Buckeyes Finish Preseason Work Against Henderson
By Joe Dodd
Gilmer’s final preseason test provided the Buckeyes with encouraging signs, a few mistakes to clean up and one final opportunity to evaluate personnel before the games begin to count.
With the season opener against Pine Tree exactly one week away, Gilmer hosted Class 4A Division I Henderson Thursday night at Jeff Traylor Stadium in the Buckeyes’ second and final scrimmage.
Gilmer’s varsity scored two touchdowns to Henderson’s single touchdown during the controlled portion of the scrimmage. Henderson scored the only touchdown during two quarters of live-game action, leaving the teams even at two touchdowns apiece for the night.
For Gilmer head coach Alan Metzel, the second scrimmage served a different purpose than the first.
“The second one is really a tune-up, making sure everybody understands the routine,” Metzel said. “The coaches are good on the communication, the bringing in and out of players, etc.”
Gilmer held the advantage offensively during the controlled portion, outgaining Henderson 254-199.
With the starters on the field, the Buckeyes gained 139 yards on 15 plays while Henderson totaled 112 yards on the same number of snaps.
Gilmer rushed seven times for 102 yards and completed 4 of 8 passes for 35 yards. Henderson rushed six times for 36 yards and completed 5 of 9 passes for 76 yards but did not score.
Quarterback Zade Taylor provided the biggest play of the opening portion when he broke loose for a 63-yard touchdown run.
The Buckeyes continued to find running room when the backups took the field. Gilmer rushed seven times for 88 yards and completed 5 of 7 passes for 27 yards, finishing with 115 yards on 14 plays.
Landon Wallace accounted for most of those rushing yards on one play, racing 66 yards for Gilmer’s second touchdown.
The play particularly pleased Metzel because of what happened in front of Wallace.
“We really spent a good bit of time on that this past week, just the scheme part of it,” Metzel said. “Well, then you see Landon Wallace. We run the play. You know, there he goes for a touchdown.”
Metzel said Wallace’s ability to finish the play was impressive, but the execution that allowed him to get into the open field was just as encouraging.
“The thing that excites me really as much about his ability to go score was how we handled it schematically, and how we got a pad on a pad and pushed it to the next level, and the running back picked up the safety,” Metzel said. “Well, now you have an athlete in space, and good things happen.”
Henderson’s backups rushed nine times for 56 yards and completed 1 of 5 passes for 27 yards and a touchdown. One offensive penalty resulted in no yardage but counted as a play, giving the Lions 87 yards on 15 snaps.
For the entire controlled portion, Gilmer rushed 14 times for 190 yards and two touchdowns while completing 9 of 15 passes for 62 yards. The Buckeyes finished with 254 yards on 29 plays.
Henderson rushed 15 times for 92 yards and completed 6 of 14 passes for 103 yards and a touchdown. Including the penalty play that counted as a snap, the Lions finished with 199 yards on 30 plays.
The format changed for the final two quarters, with the teams playing live football under a running clock.
Henderson took the opening possession and drove for the only score of the live portion, finishing the series with a 2-yard touchdown run.
Gilmer appeared ready to answer immediately.
On the Buckeyes’ first offensive snap, Taylor broke loose for what appeared to be a 70-yard touchdown run. The play was erased, however, by offsetting penalties against the two teams, so neither the touchdown nor the yardage counted.
The run was Taylor’s second long trip to the end zone of the night after his 63-yard touchdown during the controlled portion, providing another example of the explosiveness Metzel sees from his returning quarterback.
“I thought Zade’s explosiveness was pretty obvious,” Metzel said. “He really looks so much more comfortable in decision making, and his athleticism has looked good.”
Gilmer finished the two running-clock quarters with 57 yards on 13 offensive plays, rushing nine times for 21 yards and completing 3 of 4 passes for 36 yards.
Henderson finished with 77 yards on 17 plays, rushing 13 times for 46 yards and completing 2 of 4 passes for 31 yards.
The limited number of snaps was a product in part of the running clock. Gilmer ran only 13 offensive plays during the two quarters after running 18 in the single live quarter of its first scrimmage against Lindale.
Gilmer also lost a fumble during the live action, one of the mistakes the Buckeyes will look to eliminate before the season begins.
Defensively, Metzel said Henderson found much of its success with short passes that became bigger gains after missed tackles.
“The things that they hit us on were just quicks,” Metzel said. “They’d run a hitch, we’d miss the tackle, they get a run after catch.”
Metzel was generally pleased with the coverage but said the Buckeyes need to do a better job of preventing short completions from becoming bigger plays.
“There were times that when they threw things in front of us that we didn’t do as well, coming up and tackling and just limiting it to a four-yard gain,” Metzel said. “They’d slip the tackle and pick up 10, 15 more. Those are things we’ve got to tighten up.”
The scrimmage also provided another opportunity for Gilmer’s coaches to evaluate the depth that will be needed during the regular season.
Metzel said the staff came away with a better idea of its personnel along the offensive line and which schemes best fit that group. Backup quarterbacks received additional work, while Kaden Buller was among the younger players who caught Metzel’s attention as he continued making the transition from junior varsity to varsity.
Defensively, Gilmer continued sorting out its rotation on the defensive line and at outside linebacker after moving back to an odd front. Metzel said the Buckeyes are more physical on the edges this season and have several athletic options at cornerback, while the team’s young safeties benefited from another night of varsity repetitions.
Earlier in the evening, Gilmer’s younger players also got their final preseason work against Henderson.
Henderson outscored Gilmer six touchdowns to four in the ninth-grade scrimmage. Gilmer quarterback Isaiah Jones accounted for three of the Buckeyes’ four scores, throwing two touchdown passes to Devon Jordan and adding a rushing touchdown. Joe’l Harris scored Gilmer’s other touchdown on the ground.
Henderson also came out on top in the junior varsity scrimmage, scoring three touchdowns while holding Gilmer out of the end zone.
Facing Lindale and Henderson, both Class 4A Division I programs, gave Gilmer two demanding preseason tests before the Buckeyes begin a challenging regular-season schedule.
“It stresses you, and you got to go, man, you played pretty good, but pretty good is just okay,” Metzel said.
Metzel said the level of competition in the scrimmages is particularly valuable considering what awaits Gilmer beginning with Pine Tree.
“This is the type teams we’re about to play right in a row,” Metzel said. “The kids are — they accept that. They realize that.”
With the preseason complete, Metzel said one of the biggest areas of improvement has been the team’s maturity and the players taking greater ownership of their responsibilities.
Now the focus turns to eliminating the handful of mistakes that can determine the outcome of a game.
Metzel asked the Buckeyes Friday to identify plays against Henderson where they were only inches away — a dropped interception, a missed tackle, failing to leverage a blocker or a missed block that contributed to a turnover.
“If we cut that from eight, nine to four, well, that’s huge in a game,” Metzel said. “And then hopefully four to two, two to one, and you clean the details up, and those are things that turn a game.”
The scrimmages are over. The next one counts.
Gilmer opens the 2026 season Thursday against Pine Tree at Pirate Stadium in Longview.