Liberty-Eylau falls to Gilmer
GILMER, Texas — The first half between LibertyEylau and Gilmer was a marathon on Homecoming Night.
The Leopards (5-3, 2-1) fell to the Buckeyes (7-1, 3-0) at Jeff Traylor Stadium Friday night, 35-14.
The first two quarters lasted close to 1 hour and 35 minutes.
“We’re just going to have to fight through some things,” Liberty-Eylau head coach Dewaski Davis said. “We felt some things didn’t go our way but we’re not going to cry about it.”
Dylan Fluellen caught his second touchdown of the night on a 20-yard pass from Mason Hurt for Gilmer with 4:26 remaining in the third period.
Jaron Choyce scored the first touchdown of the second half for the Buckeyes on a 1-yard plunge with 8:41 left in the third quarter.
The first half was plagued by penalties on both sides.
Gilmer was flagged 10 times in the first two quarters, while the Leopards were penalized five times.
Fluellen caught a 21-yard pass on fourth down from Brandon Tennison, regaining the lead for the Buckeyes with 7:34 left before halftime, 22-14.
Keenue Shepard picked off a Buckeye pass for the Leopards’ secondary in the second quarter, stopping a Gilmer scoring drive on the 20 yard line.
Shawn White picked off a Gilmer pass and went 25 yards for a Leopard defensive score with 11:02 left in the second period.
Tennison gave the Buckeyes a touchdown lead on his 14-yard quarterback scramble to the pylon with 2:43 left in the first quarter.
Liberty-Eylau answered back on the following possession, after Chris Lewis caught a 59-yard strike from JJ Hampton to tie the game 7-7 with 7:51 left in the first quarter.
Lewis finished the contest with there grabs for 71 yards and a score.
Davian Smith opened the scoring for the Buckeyes, weaving through the Leopards defense from 11 yards out.
“We’re going to go back to the drawing board and clean some things up,” Davis said.
“We just want to get better every day and keep pushing forward.”
Liberty-Eylau is back in action Friday, traveling to Pleasant Grove for its annual rivalry game.