Gilmer 49, Pittsburg 0
By Elwyn Henderson
The 3-2 Gilmer Buckeyes traveled 20 miles north on Hwy 271 Friday night to take on the 0-5 Pittsburg Pirates in the opening night of District 7-4A DII action. When the dust cleared the Buckeyes walked off the field with a decisive 49-0 blowout victory. The win moves the Bux to 4-2 on the season and 1-0 in district play while the loss leaves Pittsburg winless at 0-6 and 0-1 in district.
Pittsburg won the toss and elected to receive to begin the game. Brayden Pate kicked off to the Pitt 5-yard line and the ball was returned up to the Pirate 15. Gilmer was called for a face mask where Kord Johnson brought his team out for their first possession of the game.
The Black Flag Defense forced a three-and-out. Jeremias Flores punted the ball down to the Gilmer 42 where Pitt recovered a loose ball, but there was an illegal touching and Gilmer got the ball at their 48 for their first possession.
Brady McCown got the offense into the end zone in just 1:18 and 4 plays. The score came on a 31-yard run by Trill Butler with 8:58 left in the first quarter. DayDay Jimerson ran the 2-point conversion into the end zone out of the swinging gate formation and Gilmer took an early 8-0 lead.
Pitt began their next drive at their 30 and once again the Black Flag forced another three-and-out. The Flores punt was 44 yards and Gilmer went back on the offensive at their 21 with 6:29 left in the quarter.
McCown led the offense back into the end zone again in 4 plays that took 1:30 to move the 79 yards for the TD. The score came on a 20-yard run by Butler with 4:59 left in the first frame. Pate booted the extra point and Gilmer’s lead was 15-0.
The Black Flag got the hat trick on the next Pirate possession and forced another punt. Gilmer set up on the Pitt 42 and McCown made it three for three, leading team on a 7-play, 42-yard TD drive that consumed 2:08 off the second quarter clock. The score came on a 28-yard McCown to Zade Taylor TD pass with 40 seconds left in the first quarter. Pate nailed the extra point and the blowout was on with the Buckeyes leading 22-0 in a laugher.
Pittsburg’s next drive began on their 20 after a short return and Johnson brought his unit out hoping to get a sustained drive going before the game got totally out of control. It wasn’t to happen though, as the Black Flag forced their fourth three-and-out in as many possessions.
Gilmer set up at their 39 after the next Flores punt and Cadon Tennison checked in a quarterback. He was just as successful as McCown had been, getting another TD on the board in just 2 plays and 37 seconds. The score came on a 25-yard pass from Tennison to Webb with 10:35 left in the first half. The first play was a 36-yard pass to Webb. Pate kicked the extra point and the Gilmer lead was 29-0.
The next drive for the home team began at their 34 after a decent return, but the result was the same as the Black Flag refused to allow a first down once again. The Flores punt died at the Gilmer 30 and Tennison came back in at the helm. After 4 plays he took a hard hit and McCown returned as the field general.
For the first time in the game, thanks to a holding penalty, Gilmer was forced to punt the ball away. Pate’s kick was downed at the Pirate 20 and Johnson led his troops onto the battle field again.
Johnson finally got his team on a sustained drive, but on the 7th play of the possession Webb snatched an interception at the Buckeye 39 and he returned it up to the 29.
The offense had the ball for 9 plays and on a 4th down Pate went in to attempt a 36-yard field goal. The snap was a bit off and Tennison tried to get the ball down but the kick was wide left and short. The ball bounced into the end zone and was returned from 8 yards deep out to the Pitt 42. The offense gained 1 yard on the first down play and the half expired with Gilmer totally in control, up 29-0.
Gilmer was set to get the ball to begin the second half. Flores kicked the ball down to the Gilmer 40 where the Bucks set up for their first possession of the second half.
McCown led the offense the 60 yards into the end zone in 7 plays over 2:16. The score came on a 4-yard run by Taylor with 9:44 left in the third quarter. Pate added the point after and the Gilmer lead swelled to 36-0.
The first drive by the Pirates began at their 10 after Pate’s kickoff and a muff by the return. The Black Flag started the second half just like the first half, forcing another Flores punt. The ball was fair caught by Webb at the Gilmer 40 and McCown and company returned to the field again.
This possession was a 5-play, 60-yard drive that took just 1:24. The score came on an 8-yard run by Jimmerson with 6:36 left in the third period. Pate’s extra point was good and Gilmer led 43-0.
Pate’s kickoff was returned 17 yards and Pitt started the next drive on their 26. It was another three-and-out and Tennison came back in at quarterback for the possession.
Tennison led his group into the end zone for yet another TD. This one was a 6-play, 70-yard affair that took 3:26 off the clock. The score came on a 14-yard pass from Tennison to Trace Haynes with 1:36 left in the quarter. The PAT was blocked, but Gilmer led 49-0.
The ensuing kickoff was returned to the Pitt 43 and Johnson came out hoping to sustain a drive. The Pirates moved down to the Gilmer 29 but a 4th down pass fell incomplete and Gilmer took over on downs at that point with 10:42 left in the contest.
McCown came back out to lead the charge on the possession. The Bucks had several subs in the game and chose to run the ball for 7 plays until Celson James came in and punted the ball down to the Pirate 18 with 4:52 left in the game.
The clock began to run without stopping on the possession and everyone was ready to get the game over with and move on. The backup Black Flag members played hard and gave up only 23 yards and a 15-yard pass interference penalty and preserved the shutout as the clock ran out with the Pirates on the Gilmer 44 yard line and the game ended with Gilmer taking the matchup 49-0.
After the big win we talked with quarterback Brady McCown and told him it was obvious he is getting very comfortable with the complex Buckeye offense.
“Yes sir, I mean the first five games the teams we were playing were all state ranked, so it wasn’t like we were playing any slouches. Coming in and having to learn the offense and Gilmer is a complex offense, it takes a lot, but the best thing is it is continuous improvement from week to week. We’re all getting better. Everyone’s starting to click, the O-line is doing good, we’re able to run the ball, the wide receivers are catching it, I’m making throws; Cadon’s coming in and he’s doing some good things at wide receiver and quarterback and so we’re all just starting to click on all cylinders.”
We pointed out that he and Brendan Webb had been really close to hitting some big plays in the past few weeks but that they got it together in the game.
“The first couple of weeks we were a little rough, missed a couple and he dropped a couple but we’re just keeping on continuing to improve and in practice working on our craft every single day. Like I said just continuous improvement.”
We finished up asking him how much better he could get and how much better the team could get. He said, “A lot; the sky’s the limit. There’s tons of improvement that we can make and we will keep on making it every week and that’s the goal, just take that next step every week.”
When we visited with Coach Metzel after the win we talked about regardless of the score that the Pirates never quit battling and played hard the entire game.
“They were; he’s (Coach Triston Abron) is a class individual. He does a great job. He cares about kids, he does it for the right reason, and you see it. There’s fight in those guys. They played hard through the whole night.”
Due to the officials allowing a lot of late hits that weren’t called in the first half of play, we mentioned that we noticed he got frustrated at all the missed calls.
“Well, you just don’t want to have it where stuff like that gets out of hand and it just needed tightening up. You tighten it up and it goes away. I just shared my opinion on the matter.”
Next we mentioned the tremendous game that McCown had and the improvement he has made every week as he gets more comfortable with the offense.
“He played really well. He was very much in command, just seeing the field, was playing with confidence, great communication on the sidelines. He did an awesome job. He has a great understanding of where things are going and I thought there were multiple times that he looked downfield and flipped it out to his side when he was getting pressure. Super job; he’s progressing. I thought his line did a really good job of giving him a platform to throw in. The receivers ran great routes, G (Geramiah Noble) was making great plays, Cadon made some big plays, B Webb made some big plays, Solomon (Jackson) made some, and that’s not even talking about the running backs. It was one of those nights where the guys took care of what they needed to take care of. That’s what I’m pleased about.”
Next we mentioned that we are blessed to literally have two starting quarterbacks on the team and Coach Metzel agreed.
“Oh, no doubt, and the thing I don’t think people understand sometimes is it’s not like Cadon is a backup. Cadon is playing multiple positions and so you have a certain element when he goes back there you can attack a different way. He makes us more athletic by being able to move him around and he’s really embraced that role. He’s breathing life into us. I could not be prouder of Cadon Tennison.”
We also brought up that even when third string defenders were in the game late in the fourth quarter that they were determined not to let Pittsburg get on the scoreboard and the P R I D E went all the way down to every player that played in the game.
“Yeah, a shutout is a big deal for our defense. That’s something they pride themselves in. They have a chart where they chart scoreless quarters on defense, so they’re wanting to get that four in a row. Here’s the deal. You’ve got guys that are coming in or stepping in at the end of the game that have that same pride and they want to be able to be a part of doing something like getting a shutout. I loved how the guys that had been starting were calling their names out and cheering for them when they were making tackles. That’s very healthy.”
He continued, “I’m pleased with how the game went. I thought our guys took care of business. They kept focusing on ‘let’s make sure we don’t get in our own way.’ I felt like we took care of that tonight.”
We concluded by mentioning that after an easy game the next two games were going to really demanding again with Van coming to Gilmer next week during the 87th annual East Texas Yamboree and the team having to hit the road to Texarkana the following week to take on Pleasant Grove.
“Oh no doubt; these guys (Van) can play. They’re well-coached. We saw them when they played Lindale earlier this year so I’ve already seen film of them. They’re just Van like they always are and they’ll come ready to roll next Friday night. We’ll have to have a strong, solid game plan and we’ll have to be physical and disciplined and make sure that we keep the main thing the main thing next week.”
Every Buckeye fan has seen the continuous improvement that Coach Metzel keeps preaching about and even the “doubting Thomas” folks are realizing that this team is better than they were last year and that we have more weapons on both sides of the ball this year than last year. The remainder of the district schedule and the playoffs will provide this year’s team a realistic shot to repeat as State Champions in December. If you aren’t on the bandwagon already, climb aboard. There is a lot of exciting Gilmer Buckeye Football yet to be played in 2024!