blackflag79

I think Carthage and Gilmer will remain in the same classification regardless. They are almost identical in size every year. In the past, the cutoff between D1 and D2 was always in between these two schools. I really don't care whether we stay in the same classification. Gilmer has to step up against Carthage. You've got to beat the best to be the best. We will beat them eventually. What goes around comes around.

Tennison could've played, but he could barely move around. That changed the dynamic he would've brought had he been healthy. Our coaches felt like Fluellen gave us the best option under those circumstances.

That's a definite possibility, but our defense was much better than the Glen Rose defense, IMO. We also play better when the opposition's defense isn't great. Carthage also "gave" momentum to Glen Rose with turnovers, and once that started it became a shootout kind of game.

Oh, believe me, I know NOTHING would've been guaranteed. I was just saying it would've been more interesting from our standpoint. It is a game of matchups, and different teams match up differently. I just wish we could've had our full compliment of players. The results "may" have been the same either way, but at the very least, it "could've" been a little different.

I can agree with this. Why couldn't we have had that sloppy Carthage team that played against Glen Rose, AND have our starting quarterback playing? It might have been Gilmer winning that ring. Maybe 2023 will be the year the Buckeyes overcome. Who knows? I'm anxious to find out, though.

This. The only thing I have to add are the "what ifs", but those don't matter. You play with what you have, and Carthage was the better team. Either way, I am proud of the way our Buckeyes played, especially the defense. Now..., I'm rooting for the Dawgs to go get number 9, and bring it back to East Texas where it belongs. Sic 'em!

Heck, he is probably good enough for the college level. That may be the next step for him.

So..., I guess that means he has at least two more seasons at Carthage.

I think he's going to be the next QB in line for sure, and I know Scott wants to coach him, and watch him develop.

Maybe we'll get lucky enough to see Coach Preston get lured away by then, too.

He won't leave until his son graduates. Some of you Carthage peeps can tell me what grade he's in now. I think he's a freshman, right?

Not too shabby. That's better than 95% of the schools in the state. We have played at least 3 rounds deep for the last 17 years straight. Just another fact.

I feel what you are saying, and I feel the same. Gilmer has absolutely not shown it can play Carthage very close. Yes, we are blessed to have some outstanding athletes, but Carthage has Surratt and Preston AND outstanding athletes. Our coaches will definitely have their hands full trying to figure out how to sustain any kind of a drive offensively against Preston's defense, and they will also have their hands full with making stops defensively. Until we prove otherwise, I don't feel very confident playing Carthage. Do I think we can beat Carthage? Absolutely! But we have put so many mental, as well as physical hurdles in our own path that a well-coached and consistent team like Carthage is our kryptonite. I just hope we don't get embarrassed. I hope for a good game with Carthage period. I think that if we can somehow win, or keep this game close, it will bode well for future matchups. In the last seven meetings, it appeared that the Buckeyes were playing checkers while Carthage was playing chess. If Carthage continues to do to every team they play what they've been doing all year, ending it with #9, I would probably go so far as to say this is the best team they've ever had, period.

Ah, come on, J! You know you are sandbagging here! The way I see it, Carthage has earned the right to be somewhat arrogant (if you take it that way)..., mainly because they can back it up with the product they put on the field. As a Buckeye fan, I know we work just as hard as Carthage does. It's just harder for us to put the product together on the field because some years the Dawgs are just bigger, stronger, faster, and execute better than we do. With a little fine tuning in what we do, we can definitely compete with Carthage every year, and even come out on top if we can play at a high level consistently, and get over the mental hurdle we seemed to have placed in front of us. Dat dare is the troof!

No way. The Buckeyes are just fine. I will just continue to scratch my head. Not much hair left anyway. It is what it is, something I can't change. Our defensive coordinator is a very good coach, and he has made a very noticeable difference in our team's defense since he took over. The offense seems to have taken a few steps back, though, and that's the point I'm trying to get across. We used to be known for being a team that was explosive offensively, but just a little above average defensively. I guess we can't have it both ways like the aforementioned teams. Oh, well...

He still doesn't get it. He has to be a coach. I know exactly what he needs:

Sorry, I couldn't take the pay cut, nor the hours. Unlike your insinuations, I do respect what coaches do, but it's like any other job in that if you are not being effective it's time something changed. Like I said, maybe you are just the man for the job since you are so dead set on defending other coaches blindly. Have you even watched a Gilmer game? If you have, you'd be scratching your head at times, too.

It doesn't take a coach to see what's happening on the field. You should be mesmerized. I know I am..., even to the point I'm scratching my head so much I'm going bald. Did I hit a nerve. You must be a coach. Maybe you should come out and take a look for yourself. Heck, maybe you could sit in our booth and read the defense for us. Our coaches do a tremendous job, and I like "being undefeated and ranked #2 in the state and contending for a title every year." But, we could be even better, and I'm entitled to my opinion. I know being a coach isn't easy or anybody could do it. You should, however, be able to make adjustments dependent on what the defense is doing. If you can't do that, you should be offended. Ever heard the phrase, "Take what the defense gives you." We haven't been doing that, so it makes one wonder. I like our coaches, but we need to at least be able to do the above, or teams like Carthage, China Spring, etc. will continue to school us on the field. There's literally hundreds of schools in the state who would love to be where we are, but even more would love to be where Carthage, Aledo, GP North Shore, etc. are.

I can also agree with you on this. What happened to the tunnel screen, the read option, and the deep pass. We have a tall receiver with speed on the outside that can go get it. We have several speedsters that we can use for the tunnel screen. The read option is probably not something we can use right now with Tennison's bad ankle. Fluellen has been banged up for the last 4 games, so I can understand not using him unless we absolutely have to. There's plenty of other players that can step up and make plays, though. We just don't use our advantages on offense as much as I would like. That again goes to the questionable play calling. I'm not trying to dis a coach, but maybe he should be schooled by a defensive coach as to what the other team is doing defensively, and how to attack it. I'm not sure the communication is there, or at least it doesn't appear to be from what I've seen.

I can agree with this, too. I know the Buckeye playbook has to be thicker than the 15 pages of plays we run. We also need someone in the booth that can read defenses, and know how to attack said defense. It still boils down to execution on most plays, but we do need a much deeper playbook. The play calling does leave a lot to be desired, and leaves me scratching my head most of the time. It doesn't take a genius to see that certain plays will not work against certain defenses. Sometimes, I think the other team's defense knows our plays better than we do, and it certainly doesn't take that much effort to see what's happening.

I can agree with you IF they can get out of their own way. It seems to be more of a mental thing than a physical thing. I do know Gilmer will have to bring their A+ game in all phases of the game. That's not impossible at all. If the Buckeyes don't bring their A+ game in all phases, they are liable to be just another bump on the road to a championship for Carthage. Heck, if they don't bring their A game this week, this matchup may never occur. Gainesville will most certainly not roll over just because they are playing Gilmer.

It appears that Carthage is on a whole other level than anybody else in 4A this year. Hopefully, we will at least be able to push them a little. I certainly think we have "almost" as much overall talent, if not as much. The trenches, where the game is won, is where Carthage has had a definitive advantage over Gilmer. There's also that mental thing that makes it an uphill battle to beating Carthage, too. If Gilmer can somehow build some confidence against Carthage by keeping the game within reach, I think it will bode well for future match ups. I am a Gilmer homer, but at least I am realistic. The game is still played on the field, and anything can happen in any given game. You can't go into a game thinking you're going to get beat, or you will get beat.

Funny thing about that 2006 team. I told some friends and family members after they played Daingerfield earlier that season, a game Gilmer won 62-42, that if anybody could hold Gilmer under 40 points they would beat us. Dang thang is, I was right. I didn't fall for the hype. We were definitely good enough to win it all, but our defense never gelled that year at all. Suffice it to say, after that I came to the realization that if Gilmer focused on DEFENSE a little more we would have more titles than we do now. That's just a fact nobody wanted to face with the DC we had at the time. Our new DC is a good one, and we focus on DEFENSE a lot more, and that is what will keep you in a game long enough for your offense to win it for you more times than not. Other times, the other team is just plain better. I don't like to lose, but to lose to a team you "know" you should've beaten is a big NO for me. That's why I have a healthy respect for ALL opponents, and I trust our coaches to have our kids thinking the same way.

I'm glad to see somebody on here mentioned this game, even if it is just vaguely. The story behind the story is pretty neat. The relationships built by coaches with other coaches, with the young men who play for them, and the parents of those players usually go well beyond the gridiron. This is one of those "the rest of the story" posts. McCown will DEFINITELY be a problem for our defense to contain. We must get pressure repeatedly and try to keep him in the pocket. It's when he has time, whether in the pocket or rolling out with a run, pass option is when he is at his best. We can't let him do that repeatedly or he will make us pay. He has good receivers, and a good RB, too. The biggest advantage I can see is that Gilmer has a better defense, in my opinion. Gilmer's offense is a rhythm offense. We need to establish a rhythm early and keep it if we want to win this game. In other words, we MUST be Gilmer and do what Gilmer does, win games. We "should" win this game, and I think we will, but they better play "UP" like I know they can. I haven't really seen that "UP" game yet this season. In the playoffs, it doesn't matter what the records are. It is win, or go home. This is the beginning of the third stage/goal of the Buckeye season.

If Carthage has any players that are banged up, they should rest them in this one. That's what Gilmer did. I look for a 56-7 type game, and that's being conservative. Carthage will likely go into halftime leading about 42-0. I think this game will be boring, especially for a neutral outsider that just wants to watch a football game.