gilmer Players to Watch: 

#1 RB/CB Will Henderson, Sr., 5’10”, 173, 4.4 (Holds offers from Arkansas State, Louisiana Tech, Memphis, Texas State and UTSA. Reigning 4A State Champion in the 100 meters. His time of 10.28 is the 7th fastest 100 meters time among seniors in the USA. 2022 stats: 121 carries, 1,036 yards, 14 touchdowns. Last week against Chapel Hill, he had 221 yards rushing and 4 touchdowns on 26 carries) 

#0 RB/LB Aron Bell, Jr., 6’0”, 245, 4.6 (Holds offers from Cisco JC, Lamar, McMurray and North Alabama. 2022 District 7-4A Defensive Newcomer of the Year. 2022 stats:78 tackles, 4 sacks, 13 quarterback pressures, 13 tackles for loss, 1 interception) 

#3 WR/DB Ta’Erik Tate, Sr., 6’1”, 185, 4.4 (Holds offers from Arkansas State, Incarnate Word, Lamar, Louisiana Tech, Memphis, Northwestern State, Sam Houston State, Texas Southern, Texas State and UTSA. 2022 stats: in 8 games Tate had 15 catches for 332 yards and 5 touchdowns, 1 interception. Last week against Chapel Hill, he had 4 catches for 72 yards and a touchdown on a 95 yard kickoff return) 

#2 RB/LB Eliez Castillo, Sr., 6’0”, 205, 4.7 (2022 stats: 79 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 3 forced fumbles, 1 sack) 

#64 OL/DL Spencer Murphy, Sr., 6’0”, 290 (Transfer from Harmony, where he was a starting offensive lineman. Ineligible to play varsity football in 2022) 

#75 OL/DL Lucas Cano, Jr., 6’2”, 305, 5.4 (Holds offers from SMU and UTSA. Started 21 games as a freshman and sophomore. 2022 stats: Graded out at 94 percent with 17 knockdowns) 

#11 QB Cadon Tennison, Jr., 5’11”, 175, 4.5 (Holds offers from Incarnate Word, SMU and UTSA. 2022 stats: 103 of 170 (61%) passing for 1,533 yards, 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions; 58 carries, 286 yards, 4 touchdowns. Last week against Chapel Hill, he went 9 for 22 passing for 112 yards) 

#13 WR/LB Geramiah Noble, Jr., 6’1”, 203 (66 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 3 sacks)

Kilgore Historical Stats, Records, and Program Information 

2010 3-7 Mike Wood 

2011 9-5 Mike Wood 

2012 11-2 Mike Wood 

2013 14-1 Mike Wood 

2014 4-7 Mike Wood 

2015 8-4 Mike Wood 

2016 7-5 Mike Wood 

2017 9-4 Mike Wood 

2018 3-8 Mike Wood 

2019 5-6 Mike Wood 

2020 10-4 Mike Wood 

2021 11-2 Clint Fuller 

2022 10-4 Clint Fuller 

2023 0-1 Clint Fuller 

BY DECADES W- L- T 

1931-39 34-36-5 

1940-49 48-39-10 

1950-59 61-38-5 

1960-69 44-53-2 

1970-79 58-40-2 

1980-89 71-37-2 

1990-99 67-40-4 

2000-09 89-32-0 

2010-19 73-49-0 

2020-23 31-11-0 

TOTAL: 576-375-30 

Undefeated Seasons: 2 (2004, 2013) 

Winless Seasons: 1 (1935) 

Last District Championship: 2021 

Last Playoff Appearance: 2022 

Playoff Record: 44-33-1 

State Championship Game Appearances: 2-2004 (Kilgore 33 Dallas Lincoln 27); 2013 (Carthage 34 Kilgore 23) 

State Championships: 1 (2004)

Gilmer v. Kilgore All-Time Series 

First Meeting: 1969, Kilgore won 12-0 

Last meeting: 2022, Gilmer won 40-26 behind Cadon Tennison’s 254 yards and 2 touchdowns on 12 of 18 passing and Will Henderson’s 103 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns on 20 carries 

Last meeting @ Kilgore: 2013, Kilgore won 34-29 ending the Buckeyes’ winning streaks of 20 consecutive district games and 17 regular season games. 

Series Record: Kilgore leads 5-3-0 

0 – 1969* – 12 

7 – 1996* – 28 

22 – 1997* – 45 

14 – 2008 – 28 

70 – 2009 – 27 

20 – 2012* – 14 

29 – 2013* – 34 

40 – 2022 – 26 

*District Game 

STREAKS 

Gilmer has a 8 game regular season road winning streak (last loss: 28-7 to Carthage in 2021) 

Gilmer has a 62 consecutive games scoring streak (last shutout was 14-0 to Pleasant Grove in 2018) 

GAME NOTES 

Kilgore is ranked 9th in the Associated Press Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Class 4A-I poll and 11th in the PigskinPrep.com power rankings 

Gilmer is ranked 10th in the Associated Press Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Class 4A-II poll and 7th in the PigskinPrep.com power rankings 

Gilmer is a 1 point favorite over Kilgore according to PigskinPrep.com which predicts a 28-27 victory for the Buckeyes

SEASON NOTES 

Gilmer’s non-district schedule consists of four Class 4A DI teams and one new school that is expected to be placed in 5A DII in the next realignment. Three of the Class 4A DI teams are ranked in the Top 15 in Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Magazine’s pre-season poll 

HISTORICAL NOTES 

This is Gilmer’s 110th season to play football 

Gilmer has never had a winless season 

Gilmer’s 1,173 games played are tied for the 12th most in Texas high school football history (Source: www.TexasHighSchoolFootballHistory.com) 

Gilmer’s 734 wins are tied for the 12th most in Texas high school football history (Source: www.TexasHighSchoolFootballHistory.com) 

Gilmer’s 95 playoff wins are tied for the 13th most in Texas high school football history (Source: www.TexasHighSchoolFootballHistory.com) 

Gilmer’s 27 seasons with 10 wins or more is tied for the 11th most in Texas high school football history 

(Source:www.TexasHighSchoolFootballHistory.com) 

Gilmer’s 39 district championships are tied for the 8th most in Texas high school football history (Source: www.TexasHighSchoolFootballHistory.com) 

Gilmer has recorded 16 undefeated regular seasons, tied for 9th most in Texas high school football history 

(Source:www.TexasHighSchoolFootballHistory.com) 

Gilmer is 266-49 since 2000 (84%) 

Gilmer is 200-30 in regular season games since 2000 (87%) 

Gilmer has either won the state championship or lost in the playoffs to the eventual state champion in 13 of the past 20 years: 

2003-lost to 3A DII State Champion Atlanta in round 4 

2004-won 3A DI State Championship 

2006-lost to 3A DI State Champion Texarkana Liberty-Eylau in round 1 2007-lost to state champion Liberty Hill in 3A DI State Championship 2008-lost to 3A DII State Champion Carthage in round 4 

2009-won 3A DII State Championship 

2012-lost to state champion Navasota 3A DII State Championship

2013-lost to 3A DII State Champion Argyle in round 3 

2014-won 4A DII State Championship 

2019-lost to 4A DII State Champion Texarkana Pleasant Grove in round 4 2020-lost to state champion Carthage in 4A DII State Championship 2021-lost to state champion China Springs in 4A DII State Championship 2022-lost to state champion Carthage in in round 3 

Did you know? 

The last time these teams met in Kilgore in the Bulldogs recovered four Buckeyes fumbles in the first half. 

Kilgore has posted three consecutive seasons of at least 10 wins 

Gilmer has had 6 former players play in the NFL; including two active NFL players, Kris Boyd and Blake Lynch who starred on the Buckeyes 2014 state championship team 

Kilgore has had 5 former players play in the NFL 

Since 2000, Gilmer is 228-13 (95%) when scoring 30 or more points in a game. When scoring less than 30 points in a game; Gilmer is 39-35 (53%) 

Since 1980, the Buckeyes have lost only 16 games when scoring at least 30 points 

Gilmer and Kilgore have combined for 10 state championship game appearances and 4 state championships 

Gilmer is the 2023 Texas 4A State Champion in Track & Field. The Buckeyes won a gold medal in the 4×100 meters relay with a time of 41.15 and a gold medal in the 4×200 meters relay with a time of 1:25.90. Two current members of the Buckeyes football team, Will Henderson and Ta’Erik Tate were members of both relay teams