Gilmer Pulls Away from Pittsburg, 51-35, to Claim Yet Another District Championship

GILMER -- Another year, another district title for the Gilmer Buckeyes.

Aaron "Poppy" Brown threw for 325 yards and four touchdowns and No. 7 Gilmer pulled away from upset-minded Pittsburg, 51-35, at Jeff Traylor Stadium on Friday night to give the Buckeyes their 14th district championship in 17 years.

Gilmer (9-1, 5-0 in District 7-4A Division II), which has won six consecutive games since a 55-37 loss to Carthage in Week 4, will be the top representative out of the district in the playoffs, while Pittsburg (5-5, 2-3) has the fourth and final spot.

Brown connected with Lamarcus Morton on four passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns, while Kelton Collier ran 12 times for 145 yards and three scores in the win.

Pittsburg gave Gilmer all it could handle, owning a 35-31 lead in the third quarter until the Buckeyes scored three unanswered touchdowns.

Jaylon Jimmerson, who threw for 289 yards and four touchdowns on the night, gave the Pirates a 35-31 lead on a 26-yard pass to Deldric Shields. The score was Pittsburg's third on fourth down in the game.

Shields finished with 164 yards on 31 attempts on the ground and caught three passes for 88 yards for Pittsburg.

Gilmer took the lead for good on a 32-yard touchdown pass from Brown to Demetri Fort -- on fourth-and-23 with 1:25 left in the third quarter. Collier followed with touchdown runs of 3 and 62 yards to seal the win.

The Buckeyes, who jumped out to a 10-0 lead, saw it turn into a 14-10 deficit after Shields scored on a 32-yard passing play and ran for a 30-yard touchdown.

Gilmer responded with a 72-yard touchdown connection from Brown to Red Jones, but Pittsburg followed with a 69-yard touchdown from Jimmerson to Cristion Williams to put the Pirates back up, 21-17, with 7:58 left in the first half.

The Buckeyes answered yet again, this time on a 72-yard connection from Brown to Horton to give Gilmer a 24-21 lead. But Jimmerson found Williams again for a 22-yard touchdown to give the Pirates a 28-24 lead at halftime.

Williams caught three first-half passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns for Pittsburg.