Posted 1:26 am Thursday, December 10, 2009
Buckeyes Continue Production Of Top-Notch Wide Receivers
By TRAVIS YOESTING
Staff Writer
GILMER -- Gilmer football has enjoyed plenty of success over the years and perhaps nowhere is that more evident than in the receiving corps.
Staff Writer
GILMER -- Gilmer football has enjoyed plenty of success over the years and perhaps nowhere is that more evident than in the receiving corps.
Manuel Johnson (Oklahoma, Dallas Cowboys), Houston Tuminello (Louisiana Tech), Curtis Brown (Texas), Lamar Harris (Oklahoma), Kevin Hollis (Kansas State) and Tay Bowser (Mississippi State) all took what they learned as Buckeye receivers to NCAA Division I.
The 2009 Gilmer squad features a bevy of talented receivers of its own that ignore individual statistics and have helped the Buckeyes reach the Class 3A Division I state championship game (6 p.m. Saturday against Abilene Wylie in Dallas).
For the current crop, carrying on a strong legacy and bringing home another state title trumps the desire for more catches and yards.
"It's really fun to play receiver (at Gilmer) because first of all you're playing with your friends and that makes it fun, and it's really not all about individual stats for us," said senior Kedon Franklin. "We all try to get out there and do our job, that's how you win.
"We try not to be selfish with the football because our main priority is to win state, so that's what we look forward to."
Franklin said following in the footsteps of those aforementioned receivers makes for high expectations for the present team. With 17 grabs for 214 yards, he is one of nine receivers that have lived up to those expectations with more than 12 catches and 140 yards with at least one touchdown. In all, 11 players have caught a touchdown pass.
Tristan Holt leads the way with 782 yards and 11 scores while Luke Turner has a team-high 40 grabs for 442 yards and eight TDs. Tevin Godfrey has hauled in 28 passes for 515 yards.
For senior Daniel McLaren -- third on the team with five TD receptions to go with 17 catches for 281 yards -- the success began with the receivers who came before him.
"I knew Manuel (Johnson)," McLaren said. "He taught everybody here. We all looked up to him. He still talks to us every now and then, comes down to visit. It's good to have someone to look up to."
With good leadership before them, the Gilmer wideouts know it's up to them to pass on their knowledge to the next generation of receivers.
"They were always good leaders, they were always positive; you drop a ball they would always say keep your head up, they were just good strong positive leaders," Franklin said of Brown, Tuminello and others before him. "I continue it on to the younger guys because I know how it feels. To me it feels good for them to turn to me to say keep going, so I try to keep it going to the young guys."
Of course, none of the receivers young or old would have success without a good quarterback. Darian "Stump" Godfrey has thrown for 3,281 yards, 40 touchdowns and six interceptions with an eye-popping 71 percent completion rate.
"He's the ultimate leader, that's all you could ask for in a quarterback," said senior Tevin Godfrey of his cousin QB, a sentiment echoed by his peers.
An athletic, dual-threat quarterback with 672 rushing yards and 20 scores to his name, Stump Godfrey can keep broken plays alive and give his receivers plenty of time to get open.
"With our quarterback you have to always be ready," Franklin said. "Because he's so acrobatic you never know when he might get out of a tackle and be ready to throw one up to you, so you've got to be ready at all times.
"It's fun; we're very fortunate to have a quarterback like that because a lot of teams don't have that."
One perk of a strong receiving corps and a quarterback that can utilize it is that the defense practices against a formidable offense.
"When we practice against each other it's good work, it's almost just as good as in the game," said senior Paul Chesnut, who has five catches for 49 yards and is fifth on the team with 76 tackles. "It makes us a lot better practicing against each other."
With a potent offense and a stingy defense, Gilmer is looking to add another state title to its record books, its first since 2004. The Buckeyes have been close recently, losing in the Division II quarterfinals last year to eventual-champ Carthage and in the Division I final to Liberty Hill in 2007.
"From the beginning of the season we've been pushing hard to make it this far; we've been practicing hard every day and coming out to do what we need to do to be a championship team," McLaren said. "We've been motivated a lot to play hard for the rest of the season to prove what we can do."
Added Tevin Godfrey: "It's very exciting. It would mean the world to all of us. It's everybody's dream as a high school football player."
