blackflag79

Yes, rebuild. Once Turner is gone, you're basically having to start over from the top down. He was the mastermind of our offense for many years, one of the most prolific in the state. Once he handed those reins over, we haven't been the same. That's absolutely not a knock on Turner. He was an excellent coach, and an even better man. Anybody who knows him can tell you that. We've had a big turnover in our staff over the past five seasons, and that is one of the reasons we have had some dropoff, especially with discipline. Yes, you can hire from within, but I'm not sure that is the best thing to do. We need fresh blood in our program, in my opinion, and yes, a proven winner would be optimal. Any Buckeye fan close to the program can see what has happened, and if they're honest with themselves they can see it's probably time to make some serious changes. We still have some excellent coaches on staff, no doubt, but I'm not sure the board would allow them to bring in any new coaches they want to suit what they are trying to do with our program. It would be "stop gap" status quo again, in my opinion. We need a charismatic, organized, and strong leader who is allowed to make changes where he deems necessary, and who will hold coaches and players accountable.

If we want to go waaay back, Gilmer's 1941 team scored 369 points in 12 games (as far as they could go in those days) with 11 shutouts, and only gave up 6 points. Those 6 points were scored against a makeshift bunch of bench players switching positions, in the final minutes of a blowout game early in the season.

I would love to have a defensive minded coach as head coach. Our defense has been terrible to mediocre, and rarely "good" under the current leadership. I think he could always hire a good OC. Preston would be an excellent hire, in my opinion.

Amen to this. Maybe there's another Scott Surratt type coach out there...

I don't disagree with this at all. We could "possibly" have a coach on staff that could get us back to where we were, but I doubt it. This job needs to be TRULY OPEN so that we can see who applies, a PROVEN head coach who wants to rebuild our program. I don't care if it takes a couple of years. That's better than our program dropping off annually.

That's what worries me. It may not be "truly open".

I would love to have Matt Nally, but that would be more of a lateral move for him, don't you think.

By the way, I felt like I already knew who Matt was talking about, but I wasn't going to put it out there until it was official. I wonder if any big names out there are interested?

This is exactly what I think we need. I'm not sure if the board will spend the money to bring a big name, proven head coach, though. My inclination is to say they won't, which is sad. We need somebody who will hold the coaches and the players accountable for lack of preparation and performance, and instill the discipline we have sorely missed the last 3 or so years. I'm not sure if we have somebody on the staff now that has that ability or not. If they hire within, which I kinda hope they don't, it'll likely be Alan Metzel.

Thanks for the laugh, chuk. You knew WO-S sucked this year, then you get beat by Silsbee, and now you think Silsbee is the best team in the state. Talk to me AFTER the state championship trophy is handed out. Then we can compare notes.

He's a WO-S fan. He is in denial about how good 4A football is in Northeast Texas. I'm pretty sure Wimberley will have plenty to say about whether Silsbee stays in the picture or not. Personally, I don't think there's another 4A-D2 team that can come close to beating PG if the Hawks bring it like they did against us. We are familiar foes, and anybody in their right mind knew we would have to play near perfect to have any chance. The other teams left have no idea, quite honestly. Everybody is confident until they get punched in the mouth.

Yes, this is what I was told by a reliable source close to the situation at that time. The jump in pay helped his retirement pay, from what I understand.

I wouldn't be surprised at all if Wimberley beats Silsbee. Personally, I think the Texans should be favored in that game.

Out of the 4 teams on the list, PG has the best chance at a title. I don't think anybody is close to them in 4A-D2. Carthage has a good chance, but La Vega still looms out there, and I think those two will play for the title. San Augustine looks the part, but I don't know how the other regions stack up. The same goes for PP.

I would say Kurt will likely end up there with Jeff if the opportunity arrives. The money would be too good to pass up.

June 4, 2007

Not completely disagreeing with you about the match up advantages, but it's really hard to make some of those comparisons when we are making so many mistakes. We've cut our mistakes down a bunch since our last meeting. I'm hoping that trend continues, because if it does, the Buckeyes can definitely win this one. That's just my opinion. I don't expect you, or anybody else, to agree. Last year? I knew we wasn't even close. This year? We are.

Let me get this straight..... PG is just plain better, and the only way Gilmer wins is "if" the Hawks make mistakes? You do realize that Gilmer made a LOT of mistakes in the first meeting, right? Three turnovers, completely blown coverages, an unforced dropped ball just before entering the end zone, and penalties. I think if both teams play perfect, which will never happen, this game would likely be a toss-up. The Buckeyes just need to play better than the Hawks this Friday night. "IF" we win, it will have to be earned for sure, and the same can be said about PG. Last year, PG was definitely a lot better. This year, they're VERY close, in my opinion. The only thing I know for sure is we will be ready. We are certainly more mature this year, and have a better chance for a victory than we have had in the last 3 meetings. I want a win more than anything. I want us to get back to playing real Buckeye football. It starts this Friday night. Go Buckeyes! REFUSE TO LOSE!

The fumble y'all are speaking of was our receiver just plain dropping the ball before crossing the goal line, and nobody was even close enough to him to cause it, resulting in a touchback. A TD there would've made it 35 to 30, 31, or 32 dependent on what they did for a PAT. There was plenty of time for another possession because the Buckeyes forced the Hawks to punt after they got the ball on the touchback. The Hawks nailed us at our own 2 or 3 yard line on the punt. We subsequently had a dropped snap in the end zone resulting in a safety, bringing the Hawks to 37 points. Our special teams made a crucial mistake there in not calling for a fair catch and catching it. He could've caught it at about the 15 yard line.

Grant..., I think you are in for a big surprise. I understand your thinking, though.

The changes in our coaching staff is the difference. Before our staff got blown up, we didn't lose to the same team more than twice in a row, except for maybe Argyle. We may have lost three in a row before we finally beat them. Carthage beat us twice in a row once under Traylor.

I agree. I think this year was an anomaly. Their new coach had to establish the discipline they needed. Their schedule certainly hurt them. Now, it's a matter of whether the team buys into his program. They are always very athletic, but have lacked discipline at times. They will be much more competitive next season, in my opinion. The year after, they probably challenge for a district title.

This "should" be a very good game. This is the best team the Buckeyes have fielded in at least the last three matchups. I think the Buckeyes have a very real chance at beating the Hawks, especially if they correct the blown coverages on defense, and don't turn the ball over three times. As a Buckeye fan, it's high time we take back our spot as the perennial bEast Texas region representative. Go Buckeyes! REFUSE TO LOSE!

I think it would make sense for these schools to be in districts like these for proximity. E.T. District 1: Bullard, Brownsboro, Van, Wills Point, Canton, and Rusk E.T. District 2: North Lamar, Pleasant Grove, Pittsburg, Gilmer, Liberty-Eylau, and Spring Hill It looks like Carthage may go south, unless they push Rusk southwest.

The DL says he wants to play, but it would be risky, so I don't think he will play. I'm pretty sure Hurt will be able to play. Whether he does or not will be up to the coaches.