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Saturday, May 26, 2012

High School Sports

Posted 12:51 am  Sunday, December 13, 2009


Shane Stark Column: Buckeyes' Defense Comes Through
By SHANE STARK
Staff Writer

DALLAS -- The most anticipated matchup coming into the night was Gilmer's high-powered offense against Abilene Wylie's power-killing defense.

Gilmer dominated when those units were on the field, a story told well by the final score that came out of SMU's Ford Stadium.

A matchup that earned little attention was the Buckeyes defense against the Bulldogs offense. But it proved to be a key difference in Saturday's Class 3A Division I final, namely in the first half.

Gilmer harassed Wylie throughout the half, en route to allowing only 41 total yards and forcing a pair of turnovers. That was part of the foundation that helped the Buckeyes win their second state championship of the decade, 43-26.

"Our defense was just so good tonight," said Gilmer head coach Jeff Traylor. "Everybody talked about their defense, but we thought our defense was pretty good too."

Wylie's defense allowed less than 14 points a game coming into the night, but the Bulldogs were completely overshadowed during the first 24 minutes. Gilmer forced Wylie to punt on its first three drives, and then registered their first turnover when Luis Castro stepped in front of a Matt Preston pass to give the Buckeyes the ball back.

Following another Wylie punt, Gilmer's Ben Griffith posted his first interception of the season and returned the ball about 40 yards to the Bulldogs' 11. That set up a 19-yard field goal by Adan Olivares, which sent the Buckeyes into halftime with a 17-point lead.

Gilmer had three sacks in the half.

"The kids came out determined and had their mind set," said Gilmer defensive coordinator Todd Barr, who said the focus was on stopping the running and screen games. "They weren't going to be denied. I'm happy with the way we dominated the first half. We just have to learn how to finish a little better."

Wylie ended up with almost 260 yards and 19 points on offense, but most of that came in the second half with Gilmer in command.

"They made it tough on us and we didn't execute well, but they had something to do with that," Wylie coach Hugh Sandifer said. "They are very good.

"We could have played a better (first half). We did play a better half in the second half."

--

Class 3A Division I Final At SMU's Ford Stadium, Dallas

Gilmer 43, Abilene Wylie 26

Gilmer 14 10 6 13 43

Wylie 0 7 7 12 26

First Quarter

GIL - Gus Osborne 15 pass from Darian Godfrey (Adan Olivares kick), 7:00

GIL - Caleb Denton 7 pass from Godfrey (Olivares kick), 0:09

Second Quarter

GIL - Braylon Webb 1 run (Olivares kick), 8:12

WYL - Kolter Wright 38 fumble return (Austin Gray kick), 5:33

GIL - FG Olivares 19, :00

Third Quarter

WYL - Joe Nasser 3 pass from Matt Preston (Gray kick), 7:15

GIL - Godfrey 10 run (kick failed), 6:01

Fourth Quarter

GIL - Marlon Granville 2 run (Olivares kick), 10:17

WYL - Rayce Burks 4 pass from Preston (run failed), 8:30

GIL - Godfrey 2 run (kick failed), 3:27

WYL - Preston 1 run (pass failed), 1:07

GIL WYL

First Downs 25 17

Rushes-Yards 34-223 29-61

Comp.-Att.-Int. 21-29-0 16-33-2

Passing Yards 268 194

Fumbles-Lost 3-1 0-0

Penalties-Yards 7-75 3-25

Punts-Average 4-28.8 5-35.2

Individual Statistics

RUSHING

-

Gilmer

, Darian Godfrey 18-149, Marlon Granville 11-59, Gus Osborne 3-11, Vance Green 1-3, Braylon Webb 1-1.

Wylie

, Jon Miller 12-34, Joe Nasser 2-12, Matt Preston 13-9, Ryan Pease 1-9, Keith Green 1-(-3).

PASSING

-

Gilmer

, Godfrey 21-29-0 -- 268.

Wylie

, Preston 16-33-2 -- 194.

RECEIVING

-

Gilmer

, Tevin Godfrey 5-60, Kedon Franklin 4-59, Gus Osborne 3-54, Tristan Holt 3-4, Luke Turner 2-14, Webb 3-18, Daniel McLaren 1-52, Caleb Denton 0-7.

Wylie

, Austin Gray 5-50, Rayce Burks 3-62, Kaleb Clark 2-25, Miller 1-35, Green 1-13, Steven Cottner 1-7, Nasser 1-3, Hunter Ince 1-1, Cory Ramos 1-0.



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