Gilmer 51, Brenham 37

By Elwyn Henderson

The #4 ranked 4A DII Gilmer Buckeyes traveled to Huntsville’s new Hornets Stadium Friday night to take on the #8 ranked 5A DII Brenham Cubs in a game that was projected to be a close contest, just like the previous 4 games Gilmer has played in this year. The CalPreps Score Predictor this writer uses had the Buckeyes projected to win the game by the score of 35-31. They gave Gilmer a 60% chance to win the game and Brenham a 40% chance to grab the victory.
When the smoke cleared the Buckeyes shocked everyone in attendance and took the dub with an impressive 51-37 victory.
Brenham won the coin toss to begin the game and chose to defer to the second half. Bleu Cienega kicked the ball down to the Gilmer 21 Soloman Jackson returned the ball up to the Gilmer 37 and Brady McCown brought his charges out for their first possession of the game from that point.
McCown moved the offense down to the Brenham 29, but a 4th and 10 pass for Brendan Webb was incomplete and the ball turned over on downs to the Cubs.
Jordan Harvey brought his offense on the field and it took just 2 plays for the Cubs to find the end zone. After a 4 yard loss on first down JaKoby Dixon ran 75 yards into the end zone with 8:08 left in the first quarter. The drive took just 34 seconds. The PAT kick was good but Gilmer was off sides, resulting in Brenham going for 2. Dixon came in at Wildcat and took the snap and got into the end zone, putting the Cubs up 8-0.
Cienega kicked onside after the score and Gilmer recovered at their 47. McCown led the Buckeye offense into the end zone in 9 plays and 3:06. The score came on a 5-yard TD run by Zade Taylor with 5:02 left in the quarter. Brenham jumped off sides on the kick and Gilmer decided to go for 2 as well. Trill Butler ran into the end zone for the 2-point conversion and the game was tied, 8-8.
Brenham began their next drive at their 30 after a fair catch. Harvey connected on a 29-yard pass and the Cubs were deep in Gilmer territory when a huge hit resulted in a fumble at the Gilmer 25 that was recovered by Trey Lee. He returned the ball down to the Cub 21.
Tennison came in at quarterback and got the offense into the end zone in 3 plays that took just 21 seconds off the clock. The score came on a 2-yard run by Tennison with 3:20 left in the quarter. Pate came in and added the PAT and Gilmer led 15-8.
The ensuing Pate kickoff was fair caught at the Cub 28 and Harvey led his offense back on the field.
Harvey led his troops down the field on a 9-play drive, but fumbled the ball after picking up a first down at the Gilmer 23 and the Buckeyes recovered at that point. On the third play of the possession a McCown pass intended for Webb was intercepted by Ledrick Walker, Jr. at the Cub 30.
Harvey tossed a 20-yard pass to Tylon Powell, Gilmer was flagged 15 yards for pass interference and Dixon ran into the end zone from 28 yards out with 8:28 left in the half. The drive was 6 plays, 70 yards and took 2:52 off the second quarter clock. Cienega’s extra point try was good but Gilmer was off sides once again. Dixon came in at wildcat and ran in for the 2-point conversion, putting Brenham back in the lead 16-15.
Gilmer’s next drive began on their 35. McCown led the offense on a 10-pla, 65-yard TD drive that consumed 4:12. The score came on a 1-yard run by Taylor with 4:16 left in the half. Gilmer went for 2 on the swinging gate and DayDay Jimmerson ran around left end into the end zone but Gilmer was flagged for holding. Pate came in and kicked the extra point and Gilmer led 22-16.
After a block in the back by the Cubs on the next kickoff, Harvey and his offense began their next drive at their 8. After a 5-yard run on first down, Dixon went around right end 87 yards into the end zone for his third TD run on the night. The extra point was good and Brenham took the lead again at 23-22.
Not to be outdone, Gilmer began their next drive at their 27. On the first play Butler went 73 yards around left end into the end zone with 2:57 left in the half. The drive took 22 seconds. A try for 2 on a run around the left side by Jimmerson failed, but Gilmer was back up 28-23.
On Pate’s next kickoff a Cub called for a fair catch at the 2 but picked the ball up and Brenham was set to begin at their 2. Harvey moved his unit up to the Brenham 42 and the half ended with the Buckeyes ahead 28-23 and the Cubs set to receive the second half kickoff.
Pate’s second half kick went down to the Brenham end zone for a touchback to the Cubs 25 and Harvey brought his offense at that point. The Black Flag defense gave up 2 first downs and then forced the first punt of the game by Landon Zalenka. The ball went out of bounds at the Gilmer 28.
The Buckeyes moved down the field, but the drive stalled at the Brenham 12, and Pate came in and booted a 29-yard field goal with 6:28 left in the third quarter, putting Gilmer up 31-28. The drive was 60 yards in 9 plays and took 2:31.
Pate’s next kickoff went into the end zone for another touchback and the Cubs began their next drive at their 25. The Black Flag forced a three-and-out and following a punt McCown brought the offense back out at the Gilmer 39.
Thanks to a false start, it was a three-and-out by the Buckeyes. Pate’s punt was downed at the Cubs 8. The Black Flag forced another three-and-out and after a punt off the side of Zelenka’s foot, the Buckeyes set up shop on the Brenham 38.
It took just 3 plays and 24 seconds for the Bux to find the end zone again. The score came on a 38-yard pass to Taylor with 1:14 left in the third quarter. Pate’s extra point hit the right upright and bounced out and was no good, but Gilmer led 37-23.
The Cubs began their next drive at their 26. They ran 4 plays and the third quarter ended. Two plays into the fourth quarter the Buckeyes forced another punt. The ball was downed at the Gilmer 8.
Things went bad for 3 straight plays for the Bucks as they were called for a false start each time, moving the ball back to the 1 and on 4th down Pate’s punt was returned 41 yards for a TD by Jabreon Moore with 10:45 left in the game. The PAT by Cienega was good and Gilmer’s lead was down to 37-30.
Webb returned the ensuing kickoff to his 31 and Gilmer went back to work on offense. After gaining one first down, the ball was fumbled and Brenham recovered on their 47.
On the first play of the possession the Cubs tried a reverse that was going to be a pass and the Black Flag sniffed it out, resulting in a 12-yard loss that the Cubs could not overcome. After a punt Gilmer took over on their 30.
On the first play of the possession McCown hit a sprinting Jackson over the middle of the field and he went the 70 yards into the end zone with 7:23 left in the game. Pate’s extra point was good and Gilmer led 44-30.
Brenham’s next possession began at their 2 after Dixon was called for an illegal fair catch, But Harvey and company weren’t bothered. They were moving toward the end zone when Amauri Morton intercepted a Harvey pass at the Gilmer 19 and returned it 20 yards up to the 39.
It took just 2:12 and 4 plays for Gilmer to move the 61 yards to yet another score. The TD came on a 49-yard run by Butler with 2:38 left in the game. Pate split the uprights on the extra point and the game was officially all but over as Gilmer led 51-30.
The next Brenham drive began on their 17 and they were not ready to call it quits. Harvey moved his unit the 83 yards into the end zone in 5 plays and 1:21. The score came on a 49-yard TD pass to Guidry with 1:17 left in the game. The extra point was good, making the score 51-37 Gilmer.
The Cubs, as expected, kicked onside but the ball went out of bounds at the Gilmer 30. After a 5-yard penalty moved the ball up to the 35 McCown snapped the ball twice, ending the game and giving the Bux a hard earned and well deserved 51-37 win, moving them to 3-2 on the season too close out non-district play. The loss dropped Brenham to 4-1.
We visited with an ecstatic Coach Alan Metzel after the game and asked his thoughts on the big win.
“You know, I knew they were good, and you saw #9 (Dixon), the running back; just a sophomore. He’s so strong. He’s a dude; a credit to the defense, the way they battled just continually. A guy like that’s going to get a few and we just kept making plays. He was pretty gassed (late in the game). Then the offense took it up a notch tonight. I’m so proud of that O’line, the way they were creating holes; Trill (Butler) and Zade (Taylor), super job. The fullbacks were hitting in there, kicking linebackers out and big plays and getting to 51 (points). That’s what we want, you know. It makes you feel a lot better when you’re calling plays.”
We asked the coach if he agreed the Buckeyes wore the Cubs out in the second half, and he said, “Yeah, I felt like we got into their conditioning and we were playing a lot more players it looked like, and our guys just really rose up. They had the grit; they gutted it out; really proud.”
Then we pointed out that Brady McCown is really beginning to grasp the offense and it’s really coming together for him now, and Coach Metzel agreed.
“It is; you know he made several plays that were off schedule when he moved in the pocket, the first guy was covered, went to the next guy; had that huge play to Solomon Jackson that went the distance. Solomon had some huge catches tonight, by the way. He’s growing in his confidence. Coming in here and making some of those plays, that’s a lot of pressure, you know. He’s starting to get there. Cadon (Tennison) did some great things at receiver, had several great drives at QB, playing out there at corner; can’t compliment him enough as well.”
We also wanted to know how perfect it is for the bye week to be coming up, thus allowing some of the injured players who have missed some time to be ready to go when district play begins in Pittsburg on October 11th.
“We’re thrilled to have some of these reinforcements coming back. Next week will be a great week to be able to catch our breath, work on some details, tighten up some things, get some conditioning back into some of the guys that will be coming back, and then go full force into district play.”
We were curious as to what the 14-point win over a 5A DII team two classifications higher than the Buckeyes meant as far as this season is concerned and the coach had a great answer.
“Well, there’s no room to breathe. That’s one of the things that you feel for the team in that there’s no ‘ok, this week we can kind of just take a deep breath.’ There’s been none for five weeks and that’s why this bye is so big for us. To play with the intensity that we had to play with for five straight weeks, to play a 5A Division II ranked undefeated team. That’s just really impressive and a great credit to the guys to just go ‘yeah, that’s what we need to do to get to where we need to be.’”
We asked if the game felt like a playoff, lose or go home game, and Coach Metzel agreed that it did.
“It did, and it’s one of the reasons it’s good to play a game like this because you’ve got to get up and leave early, you’ve got to come down, it’s a big stadium, you’ve got to travel, your schedule’s all different, like in a playoff game. Some of the younger guys that haven’t been on the varsity, they’re getting that taste of what it would be like come November, December, those times, and I think that’s just huge.”
We finished up by asking the coach if he agreed that due to all the injuries the team has had if it would not be priceless when the playoffs come around.
“I absolutely do. I mean that’s not just rhetoric, these guys, they’ve had to play in big games and big teams. You’re going ‘ok, men, you’ve got to bow up’ and people are and there’s nothing more enjoyable, you know, like a math teacher to see the pupil when a light comes on. You’re out here on this field and you see guys start to make plays and start to realize ‘oh, I can do this.’ That is so fulfilling and exciting for them and the buy in goes through the roof and your practices get better. It’s big all the way around.”
Enjoy the bye week next week and rest up and get ready to make the short drive to Pittsburg on October 11th when the Buckeyes begin Phase 2 as district plays gets underway.