Special Teams + Defense Propel Gilmer to 48-0 Second-Round Rout of Pittsburg

LONGVIEW -- Gilmer's defense allowed barely two yards per play, while the special teams produced an early touchdown and won field position consistently to fuel the Buckeyes' 48-0 Class 3A Division II Region II area playoff win against Pittsburg at Pirate Stadium.

Gilmer (11-1) plays the winner of Friday's Argyle vs. Melissa game next week in the 3A D-II Region II semifinals, which will likely be at 7 p.m. Friday at Kincaide Stadium in Dallas. If Argyle (11-0) wins, the meeting will be the fourth consecutive encounter between the Eagles and Buckeyes.

Gilmer, which has outscored its first two playoff opponents 100-0, held Pittsburg to 126 total yards on 61 snaps, an average of 2.06 yards per play. The Pirates (5-7) gained only 70 yards on 43 rushes.

Gilmer sophomore Demarco Boyd and senior Darrian Lewis recorded three tackles for loss apiece. The Buckeyes' defense and special teams led to Gilmer claiming an average starting field position of the Pittsburg 46-yard line.

DeVondrick Dixon's 43-yard punt return touchdown gave Gilmer a 7-0 lead with less than two minutes left in the first quarter. Leading 22-0 at halftime, Gilmer benefited from a Pittsburg punt muff early in the second half. The mishandling lost 29 yards before Gilmer recovered at the Pirate 18-yard line, leading to a nine-yard touchdown strike from senior Tanner Barr to junior Dezmond Pollard, a duo that connected twice for scores.

Barr, who eclipsed the 3,000-yard mark, finished 13 of 22 for 168 yards, three scores, and one interception, while rushing four times for 37 yards and a touchdown, a 12-yard scramble with 29 seconds left in the third that gave the Buckeyes a 42-0 advantage.

Pollard caught four passes for 77 yards and two touchdowns, both in the back-right corner of the end zone, where he outleaped defenders to win the ball. Pollard enters next week's playoff game with 15 touchdown catches on the year, tying a single-season school record set by former Buckeye standout Houston Tuminello.

Gilmer's Charles Williams scooped and scored from 65 yards on the game's final play for the 48-point victory margin.

Pittsburg's defense put up a valiant effort against a high-powered Gilmer offense that entered the game averaging 573.9 total yards per game. Pittsburg, which got an early third-quarter interception from Sir Charles Perkins, limited the Buckeyes to 294 total yards, but Gilmer assembled back-to-back 77-yard touchdown drives to finish the first half leading 22-0.

After the punt muff allowed Gilmer to take a 29-0 lead, the Buckeyes again finished a quarter strong. They scored twice in the final 3 1/2 minutes of the third for the 42-0 edge, the first score coming on a 16-yard catch-and-run by Jaidon Parrish from Barr, who added the aforementioned 12-yard touchdown run about 2 1/2 minutes later.

Parrish caught a game-high five passes for 77 yards. Kris Boyd led Gilmer with 46 yards and a touchdown on seven carries

Pittsburg's Garrett Truitt completed 6 of 18 passes for 56 yards and ran seven times for 28 yards. Gilmer held Carl Leonard to 28 yards on 18 carries.

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Class 3A Division II Region II

Area Playoff

Gilmer 48, Pittsburg 0

Pirate Stadium, Longview

Pittsburg -- 0 0 0 0 -- 0
Gilmer -- 7 15 20 6 -- 48

First Quarter
GIL -- DeVondrick Dixon 43 punt return (Pablin Olivares kick) -- 1:42
Second Quarter
GIL -- Kris Boyd 4 run (Josh Walker run) -- 5:00
GIL -- Desmond Pollard 8 pass from Tanner Barr (Olivares kick) -- 0:23
Third Quarter
GIL -- Pollard 9 pass from Barr (Olivares kick) -- 6:30
GIL -- Jaidon Parrish 16 pass from Barr (Olivares kick) -- 3:08
GIL -- Barr 12 run (kick failed) -- 0:29
Fourth Quarter
GIL -- Charles Williams 65 fumble return (No PAT try) -- 0:00

                            PIT             GIL
First downs            8                12
Total yards          126              294
Rushes-Yards     43-70          23-123
Pass yards           56               168
Comp.-Att.-Int.   6-18-0        14-23-1
Penalties             9-65             6-65
Fumbles               3-0              1-0
Punts-Avg.         9-31.2          3-40.3

INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING -- Pittsburg: Garrett Truitt 7-28, Carl Leonard 18-28, DeQuaveon Douglas 7-15, Fre'zarian Harrison 7-13, Ty Smith 1-0, Sir Charles Perkins 1-(-5), TEAM 2-(-16). Gilmer: Kris Boyd 7-46, Tanner Barr 4-37, Josh Walker 1-12, Darrian Lewis 3-11, Jamel Jackson 3-8, Jordan Williams 2-5, Cambron Granville 2-3, DeVondrick Dixon 1-1.
PASSING -- Pittsburg: Garrett Truitt 6-18-0 56. Gilmer: Tanner Barr 13-22-1 168, Zac Spears 1-1-0 3.
RECEIVING -- Pittsburg: John Warrick 2-31, Carl Leonard 2-(-1), DeQuaveon Douglas 1-14, Markeith Thompson 1-12. Gilmer: Jaidon Parrish 5-77, Desmond Pollard 4-78, Nick Smith 1-9, Kris Boyd 1-6, Zod Heath 1-3, Chase Tate 1-0, Quinn Fluellen 1-(-2).