Kilgore 66, Gilmer 6
By Elwyn Henderson
The 1-1 Gilmer Buckeyes took to the road Friday night as they traveled to Kilgore to take on the 1-1 Bulldogs. Kilgore went into the game seeking to avenge their 24-22 loss to the Buckeyes last season while Gilmer came in seeking to redemption for their 41-26 loss to Chapel Hill last week. When the dust settled the Bulldogs took a blowout 66-6 victory. The win moves them to 2-1 on the year while the loss drops Gilmer to 1-2.
In the pregame coin flip Kilgore won the toss and elected to defer to the second half. Ethan Reyes kicked the ball away out of the end zone for a touchback and Gilmer took over on the 25 where the Buckeyes set up 1st and 10 to get the fray underway.
It was a quick three-and-out and following a Celson James nailed a beautiful 50-yard punt with no return and Kilgore went on the offensive from their 16.
Kayson Brooks brought his unit on the field and the ‘Dogs were ready to roll for their first possession. The home team moved down the field but the Black Flag Defense didn’t break, forcing a 32-yard field goal by Eddie Jimenez with 5:36 left in the first quarter, giving Kilgore an early 3-0 lead. The drive was 13 plays, 70 yards and took 4:47 off the clock.
Reyes kickoff after the score was taken at the goal line and returned up to the 33. After picking one first down Jones was forced to punt the ball away on the next series. The ball went out of bounds on the Kilgore 39 where Brooks went back to work.
Brooks led his charges the 61 yards into the end zone for the first TD of the night in 7 plays and 2:27. The score came on a 26-yard pass from Brooks to Takieran White with 1:56 left in the opening frame. The PAT by Jimenez was good and Kilgore advanced the lead to 10-0.
The next kickoff went out of the end zone and Gilmer went back to work at their 25.
It turned into a terrible series as on the first play a high snap turned into an 18-yard loss back to the 7. The loss resulted in a 4th down from the Gilmer 7 and the punt was blocked by Bi-Syn Williams and was recovered by Gavin Wall in the end zone for a Kilgore TD as the first quarter came to a close. Jimenez booted the PAT and Kilgore was ahead 17-0.
The kick after TD was returned to the Gilmer 13 as the second quarter got underway. It was another three-and-out. Another bad punt forced James to run the ball out of the end zone and he was stopped at the Gilmer 13.
It took just 2 plays for Kilgore to find the end zone again as Bi’Syn Williams ran in from the 7. Reyes kicked the extra point and the rout was on with Gilmer trailing 24-0.
Gilmer set up on their 25 after another kick went out of the end zone for a touchback.
Taylor brought the offense out hoping they could get some offense going. The team moved to the Kilgore 49 where they faced a 4th and 9 and the offense stayed on the field. A deep pass fell incomplete thanks to a great defensive play and the Bulldogs took over on their 49 with 4:40 left in the half.
It took just 5 plays for the Bulldogs to move the 51 yards for another TD that took just 1:25 off the clock. The score came on a 7-yard run by Williams once again. Reyes added the extra point and the score moved to 31-0 with 3:15 left in the half.
The next Jimenez kick went out of the end zone again and Gilmer hit the field at their 25.
Once again it was not a good possession as on third down a bad snap resulted in another 18-yard loss, bringing James in to punt once again. He hit a beautiful ball and it traveled 53 yards down to the Kilgore 32…
The Bulldogs took over and on the first play quarterback Williams hit Dre’ Sanders at about the Gilmer 30 and he sailed into the end zone with 1:30 left in the half. Reyes booted the extra point and the rout was on as Gilmer trailed 38-0. The score took just 11 seconds off the clock.
The Buckeyes began at their 25 after yet another touchback. On the fourth play of the possession another bad snap resulted in another 18-yard loss as the half ended.
James kicked off to begin the second half. The ball traveled to the Kilgore 31 and was returned to the 48 where Williams and his teammates went on the offensive for the first time in the half.
The Black Flag forced a 4th and 1 and Williams ran 43 yards into the end zone for another Bulldog TD with 10:18 left in the half, capping off a 4 play drive that took just 1:42. The extra point was good and the blowout moved to 45-0.
After another touchback Gilmer went on offense for the first time of the half at their 25. It was a quick three-and-out and James nailed a 49-yard punt down to the Kilgore 23 and the Bulldogs set up shop again with 9:20 left in the third quarter.
On the second play of the possession Williams ran 71 yards into the end zone but Kilgore was called for a holding penalty, nullifying the score and moving the ball back to the Kilgore 45. The penalty just delayed the inevitable as the Bulldogs moved the 77 yards in 8 plays over 4:50. The score came on a 23-yard TD pass from Brooks to Isaiah Watters with 4:30 left in the quarter.
Gilmer began at their 25 once again after a touchback. The offense managed two first downs before Taylor was intercepted at the Bulldog 24 ending the possession.
The ‘Dogs took only 2 plays and 31.7 seconds to get into the end zone again as David McGowan ran into the end zone from 73 yards out. The extra point moved the score to 59-0.
The Buckeyes began on their 25 again after the kickoff went out of the end zone. Carter Johnston came in at quarterback and on the first play of the possession Taveon Horne ran 75 yards into the end zone with 11:31 left in the game. Miguel Castaneda’s PAT was wide left but Gilmer got on the board, trailing 59-6.
The kickoff was returned from the 30 into the end zone for another Kilgore TD by Rayshaun Williams with 11:16 left it he game. The extra point was good and the Bulldog lead moved to 66-6.
The next kickoff went out of the end zone once again and Johnston and company set up on their 25 again.
The Bucks managed two first downs before James punted the ball away from the Gilmer 48 to the Kilgore 19 with no return and Kilgore took the field again with 5:25 left in the game.
The defense force a three-and-out and after a high snap the punter kicked the ball up to the 39 where the Buckeyes got one final possession hoping to get into the end one more time. It wasn’t in the cards as after picking up one first down the clock ran out at the Kilgore 28 making the final score 66-6.
We talked with a disappointed Buckeye Head Coach Alan Metzel after the game and began by asking him if he agreed the team ran into a buzz saw.
“We did. They played extremely well and by the same token we played really poorly. When you put the two together it was an ugly night for Gilmer football. I take responsibility for that and own it. I’m not saying that in rhetoric or because it’s what coaches are supposed to say. I accept it and understand that we’ve got to get it fixed and we will.”
We brought up the fact that the injuries the team has had and all the new starters there are this season certainly made it harder but we asked the coach what he has to do from here.
“You know, there’s certain things that you’ve got to be able to say ‘that was just bad’ and we let it go. There are other things systemically that you’ve got to go ok, we’ve got to trim, we’ve got to make some adjustments, we’ve got to look at how we’re attacking, how we’re practicing and you’ve got to be willing to examine all of it and then just start making steps in the right direction before you start running. We’ve played less than the way I would expect us to for 6 quarters now and so we’ve got to turn that. I’ve got a long day tomorrow to look at things and make some decisions and again on Sunday and we’ll have a plan by Monday and we’ll start working on it.”
We asked Coach Metzel if he thought some of the problem in the game was the emotional reverberations from the Chapel Hill loss last week.
“Yeah, until you turn it, it lingers, so yeah, I think that’s a very valid point. And then we come out and we’re close to popping a run, they grab your foot and you go down and don’t get the first down. Every little thing begins to compound and at some point you have to push that needle over and you can’t count on another team to just not do it. You have to go do it and we’ve yet to do that. We’ve got to get it fixed.”
We then mentioned that you just have to feel like if the team could get a little something going again, get a little confidence, that we know with the talent this team has that we could turn the switch and turn the season into what we know the team is capable of doing.
“You’re really saying it Elwyn. It is the truth. It’s not ‘all is lost’ and all of that. Tonight was ugly, got it, but it’s not lost. This is a good team potentially. We’re not there yet. We’ve seen that in the past and people go ‘well, compare it’. It’s not about comparisons. We are who we are right now, we’ve got to get better and as we get better then we can start looking like the team we feel like we have. Those are the things we’re going to focus on right now.”
Next we said that he knows what he’s got and what the team can do and the coach responded, “You’re exactly right, Elwyn, you are and that’s not just wishful thinking. It is the truth. We both know it. We’re not there yet. We’ve got to get there and we’re going to do that.”
We finished our visit asking for any final thoughts he had on the game and the team.
“You know, I was really proud that there were so many guys tonight that with all the things we struggled with tonight, one of the things we did improve on was on the sideline. We had a lot of guys really trying to lead and trying to make sure that we had the right demeanor. It could have been a lot worse and we had guys who were really showing some character and they’re ready to go to work tomorrow and that’s what we’re going to do.”
