[By Anthony Hawthorne, Special to ETSN.fm]

LONGVIEW – Just two weeks into the football season the Gilmer Buckeyes are starting a trend they hope continues.

Score early. Score often.

Kris Boyd ran the opening kickoff back 88 yards for a touchdown and eight different Buckeyes found the end zone as No. 7 Gilmer routed Pine Tree 68-20 at Pirate Stadium.

Gilmer's Zac Spears goes into the end zone for a touchdown against Pine Tree on Friday night. (Mike Davis, ETSN.fm)
Gilmer's Zac Spears goes into the end zone for a touchdown against Pine Tree on Friday night. (Mike Davis, ETSN.fm)
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Just a week after finding the end zone with all three of his touches, Baylor commit Blake Lynch passed for a touchdown -- one of three Buckeyes to do so -- and caught a 45-yard touchdown pass to go along with 47 yards on the ground on just two carries.

“It’s not just Blake, we can move Chase Tate around, Kris Boyd around, there are several players we can move around and be effective” Gilmer coach Jeff Traylor said. “I think what is lost in all of it is our offensive line has done a great job in protecting.”

After establishing a quick 7-0 lead, the Black Flag defense forced the first of three turnovers on the night, picking off a Mason Hays pass that would set them up deep in Pirates territory. The Buckeyes, however, settled for a 25-yard field goal from Tristan Olivares for a quick 10-0 lead.

Pine Tree quarterback Mason Hays, who led the Pirates with 155 yards rushing, looks for running room against the Gilmer defense Friday night. (Mike Davis, ETSN.fm)
Pine Tree quarterback Mason Hays, who led the Pirates with 155 yards rushing, looks for running room against the Gilmer defense Friday night. (Mike Davis, ETSN.fm)
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A week after jetting to a 42-0 lead over Liberty-Eylau in just over a quarter, the Buckeyes nearly duplicated that feat, finding the end zone on their next five possessions.

After a Pine Tree punt, Jamel Jackson capped a 75-yard drive with a 2-yard run up the middle that pushed the lead to 17-0 just under eight minutes into the game.

Pine Tree got on the board on the next possession, behind a drive fueled by the legs of Hays, one of the lone bright spots on the night for the Pirates. Hays’ runs of 10, 24, and 20 yards set up Quay Ward from 6 yards out to cut the deficit to 17-7.

Lynch got into the action on Gilmer’s next two scores.

After catching a quick slant from quarterback McLane Carter, the speedster cut back to the sideline where he outraced everyone to the end zone. Following a Pirates punt, Lynch lined up at quarterback, where he dropped back and found a wide open Lamarcus Morton for the first of his two scores on the night.

Pine Tree had its only success on the night up the middle with Hays. The senior signal caller had runs of 31 and 9 yards to set himself up for a 1-yard keeper, cutting the score to 31-13 on the next possession.

Hays finished the night with 22 carries for 155 yards and a touchdown, but couldn’t find any success through the air against a stiff Gilmer secondary, completing just 1 of 7 passes for 4 yards.

Gilmer players get a talk on the sideline during their win over Pine Tree on Friday night. (Mike Davis, ETSN.fm)
Gilmer players get a talk on the sideline during their win over Pine Tree on Friday night. (Mike Davis, ETSN.fm)
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Just a week after passing for more than 200 yards against Jacksonville, the Pirates managed just 45 yards through the air. Ward finished with 81 yards and score on 20 carries.

A 32-yard run from Lynch on Gilmer’s next possession set up Demarco Boyd from 8 yards out as the bullying tailback was all over the field, especially on defense and special teams, getting in the backfield for several tackles for loss and laying a punishing hit on a kickoff return.

Gilmer added scores on its first four possessions of the second half, with Carter opening half with a 24-yard strike to Nick Smith before making way for junior Zac Spears, who added two scores of his own.

Gilmer spread the ball around both on the ground and through the air, passing to 10 different receivers and using 11 different ball carriers.

Morton finished with 82 total yards and two touchdowns; Tate with 89 yards and a TD, and Boyd with 56 yards to go along with his 88-yard kickoff return.

Pine Tree (0-2) travels to Kilgore next week, while Gilmer travels to Tatum for a showdown with the Eagles.

“I imagine they’re (Tatum) fast as always. Tatum-Gilmer has been a great rivalry for years so I expect it to be a great ball game” Traylor said.

No. 7 Gilmer 68 Pine Tree 20
At Pirate Stadium, Longview

Gilmer            24     20     14     10  -- 68
Pine Tree         7       6       0       7  --  20
First Quarter
GIL – Kris Boyd 88 kick return (Tristan Olivares kick), 11:34
GIL – Olivares 25 FG, 8:47
GIL – Jamel Jackson 2 run (Olivares kick), 4:25
PT – Quay Ward 6 run (Michael Irvin kick), :51
GIL – Blake Lynch 45 pass from McLane Carter (Olivares kick), :03
Second Quarter
GIL – Lamarcus Morton 65 pass from Lynch (Juan Esquivel kick), 9:16
PT – Mason Hays 1 run (Kick failed), 7:38
GIL – Demarco Boyd 8 run (Kick failed), 5:03
GIL – Morton 11 run (Esquivel kick), 2:36
Third Quarter
GIL – Nick Smith 24 pass from Carter (Esquivel kick), 9:24
GIL – Chase Taste 41 pass from Zac Spears (Esquivel kick), 9:16
Fourth Quarter
GIL – Spears 22 run (Esquivel kick), 9:16
GIL – Esquivel 25 FG, 8:28
PT – Quay Henderson 8 pass from James Bonamy (Irvin kick), 5:12

GIL              PT
First Downs                18                16
Total Yards                 552              295
Rushes-Yards             28-241         51-250
Pass Yards                 311               45
Comp-Att-Int              15-21-0         4-10-1
Penalties-Yards           12-116          6-50
Fumbles-Lost              0-0                2-1
Punts-Avg                   0-0                5-22

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING -- Gilmer, Chase Tate 2-46, Lamarcus Morton 1-11, Jamel Jackson 9-56, McLane Carter 2-(-6), Blake Lynch 2-47, Kris Boyd 1-14, Demarco Boyd 3-35, Cameron Bowman 1-4, Devin Smith 1-(-5), Zac Spears 3-22, Cambron Granville 3-17. Pine Tree, Quay Ward 20-81, Mason Hays 22-155, Quay Henderson 3-(-1), Kenneth Buffin 3-3, James Bonamy 3-12.
PASSING -- Gilmer, Carter 10-15-0--168, Lynch 1-1-0--65, Spears 4-5 78. Pine Tree, Hays 1-7-1--4, Jonathan Giddings 1-1-0--13, Bonamy 2-2-0--28.
RECEIVING -- Gilmer, Boyd 2-42, Jackson 1-1, Nick Smith 2-24, Quinn Fluellen 2-32, Lamarcus Morton 2-71, Tate 2-43, Lynch 1-45, Smith 1-20, CJ Grimmett 1-13, Zod Heath 1-4. Pine Tree, Giddings 1-4, Hays 1-13, Henderson 2-28.

Gilmer coach Jeff Traylor smiles on the sidelines at Buckeyes player Cameron Bowman during their win against Pine Tree on Friday night in Longview. (Mike Davis, ETSN.fm)
Gilmer coach Jeff Traylor smiles on the sidelines at Buckeyes player Cameron Bowman during their win against Pine Tree on Friday night in Longview. (Mike Davis, ETSN.fm)
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