October 14, 2025

LINDALE GETS BY GILMER | But Buckeyes have been down before, only to reach state heights / ANALYSIS by PHILLIP WILLIAMS

Gilmer’s Keismann Johnson (Photo by ALEX NABOR / ETBLITZ.COM)

GILMER – Following their dreadful disemembering of 66-6 by the Kilgore Bulldogs one week earlier, the perennially potent Gilmer Buckeyes showed some signs of salvaging Friday night against the unvanquished Lindale Eagles, but succumbed to a superlative staging by running back Hank Thurman. 

Thurman trod for all five of his team’s TDs as Lindale gashed Gilmer, 35-23, to hijack the hosts’ homecoming and leave the Buckeyes with an uncharacteristic 1-3 mark and analagously-anomalous 3-game shortfall skein.

Class 4A Gilmer continues to ride a rough road next Friday when it butts bodies with the unconquered Class 5A Brenham Cubs (4-0) at a neutral site, Longview’s Lobo Stadium. (Incidentally, a Brenham team website erroneously refers to Gilmer as the “Bobcats.”)

Game time is 7 p.m., earlier than prior games this year, and Brenham will likely recall it was also untopped when Gilmer cold-cocked the Cubs 51-37 last season. In the meantime, Lindale will hold its homecoming at 7:30 p.m. Friday against Chapel Hill, which gashed Gilmer 41-26 earlier this season.

The Buckeyes, who reached the state championship clash three of the past five seasons (winning in 2023), and who were state-ranked entering this season, have stupefyingly stumbled this year, with team observers attributing the pratfall to everything from weaknesses in the line and a porous defense to mental errors and injuries.

Whatever the case, Friday’s performance against Lindale, albeit a loss, showed the team hadn’t decided to deep-six the season as it presented a respectable performance in the wake of a nearly complete catastrophe just one week earlier.

For one thing, QB Zade Taylor hurled three long-launch TDs, two of them to Trace Haynes, and the Buckeyes were leading as late as the third quarter.

In fact, Gilmer took the opening kickoff and steamrolled right downfield to TD Town, consuming 71 yards in seven plays to tally on Taylor’s 37-yard zip to Haynes.

Despite his team being penalized five yards on the PAT, Gilmer kicker Miguel Castaneda airlifted the first of his two straight successful PATs with 8:58 left in the first period.

Lindale punted on its first possession and the Buckeyes burrowed their way from their 13 into Eagle territory, only to behold Castaneda’s 32-yard field goal attempt come up short with 51 seconds left in the first verse.

Thus inspired, Lindale took but six plays to blow 80 yards into Beulah Land with Thurman bopping the final yard. Elijah Pollard then slammed the first of his five successful PATs with 10:24 left to Twirling Time.

After a Gilmer punt, the Eagles ingested 72 yards in nine plays for their next tally, which came when Thurman thundered 29 yards with 3:00 left to intermission.

Gilmer, however, recouped somewhat by taking the kickoff and inching from its 19 to the visitors’ 6 before Castaneda popped a 23-yard field goal with 17 seconds left to Music Time, when Gilmer trailed only 14-10.

Then the Buckeyes began the second half strongly, kicking off to Lindale, forcing the Eagles to punt, and then scoring only three plays later. Taylor’s magnificent 56-yard aerial offering to Haynes concluded a 70-yard offensive and the PAT placed Gilmer up 17-14 with 9:12 left in the third period.

Alas for the hosts, they wouldn’t change their part of the scoreboard again until Thurman trooped for three more touchdowns, and Gilmer’s late little flurry, though commendable, would prove insufficient.

Lindale, aroused by losing the lead, took the kickoff and took only four plays to consume 57 yards, surmounting a 5-yard penalty in the process as Thurman procured the points on a 5-yard hop with 7:55 left in the third.

Then, on the ensuing kickoff, came what may well have been the game’s turning point as Gilmer disgorged a fumble to the visitors at the Buckeye 18. On the third play afterward, Thurman legged another 5-yard TD trip to the left with 7:17 left in the third quadrant.

Ironically, Kilgore had recovered an onside kick, a play that was nullified by a penalty, only to get an even better deal by recovering the fumble on the re-kick.

In the meantime, it was duly noted that Thurman wears number 5 and had two TD runs of that same amount of yardage for the night.

In the fourth period, after a Gilmer punt, Lindale launched its last TD thrust, a 45-yard, 7-play possession ending in Thurman’s 1-yard trip with 7:14 left in the fray.

Gilmer had one last fusillade to fire as, after running out of downs at the Lindale 15 on its next possession, the Buckeyes forced a punt. And immediately, Taylor heaved a 52-yard scoring sling to Solomon Jackson, who broke a tackle to tally with 2:14 left.

Gilmer attempted a 2-point conversion, but Taylor’s run failed and he suffered an apparent injury on the play. An onside kick failed and Lindale ran out the clock.

Thus had the Eagles soared into and inside Jeff Traylor Stadium on this night. And they didn’t do so on a crop duster plane.

3 thoughts on “LINDALE GETS BY GILMER | But Buckeyes have been down before, only to reach state heights / ANALYSIS by PHILLIP WILLIAMS

  1. Whether they think we are Buckeyes or Bobcats, the Brenham Cubs better come prepared because our boys are going to want to make up for these losses. I suspect you will be writing up a win this coming week.

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