Gilmer quarterback Cadon Tennison (11) will again lead the Buckeyes this season, with plans to win a second straight Class 4A Division II state championship. And ETBlitz.com will be there to cover the Buckeyes, no matter what, specifically legendary longtime Gilmer sportswriter Phillip W. Williams. ETBlitz.com welcomed Gilmer, and Williams, to the ETBlitz.com family on Tuesday. (Photo by RONNIE SARTORS - SPORTS SHOT PHOTOGRAPHY - ETBLITZ.COM)
It seems this week, ETBlitz has had a lot of big news.
There’s not much news that would be bigger than this.
The GILMER BUCKEYES are coming to ETBlitz.com.
That’s right: ETBlitz.com is welcoming Gilmer High School athletics, the home of the defending 2023 University Interscholastic League Class 4A Division II state football champions, as well as a tradition-rich athletic program, into its coverage area.
And with the Buckeyes: legendary Gilmer football writer Phillip W. Williams.
Williams and his matter-of-fact, unique style, combined with his sense of humor and legendary wit, will be a perfect fit in the ETBlitz.com family.
“We had already been weighing adding Gilmer to our coverage area,” said Mitch Lucas, editor and publisher of ETBlitz.com. “When I learned Phillip was free, I realized there was no way I could pass on the opportunity to not only bring one of the legendary sportswriters in East Texas into the ETBlitz fold, but to also bring Gilmer and the great Buckeye Nation into our coverage area.
“And let me say this: Phillip writes sports stories in a folksy way, a story-telling style that’s a throwback to the old days of sportswriting. You’ll see what I mean when Gilmer plays that first game against Pine Tree. When you’ve read a Phillip Williams Gilmer football story, it’s not just a sports story: it’s an experience that’ll leave you informed, educated about the Buckeyes, and probably, in a lot of cases, laughing along with him and maybe even with a few expressions you either haven’t heard in years or maybe ever. It’s a good time.”
What can one say about the incomparable Gilmer football program?
The Buckeyes, under coach Alan Metzel, are the 2023 Class 4A, Division II state champions. Metzel, his coaching staff and his players did just a phenomenal job last season – they were 3-3 after six games, and flipped the switch for one of the all-time greatest seasons not only in program history, but in East Texas history, reminiscent of the Atlanta season in 2005, where the Rabbits went winless in non-district, then won the state title.
Gilmer won 10 straight games, including knocking out Carthage, before beating Bellville in the state title game.
It was the Buckeyes’ fourth state championships in program history, all since 2000, but first since 2014, and the first without coach Jeff Traylor at the helm.
To help them try for a repeat, the Buckeyes return quarterback Cadon Tennison for his senior season, offensive lineman Lucas Cano, wide receiver Brendan Webb, defensive linemen Tre Lee and Tyler Hagler, and kicker Bayden Pate, among others. They bring back five starters on offense, six on defense.
Gilmer is heading into the season ranked No. 2 in the Dave Campbell’s Class 4A DII preseason poll behind (you guessed it) Carthage.
The Buckeyes scrimmage at Paris on Friday, August 16, beginning with subvarsity at 5, varsity at 7, and then host Whitehouse in a second scrimmage on Thursday, August 22, also at 5 and 7.
The season begins, though, for Gilmer on Friday, August 30 at home against new 4A team Pine Tree, who comes in after UIL realignment from 5A, Division I.
Gilmer makes the trip to Chapel Hill on Sept. 6; Chapel Hill played for (and lost) the 4A, Division I state championship a year ago, against Anna.
The Buckeyes continue an incredibly-challenging non-district schedule Sept. 13, when they host Kilgore in a rematch of that one-point game last year at R.E. St. John Memorial Stadium in Kilgore that game down to the final moments.
Gilmer visits Lindale Sept. 20, and then plays its final non-district game Sept. 27, a neutral-site contest at Huntsville ISD against Brenham.
They take the first Friday night in October, Oct. 4, off, and then the Buckeyes open their district slate at Pittsburg Oct. 11.
They host Van Oct. 18 before playing what should be one of the biggest games in the state on Oct. 25: at Pleasant Grove.
They host Spring Hill Nov. 1, and finish the regular season on the road at North Lamar.
Also in Gilmer athletics this fall, the volleyball team will try to reach the playoffs again – the Buckeyes finished fourth in district a year ago, and they reached the third round of the playoffs.
And as for Williams, for those who aren’t familiar with the man in the hat, let us introduce him.
Williams, a Gilmer native and nearly lifelong resident of that city, has covered the Buckeyes football program for 52 of the past 53 seasons for various newspapers. He has covered all nine of the team’s state championship games (including last year’s win over Bellville). He has failed to attend only one Gilmer game in the past 38 seasons and once went 35 straight years without missing a contest.
A 1972 graduate of Gilmer High School, Phillip attended Kilgore College and the University of Texas at Tyler. He owns Williams Furniture Co. in downtown Gilmer, a family business he inherited 15 years ago and which is located a short walk from where he was born. He attended Gilmer Schools all 12 years, and began covering the Buckeyes for The Gilmer Mirror in the fall of 1971, his senior year at Gilmer High.
Sometimes called “Scoop,” Williams is known for his trademark “old school sportswriter” attire at games, wearing a gray fedora hat, coat and tie in honor of the way sportswriters dressed in the old days.
He is active in the Graceton Church of Christ in rural Upshur County and the Gilmer Area Senior Center. He has worked for The Mirror, the Longview News-Journal, the Tyler Morning Telegraph and the Marshall News-Messenger during a career that has spanned more than a half-century.
He also was once news director of the now-defunct KHYM Radio outside Gilmer in the 1970s. Most recently, he has written for both The Gilmer Mirror and The Gladewater Mirror as a regular contributor of news other than sports.
About the Author
You have gained quite an asset to your group. He is loyal and dedicated to “his beloved Buckeyes”. His writing style is second to none!! I am so excited to read his accounts of the games,But more than that I am so glad someone recognizes his talent and allows the readers to enjoy it !! Thank you
Cindy, we are so glad! Keep on reading Phillip through the season and we were absolutely tickled to have him come on board!
I am thrilled to death to be part of the ETBlitz.com team!
Congratulations on getting the very best reporter to cover Gilmer Buckeye games!!!! Can’t wait for the season to start!!!
Thank you so much, Ginger!
You got the best with Phillip Williams! Phillip writes articles that makes the facts of the games interesting! I’m not a Gilmer fan (White Oak Roughneck), but I read Gilmer football, and always looked forward to his style of writing. He has a style that cracks me up. He is funny, yet serious when the need be for seriousness. And, he is a genuine good and loyal man!
P.S. Guess how I found out about Phillip? White Oak played Gilmer. Our son, Matt Douglas was the WO kicker. He kicked a 54 yd. Field goal playing Bullard. Matt was 1st team All State. ‘98 his Jr. year, and 2 nd team All State his senior year ‘99, and Little School All- American. Went on to Texas A& M to play football. He set 4 records there, one being 4.27 accu-trac in the 40 yd dash.! One record was a 44” vertical jump. He was #25. Played as 12th man 3 times. Played under R C Slocum. Can you tell I’m a proud mom of a Texas A& M Letterman?
In 1998,White Oak had to beat Gilmer in order to win district. Matt scored all the points, and we won! He scored a touchdown, extra point and a 44 yd Field goal. We wanted to get the Gilmer paper to read the write up. We were blown away by his article. Even if we weren’t excited about his glowing words of our son, it was informative, creative and a style that would appeal to a man or a woman. From then on, we would read the Gilmer football reports every week. I called him to express our appreciation for his writing about the W O game, He said that was the first time he had ever heard from the opposing teams fan. I told him it was simply because they didn’t know he existed. Thanks so much for placing him back in the press box where he belongs. We will be reading!!!
Paula, thank you, and we most definitely are glad to have Phillip here — and y’all too!
I have a Phillip W Williams story.
I’ve lived in Gilmer for 30+ years; but for seven years, I moved back to my old hometown in Kansas. Because of Phillip’s writing, I continued to get the Gilmer Mirror paper because I had a high school classroom full of state winning Kansas football players at a 5A large school, and they LOVED to hear Phillip’s writing! They would come to class looking for my copy of the Gilmer Mirror! As an English teacher, I used his writing in class to show them that sports journalism could also mix with a few Shakespeare quotes, famous sayings , humor and colloquial southern charm. ALL of my students got the biggest kick out of the readings..and YES…I insisted on reading them outloud to my classes..and a few times to the coaches!!! It was FUN -besides the fact that my kiddos and coaches were always fascinated by East Texas football! I want to say thanks to Phillip for all the years that I have enjoyed his talented and entertaining sports stories, AND for those I was able to share them with.. Glad y’all picked him up.
I love the down to earth writing style of Phillip Williams. I met Phillip when we were in the same journalism class at Kilgore College and were department editors for the college paper. He leaned toward sports even then. I leaned toward feature writing. He followed his writing talent and became a newspaper journalist. I followed mine and became a novelist. When allowed to use his own style, Phillip has a way of entertaining as well as reporting all the facts. I’ve always admired that. I hated it when he worked for editors who made him write straight news with no flare whatsoever. The need to write is both a gift and a curse. Phillip knows this every bit as well as I do. I’m glad he will share his gift with ET Blitz.