Gilmer 48, Sulphur Springs 38

Sulphur Springs Game Statistics_FINAL

By Joe Dodd

SULPHUR SPRINGS — Gilmer used its opening possession to show Sulphur Springs that stopping the Buckeyes would require more than loading up against their powerful running game.
Zade Taylor completed an 8-yard pass to Kipton Neighbors and an 18-yard pass to Ismael Camara, ran for 9 yards and then connected with Neighbors for a 40-yard touchdown.
Three passes in a four-play opening drive moved Gilmer 75 yards in only 1 minute, 45 seconds and gave the Buckeyes a 7-0 lead with 10:15 remaining in the first quarter.
The message had been delivered: Gilmer could spread the field, throw efficiently and score quickly.
The Buckeyes then returned to the heavy running game that has become their offensive identity, rushing for 317 yards and six touchdowns in a 48-38 victory Friday at Gerald Prim Stadium.
Gilmer scored touchdowns on its first seven possessions and improved to 3-1 with its third consecutive victory.
“It’s always good to set a tempo,” Gilmer coach Alan Metzel said. “You’re making a statement when you get the ball first and everything is clicking and you go score. It creates a rhythm. It creates confidence.”
After throwing three times on the opening possession, Gilmer attempted only four more passes during the rest of the game. The Buckeyes completed 6 of 7 passes for 94 yards but did most of their damage by using their size, depth and versatility on the ground.
Gilmer finished with 411 total yards despite running only 42 offensive plays. The Buckeyes averaged 9.1 yards on their 35 rushing attempts, with Taylor, Tayveon Horne, Neighbors, Carlos Brooks, Kaden Canady and Camara all contributing to the ground game.
“I truly believe we are getting to where we know who we are,” Metzel said. “Our O-line is creating an identity within that unit, which is exciting. There’s a camaraderie and a connectivity where they’re doing stuff together and taking ownership when they mess up.
“We have some guys who are running the ball extremely well. What’s neat is we’re also growing in selflessness. We only threw the ball seven times because we didn’t need to, and the receivers didn’t miss a beat. They blocked their tails off. They were excited when they were part of a block that went for a touchdown.”
Gilmer’s offensive line was selected as the team’s offensive player of the week.
Sulphur Springs matched Gilmer touchdown-for-touchdown through each team’s first three possessions.
Dobson Martin’s 5-yard run answered Gilmer’s opening touchdown and tied the score at 7 with 6:18 remaining in the first quarter.
Canady returned the ensuing kickoff to the Gilmer 48, and the Buckeyes overcame a holding penalty during a seven-play drive. Horne gained 27 yards to the Sulphur Springs 4 before Camara scored on the next play, putting Gilmer ahead 14-7 with 2:39 left in the opening quarter.
Sulphur Springs responded with a possession that carried into the second quarter. Duece Timmons’ 14-yard touchdown pass to Quin Harris, followed by Gael Garcia’s extra point, tied the score at 14 with 11:54 left in the half.
Gilmer needed only four plays to regain the lead. Taylor completed a 9-yard pass to Horne, ran for 25 yards, Neighbors gained 13 yards and Taylor scored on a 14-yard run for a 21-14 advantage with 10:01 left in the half.
Martin answered 49 seconds later with a 20-yard touchdown run, tying the game at 21. He accounted for all 56 offensive yards on the possession, gaining 17, 19 and 20 yards on his three runs.
“There was never panic on the sideline,” Metzel said. “We understood they’re good. Their quarterback is extremely talented, the running back is really good and they have good receivers. We knew it was going to be a challenge.
“We had to make sure we continued to score on our side, and then we had to get them off somewhere.”
The Wildcats then broke the back-and-forth pattern by recovering their own onside kick at the Gilmer 42. For the first time, one team had an opportunity to score on consecutive possessions without the other offense touching the ball.
Sulphur Springs advanced to the Gilmer 10, but the Buckeyes forced two consecutive incomplete passes and held the Wildcats to Garcia’s 27-yard field goal. It gave Sulphur Springs its only lead, 24-21, with 2:47 remaining before halftime, but Metzel viewed the stand as an important turning point for Gilmer’s defense.
“They rolled the ball and got it, so they stole a possession from us,” Metzel said. “Our guys made a stand there and held them to a field goal, and I thought that was a big start to where you see us begin to come around on defense. They got three and went up, but we had two and a half minutes.”
The Buckeyes used the remaining time to reclaim the lead. Amare Garrett returned the ensuing kickoff to the Sulphur Springs 34, and Gilmer advanced to the 10 before facing fourth-and-2.
Gilmer used Taylor as a diversion and snapped the ball directly to Horne, who ran 10 yards for the touchdown. Alan Sanchez’s extra point gave the Buckeyes a 28-24 lead with 32 seconds left in the half.
“I felt confident we could get it,” Metzel said. “We had a play we felt was going to work. We kind of had a diversion with Zade and snapped it right to Tayveon. I didn’t know he was going to score, but we felt we would get the first down.
“I wasn’t considering the field goal right there. I was planning to go score a touchdown.”
Sulphur Springs nearly answered before halftime. Timmons completed a 39-yard pass to Jaxon Virgel, but Gilmer made the tackle at the 4 and the clock expired before the Wildcats could run another play.
Gilmer carried a 28-24 lead into halftime, but Sulphur Springs was scheduled to receive the second-half kickoff. Rather than surrender the next possession, Metzel challenged the Buckeyes to take it for themselves.
“The mentality was attack,” Metzel said. “I told them, ‘We’re going to go out there and roll a kick. We’re going to get it, go down and score and extend it.’”
Neighbors recovered the onside kick at the Sulphur Springs 41, but Gilmer still had to justify Metzel’s gamble. Three plays produced only 5 yards, leaving the Buckeyes facing fourth-and-5 from the 36.
There was no hesitation and no thought of surrendering the possession they had just taken.
Taylor kept the ball, broke through the defense and scored from 36 yards out, extending Gilmer’s lead to 35-24 with 10:20 remaining in the third quarter. The Buckeyes had turned an aggressive special-teams call into an 11-point advantage.
It was Gilmer’s second fourth-down attempt of the game and its second fourth-down touchdown.
“Confidence,” Metzel said of the effect those conversions had on the Buckeyes. “It’s a mentality. Right now, it has behooved us to go for it. Just get the first down. Keep scoring.”
Sulphur Springs responded by driving from its 46 to the Gilmer 6, where it faced fourth-and-5. Timmons’ pass fell incomplete, giving Gilmer the ball with 6:32 remaining in the third quarter.
The stop was far more significant than one failed fourth-down attempt. It marked the third consecutive Sulphur Springs possession that ended without a touchdown after the Wildcats had scored touchdowns on each of their first three possessions.
Gilmer had held Sulphur Springs to a field goal after the Wildcats recovered an onside kick, tackled Virgel at the 4 as time expired in the first half and then stopped the Wildcats on downs at the 6 to begin the second half.
“The defense played probably the best half we’ve played yet,” Metzel said. “We’ve gotten better in gap integrity, and we cut down on our missed tackles. They drove down and went for it on fourth, and we got a stop.
“They get to the 6 and can’t score, and then you turn around and go right down the field. That kind of takes the wind out of people.”
Gilmer’s defensive plan began with containing Timmons, who had rushed for five touchdowns in Sulphur Springs’ victory over Whitehouse the previous week. The Buckeyes limited him to 83 rushing yards and one touchdown.
The defensive improvement was also evident against Martin. After rushing for 121 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, he was held to 39 yards and one touchdown after halftime.
The Buckeyes answered the fourth-down stop with a 94-yard touchdown drive.
The possession included two fumbles—and two Gilmer recoveries.
Neighbors fumbled after an 8-yard run from the Gilmer 6, but the Buckeyes recovered the ball at the 14. Four plays later, Horne lost the ball after being hit for a 5-yard loss. Taylor recovered it at the Gilmer 39 and returned it 36 yards to the Sulphur Springs 25.
“What a move,” Metzel said. “He not only picks it up, but he starts to run, a guy gets outside, he sticks his foot and he’s gone. That was impressive.”
Neighbors completed the drive with a 17-yard touchdown run on third-and-2, giving Gilmer its largest lead of the game with 1:33 remaining in the third quarter.
Thanks to the Buckeyes’ defense during those three Sulphur Springs possessions, Gilmer had turned a 21-21 tie into a 41-24 lead.
Sulphur Springs recovered the ensuing onside kick and used two Gilmer penalties to help extend a possession into the fourth quarter. Martin’s 5-yard touchdown run cut Gilmer’s lead to 41-31 with 10:20 remaining.
The Wildcats tried another onside kick, but it went out of bounds at the Gilmer 49. Taylor gained 17 yards on the first play, and Horne scored from 35 yards out two plays later to push the margin back to 17 points.
Sulphur Springs responded with a 72-yard drive, capped by Timmons’ 11-yard touchdown run with 4:19 remaining.
The Wildcats never got the ball back.
Horne returned the kickoff to the Sulphur Springs 32, and Gilmer used six running plays to advance to the 3 before taking a knee.
“It felt good,” Metzel said. “I don’t mean that arrogantly because I don’t ever take that for granted. We have confidence that we have the ability right now to impose our will and move the ball down the field. That’s a weapon.”
Taylor finished with 128 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries. He completed 6 of 7 passes for 94 yards and another touchdown.
Metzel called it Taylor’s best performance of the season because of the senior quarterback’s command of the offense.
“The decision-making he made, the way there were several plays where he saw they had no one in the flats and pulled it—that comes from experience,” Metzel said. “The game has slowed down. He’s on the same page on when he can, when he should, when he shouldn’t and when to go down instead of letting guys keep him up and rip the ball out. He’s really playing at a high level.”
Horne rushed 15 times for 109 yards and two touchdowns. Neighbors added 46 yards and a touchdown rushing, caught three passes for 62 yards and another score, and recovered the onside kick to begin the second half.
“He has an amazing skill set,” Metzel said of Neighbors. “We’re just now getting to where we know how to use him. We’ll keep using him in various roles. Whenever he touches the ball, it’s going to be a big play. He has that kind of quick twitch, and he’s a fierce competitor.”
Sulphur Springs accumulated 391 yards and 31 first downs, but Gilmer limited the Wildcats to 148 passing yards and made the game’s decisive defensive stops.
Austin Blakeley led the Buckeyes with 10 tackles and two tackles for loss. Landon Wallace recorded eight tackles and one pass defended.
Metzel said the Buckeyes improved offensively and defensively despite still having plenty of room to grow.
“Offensively, I felt like we were on our game,” he said. “We took care of details and small things—clock management and making good decisions.
“Defensively, I thought we improved dramatically in our mentality. Especially from that field goal on to the end of the game, there was a different level of intensity that we’re going to need. Now we want to build on that. It’s not like we’ve arrived. That was just an uptick.”