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09-09-2006, 09:27 AM
BUCKEYES TOP DEFENDING CHAMPS
By PHILLIP WILLIAMS, Sports Correspondent
09/08/2006
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GILMER - In what was billed as the "East Texas Super Bowl," performed before a probable-record Buckeye Stadium audience estimated at a breathtaking 10,000, the No.-2 ranked Gilmer Buckeyes of Class 3A transformed the top-rated Tatum Eagles of Class 2A into an endangered species Friday night.
Gilmer's nuclear-strength offense wore the tread off a Tatum team noted for relying on both-way players.
And Buckeye runner Justin Johnson tallied touchdowns in three different ways to join quarterback G.J. Kinne as the co-star of Gilmer trumping Tatum, 45-21.
Johnson hoofed for one TD, snagged a pass for another, and returned an interception 89 yards for a third. Kinne meantime sneaked for two touchdowns, heaved for another, and was 8-for-11 for 237 yards in the friendly skies.
But another factor in the outcome was that Gilmer's defense forced Tatum's offense to err at critical times deep in Buckeye territory.
The Eagles fumbled to the Buckeyes at the Gilmer 10 in the third quarter. And, at the start of the fourth quarter, Tatum was on Gilmer's 1-yard line-only to lose five yards on a botched pitch, and then have Johnson spear quarterback Cashas Pollard's aerial for a long-distance TD.
Gilmer led 31-21 at twirling time after an 80-minute first half that lived up to expectations of an ode to offense.
The Buckeyes accepted the opening kickoff and hopped 63 yards in seven plays, tallying when Johnson ripped for four yards. Matt Burgin airlifted the first of six PATs with 9:43 left in the first quarter.
After Gilmer tried an unsuccessful onside kick, Tatum swiftly evened the score, pushing 49 yards in only four plays.
Lennon Creer (25 carries, 132 yards) hiked the final 23 yards, and Jose Trejo launched the first of his three PATs with 7:59 left in the initial stanza.
But the hosts' promptly regained command, rumbling 62 yards on three passes by Kinne. The big bang was a 41-yarder to Curtis Brown, who finished the night with three catches for 109 yards, with 6:52 left in the first.
After Tatum turned over the football on downs at the Gilmer 42, the Buckeyes swiftly slid into TD territory again. It took just three plays-runs of 32 by Brown, 25 by Johnson, and a 1-yard scoring sneak by Kinne with 3:17 still left in the first.
ŠTyler Morning Telegraph 2006
By PHILLIP WILLIAMS, Sports Correspondent
09/08/2006
Email to a friendPost a CommentPrinter-friendly
GILMER - In what was billed as the "East Texas Super Bowl," performed before a probable-record Buckeye Stadium audience estimated at a breathtaking 10,000, the No.-2 ranked Gilmer Buckeyes of Class 3A transformed the top-rated Tatum Eagles of Class 2A into an endangered species Friday night.
Gilmer's nuclear-strength offense wore the tread off a Tatum team noted for relying on both-way players.
And Buckeye runner Justin Johnson tallied touchdowns in three different ways to join quarterback G.J. Kinne as the co-star of Gilmer trumping Tatum, 45-21.
Johnson hoofed for one TD, snagged a pass for another, and returned an interception 89 yards for a third. Kinne meantime sneaked for two touchdowns, heaved for another, and was 8-for-11 for 237 yards in the friendly skies.
But another factor in the outcome was that Gilmer's defense forced Tatum's offense to err at critical times deep in Buckeye territory.
The Eagles fumbled to the Buckeyes at the Gilmer 10 in the third quarter. And, at the start of the fourth quarter, Tatum was on Gilmer's 1-yard line-only to lose five yards on a botched pitch, and then have Johnson spear quarterback Cashas Pollard's aerial for a long-distance TD.
Gilmer led 31-21 at twirling time after an 80-minute first half that lived up to expectations of an ode to offense.
The Buckeyes accepted the opening kickoff and hopped 63 yards in seven plays, tallying when Johnson ripped for four yards. Matt Burgin airlifted the first of six PATs with 9:43 left in the first quarter.
After Gilmer tried an unsuccessful onside kick, Tatum swiftly evened the score, pushing 49 yards in only four plays.
Lennon Creer (25 carries, 132 yards) hiked the final 23 yards, and Jose Trejo launched the first of his three PATs with 7:59 left in the initial stanza.
But the hosts' promptly regained command, rumbling 62 yards on three passes by Kinne. The big bang was a 41-yarder to Curtis Brown, who finished the night with three catches for 109 yards, with 6:52 left in the first.
After Tatum turned over the football on downs at the Gilmer 42, the Buckeyes swiftly slid into TD territory again. It took just three plays-runs of 32 by Brown, 25 by Johnson, and a 1-yard scoring sneak by Kinne with 3:17 still left in the first.
ŠTyler Morning Telegraph 2006