Van 48, Gilmer 38
By Elwyn Henderson
Gilmer Buckeyes traveled to Van Friday night to take on the Van Vandals in a key District 7-4A DII contest. Gilmer came into the game at 2-4 on the season and 1-0 in district and Van entered the fray at 4-2 on the season and also 1-0 in district play. The Vandals came in as a 6-point favorite according to Texas Football Magazine and as a 7-point favorite according to hsratings.com.
As it turned out the projections were pretty close as the Buckeyes dropped a 48-38 decision to the Vandals to drop to 2-5 on the year and 1-1 in district dustups. They will return home next Friday night at Jeff Traylor Stadium in Gilmer when the Pleasant Grove Hawks invade Buckeye Country.
Gilmer won the coin toss prior to kickoff and elected to receive as the game began.
Alex Aceves kicked the ball away from his 40. The kick went out of bounds at the 27 and after a 5-yard mark off Gilmer set up shop on their 32 for their first possession of the night.
Zade Taylor led the offense on a 7-play, 64-yard drive that took 2:47 and ended with a 20-yard Miguel Castaneda field goal with 9:13 left in the first quarter, putting Gilmer up 3-0.
Van set up on the 44 after a 14-yard return of Castaneda’s kickoff following the field goal.
Rawly Hinch led the Vandals the 56 yards into the end zone in just 4 plays over 1:08. The score came on a 17-yard pass from Hinch to Kace Lovett with 8:05 left in the quarter. Aceves added the PAT and Van took a 7-3 lead.
The Buckeyes fair caught a pooch kick at their 34 after the TD and Taylor hit Solomon Jackson on a 66-7ard TD pass on the first play of the possession. The drive was just 6 seconds. The extra point was good and Gilmer took a 10-7 lead.
The ensuing kickoff went out of bounds at the 30 and Van set up at their 35 for their second possession of the night.
Hinch led his offense back into the end zone once again, leading Van on a 65-yard drive that took 4:06 and 7 plays. The score came with 3:51 left in the opening frame when Da’Quavian Williams found got the TD on a 24-yard TD run. The extra point was good and Van took a 14-10 lead.
The Buckeyes began their next possession at their 32. Taylor led the offense on an 8-play drive to cover the 68 yards in 2:57 before getting into the end zone once again. The score came on a 34-yard TD pass from Taylor to Jackson once again. The point after was good and Gilmer led 17-14 with 1:33 left in the quarter.
Van’s next drive began at their 38 after a fair catch of the kickoff. Hinch led his team down the field once again but the Black Flag Defense forced a 26-yard field goal with 9:20 left in the first half of play. The kick tied the score at 17 all. The drive was 10 plays, 53 yards and took 5:37.
Taylor and the Gilmer offense began their next drive at their 28 and Gilmer took the lead once again after a 5-play, 72-yard drive that consumed a mere 57 seconds. The score was set up by a 55-yd run by Aiden Thomas on the first play of the possession. The drive ended when Taylor hit Jackson on a 12-yard TD score on a 4th and 5 play. The extra point was good and the Gilmer lead moved to 24-17.
The next Van drive began at their 32 after yet another fair catch. It took 3:16 and 9 plays for Hinch to lead his unit the 68 into the end zone again. The score came on a 1-yard run by Williams with 5:07 left in the half. The extra point was good and for the first time on the night the game was tied.
Jackson fair caught the next kickoff and Gilmer set up at their 32 for their next drive. The Buckeyes went on a 12-play, 64-yard drive that took up 4:27 and ended when Jackson was dropped for a 10-yard loss on 4th and goal from the Vandal 4.
Hinch brought his offense back in hopes of managing to break the tie before the halftime intermission, knowing his troops would get the ball to start the second half. They did just that, moving down to the Gilmer 18 with 1 second left. They called a timeout and on the last play of the half Aceves nailed a 35-yard field goal to put Van back in the lead 27-24 at intermission.
The Buckeyes rolled the dice and kicked onside to begin the second half but Van recovered at their 46 to start the third quarter.
The Vandals moved the 54 yards to pay dirt over 11 plays and 4:21, scoring another touchdown with 7:39 left in the third quarter when Hinch ran in from the 2. The extra point was good and the Bucks found themselves on the short end of the scoreboard 34-24.
The next Gilmer possession was a three-and-out and after a 29-yard punt Hinch and company were on the road again. The hosts took full advantage as they moved the 38 yards in 4 plays and took 1:46 off the third quarter clock. The TD came on a 10-yard run by Williams with 4:17 left in the quarter. The extra point was good and the Vandals were in complete control 4l-24.
To the Buckeyes credit, they bounced right back, moving the 66 yards in 8 plays over 3:43. The score came on a 28-yard TD pass from Taylor to Jackson with 34 seconds left in the quarter. The extra point was good and Gilmer was back to within 10, trailing 41-31.
Gilmer attempted another onside kick but Van recovered at their 49. They moved the 51 yards in 4 plays that took 1:56 off the clock. The score came on a 42-yard run by Hinch with 10:36 left in the game. The PAT was good and Van led 48-31.
The next kickoff was fair caught at the Gilmer 32 and Taylor led the offense back on the field again. Taylor led the offense the 68 yards in 7 plays over 2:16. The score came on a 33-yard TD pass from Taylor to Gauge Trossbach with 8:20 left in the game. The extra point was good and Gilmer was back within 10, trailing 48-38 and desperately needing a stop on the ensuing Van possession.
Everyone expected an onside kick and that was exactly what occurred and the Vandals recovered at the Gilmer 48.
Van moved down to the Gilmer 17 and faced a 4th and 3 and a pass fell incomplete and Gilmer took over on downs with 2:28 left in the game.
Gilmer advanced the ball up to the 42 and turned the ball over on downs with an incomplete pass with 57 seconds left in the game. The Vandals took a knee twice and the game ended with Van victorious 48-38.
There was a lot of improvement that was evident on special teams and offense in the game and the team handled the adversity they faced well as they came back over and over but the defense had problems with the two best athletes on the Van team, their running back and quarterback.
When The Mirror talked with Coach Alan Metzel after the game and began by talking about how neither team was able to continuously able to get stops on defense.
“I agree. They did a great job offensively. They had a good scheme, their O-line is really good and they did a great job of playing to that. Zero (Williams) is a great running back and the quarterback did a great job knowing when to keep it and when to throw it. He’s a big, strong guy and he’s a good player, so all credit to them and taking care of what they did.”
“I was really pleased with our execution (on offense). Guys were making huge plays. Like we said last week, we’re starting to break out of who we are offensively. It’s coming on more. It was a big blow with (Justice) Byrd going down. That hurt and it really affected the drive, you know. (Tristan) Fuentes came in and did a great job but all of a sudden in the middle of a drive that’s tough. Anyway, it is what it is. Injuries are part of the game. Some of the guys stepped up and I’m pleased that there was encouragement all of the way to the very end. They played the game the right way, so we’re getting there. I hate it for my guys to pour that much into it and we don’t come out ahead.”
Next we asked Coach Metzel if he felt the walk-off field goal by the Vandals as the half ended after the Bucks failed to score down deep was what broke the Buckeyes neck.
“It did. One, we didn’t score down there and two they were able to turn it into three points so you’re talking about a 10-point swing right there. That’s monstrous and so yeah, 10 points, that’s where we were. It is what it is. You’ve got to execute down there and you’ve got to execute on getting them down instead of letting them get out of bounds, whatever the case may be. They did a good job of executing the two minute drill. They slid and got the time out with a second to go and made the field goal.”
We pointed out that the team came back again and again and never gave up and asked if he agreed there is still a lot of improvement the team can and will do before the season ends.
“Yes, there is; there really is, Elwyn, and that’s what we’re working towards. The season is NOT done, it is not done and at the end of Phase 2 we’ve got to take care of business and get in to that third phase and we’re 0-0 again. Those are the things that we have to make sure we keep our mind on. Obviously, everyone goes ‘but you didn’t win.’ I get it but where we are. All we can do is control where we are and try to inch forward so that by the time we get to Phase 3 and we get ourselves into it then we’re much better than we are now. We know that. You’ve got to get into the tournament and so we’re going to keep clawing. We’re going to play one of the best teams in the state next week so we’ve got to go get after them. We have to have that mindset of how much better can we get from this week to next Friday. That’s what we’re going to keep working on.”
We then brought out that knowing what is ahead in the final three weeks of the season that there is no way the team will finish any worse than third in the district which will move them into Phase 3 and the playoffs and asked his thoughts.
“Those are the things that we will be talking about and make sure the guys understand that we’ve got to get to Phase 3 and in order to get there we’ve got to tighten up our execution offensively, defensively, special teams. We’ve got to continue to do that. We’ve got to do a better job on our creating turnovers or getting the onside kick. We’ve got to tilt it in our favor right now and we haven’t done that yet. We’ve got to create that and that’s what we’ll be working on.”
We had to ask about Solomon Jackson who is becoming a beast at wide receiver and the coach agreed and said, “He really is. He has as good hands as some of the greats we’ve had from Rohan Fluellen to Houston Tuminello. Man, he just catches everything. If you want to see somebody work hard in practice come watch Solomon; unreal, unreal. And of course Trace (Haynes) is playing great, Gauge (Trossbach) made big plays for us tonight and you have guys that are stepping up and will continue to do that. We’re going to get that running game to complement added to that and we can be pretty explosive.”
Lastly, we asked the coach for any final words he wanted to add and he replied, “Hang in there with us; hang in there with us. It’s not the prettiest thing right now but we’re clawing our way to be the team that we need to be this year. I can just promise you guys are putting in the work. They’re really hanging in there. They’re trying to get better and they are and so we can’t wait to go play again next Friday.”