GILMER-SUNNYVALE TONIGHT! | Previewing the game, including links for buying tickets and streaming

This time a year ago, the Gilmer High School Buckeyes were on their way to something special.

This year, they’re defending that special something.

Coach Alan Metzel and the Buckeyes (8-3) won’t have Friday night lights this week – it’ll be Thursday night lights, as in tonight, as they’ll head to neutral-site Sulphur Springs to take on Sunnyvale (8-3), a 7 p.m. kickoff in the University Interscholastic League’s Class 4A, Division II playoffs.

It’s a second-round, or area round, game, and for the loser, there’s no “football tomorrow:” the season is over.

For the winner, of course, it’s a berth in round three, where they’ll take on either Van (8-3) or Van Alstyne (8-3) next week.

For anyone planning to go, you might need this ticket link: HomeTown Ticketing |. Tickets are $7 each for adults and $5 each for students.

If you can’t go, but you’d like to watch the game streaming online, do so here: www.youtube.com/@officialgilmerbuckeyes3692, that’s the Gilmer Buckeyes Broadcasting call of the game.

That something, by the way, that the Buckeyes are defending just happens to be the UIL 4A-DII state championship.

And this season so far in the playoffs looks a lot like last. The Buckeyes met Center, then Sunnyvale’s Raiders, in the first two rounds last year, and have done so this year: Gilmer edged out Center, 20-14, in Tatum last week, and draws Sunnyvale once again in a rematch this week.

In fact, except Troup and DeKalb on Friday night, every single game involving an ETBlitz.com-area playoff team – Gilmer, Kilgore and Overton – is a rematch this weekend of a game last year. Gilmer meets Sunnyvale, Kilgore takes on Needville and Overton faces Mart. Overton is hoping to flip the script and knock Mart from the playoffs this year.

Gilmer beat the Raiders, 41-38, last season, and it’s likely Buckeyes fans would be fine with that score again. Obviously, Sunnyvale would not.

Sunnyvale and Gilmer share one thing in common: both of them lost to Pleasant Grove, and for both, it was the only recent loss. Sunnyvale has actually won six straight games: 45-6 over Ferris; 50-14 over Kemp; 41-14 over Ford; 49-10 over Wills Point; 35-20 over Canton; and last week, in the first round of the 4A-DII playoffs, a 52-27 win over Caddo Mills.

One number that is deceptive, in what was a blowout: the Raiders allowed 300 passing yards to Caddo, specifically to Caddo quarterback Alfredo Gonzales, who threw four touchdowns – and also was intercepted four times by Raiders’ defenders.

Sunnyvale QB sophomore Cayson Maupin went 12-of-19 for 257 yards and four scores – and no picks – and two other players, Joshua McDill and Easton Baldwin, were pretty solid, too. Baldwin went 4-of-6 for 42 yards and McDill completed the only pass he threw – it was to Maupin for a 6-yard touchdown, the old “Philly Special.”

Hudson Leonard caught three passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns, and Maupin, as mentioned, Owen Dlabaj, and Cade Andrews each caught TDs.

The Raiders also ran for 169 yards and a score: that one belonged to Andrews, as well, who had 79 yards and the score on 17 carries.

Defensively, Caden Lucas had 11 tackles, two for loss, an interception and two sacks; and Drew Gardner, Garren James and Andrews each had a pick, as well.

Kicker Gabe Pendyala hit all seven of his extra points and also added a 21-yard field goal.

Of note: on the season, Maupin hasn’t been shabby at all: 155-of-266 for 2,5-6 yards, 38 touchdowns and just three interceptions, all year. And he’s ran for 348 yards and three touchdowns.

Andrews is the leading rusher: 436 yards and four scores. The Raiders as a team have ran for 1,633 yards and 16 TDs.

The Raiders have done a good job spreading the ball around: Leonard has six touchdown catches; Dlabaj has eight; McDill has seven; Drew Gardner has six; and Garran James has three. And a host of players have at least one touchdown catch.

Defensively, as a team, Sunnyvale has 71 tackles for loss and 36 sacks, pretty impressive. They have 13 interceptions as a unit, and seven fumble recoveries.

But Raiders fans will find Gilmer is once again very capable, as well.

As impressive as the tackles-for-loss number for Sunnyvale is, Gilmer has more: 88, in fact, led by senior Alec Guillen, who has 15. Gilmer has 19 sacks, 87 hurries (Jet Bates leads with 19), and the Buckeyes have one less interception as a team (12) than the Raiders.

Quarterback is a position of talent for Gilmer, who have starter Brady McCown, Cadon Tennison and Zade Taylor, all better than good for coach Metzel.

McCown has played the most: 158-of-272, 2,053 yards, 17 touchdowns and three picks. As a whole, the Buckeyes have completed 58 percent of their passes for 2,352 yards and 19 scores to five interceptions.

The Gilmer offense has rushed for 1,994 yards and 31 scores, averages 181 yards a game and 6.3 yards a carry. Trillyon Butler leads the way: 880 yards and 13 scores on 111 carries, about 8 yards a tote.

Brendan Webb is far and away the Buckeyes’ leading receiver: 48 catches for 725 yards and nine touchdowns. Geremiah Noble has 464 yards and two scores on 32 catches.