TOUGH NUTS TO CRACK: Gilmer, Liberty-Eylau slug it out; Buckeyes win at final possession

Liberty-Eylau's Kameron Levingston, 22, reaches out to cross the goal line to tie Gilmer, 7-7, in the first quarter of the CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances Classic on Thursday at Rose Stadium in Tyler, Texas.
Liberty-Eylau's Kameron Levingston, 22, reaches out to cross the goal line to tie Gilmer, 7-7, in the first quarter of the CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances Classic on Thursday at Rose Stadium in Tyler, Texas.

TYLER, Texas-The scoring didn't stop until the final whistle.

Gilmer and Liberty-Eylau lit up the scoreboard once again, and it came down to the final possession. The Buckeyes overcame an early deficit to the Leopards, but Gilmer eventually withstood L-E, 61-55, after the teams combined for 1,131 total yards of
offense.

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Old cars, many of them restored classics, lined the circular walkway in Gentry City Park on July 4, giving visitors plenty of cars to see and enjoy.

The Leopards rushed for 383 yards and seven TDs, but Buckeye junior QB Aaron Brown threw for 578 yards and six scores, including three in the second half and three in the last 3:20 of the first half.

Kevin Florence rushed for three touchdowns and 164 yards for Liberty-Eylau, Kameron Levingston added 126 yards and two scores, and Decorian Phillips ran for a score and threw a TD to LaDerrick Gray for the final tally with
4:29 left.

L-E came out on the first possession of the second half and scored in three plays, tying the game on Phillips' 2-point pass to Isaiah Cross. The team exchanged scores from there, the Buckeyes scoring twice in a row to build the cushion it needed to eventually hold
off L-E.

LaMarcus Morton caught 10 balls for 259 yards and three scores for Gilmer.

The Leopards took a two-score lead with 4:02 left in the first half, but Gilmer responded with 21 unanswered points in the final 3:16 before intermission to go up 28-20 at halftime.

The Buckeyes piled up 369 yards of offense in the half, including 323 through the air after Brown connected on 16 of 22 passes and flung three scores after he raced 18 yards for the game's first TD.

A trio of L-E running backs scored as the Leopards built a 20-7
lead.

Levingston capped a 5-play, 56-yard scoring drive with his 1-yard plunge on Liberty-Eylau's second drive. Donald Caldwell forced an intentional grounding penalty on Brown, and Kentrell Chatmon's 20-yard punt return set up the Leopards at the Gilmer 38.

Five plays later Scooter Hoof ran 10 yards to give L-E the lead. Steven Goben's PAT made it 14-0 with 1:24 left in the first
quarter.

The Leopards forced a third consecutive first-quarter punt by the Buckeyes to end the first quarter, but the ensuing drive ended at the 1, going in, with a Dimiitri Fort interception for
Gilmer.

After a fourth punt, Liberty-Eylau drove 57 yards on four plays to score again. Levingston broke free on a 26-yard romp, Decorian Phillips scrambled 18 yards, and Florence ran 12 yards to set up a first-and-goal. Florence bulled his way in from there with 4:02 left in
the half.

From there, Brown connected with Collier, and he raced 74 yards to paydirt on the second play after Florence's score. Kollin Hurt intercepted another pass, and Brown tossed a 25-yard strike to a wide-open Red Jones with 1:34 left to tie the game.

And Jeremy Kelly picked off the Leopards a third time, this one coming with 45 seconds left. Five plays later, Dez Jones caught a 2-yard score from Brown, regaining the lead for the Buckeyes with four seconds remaining.

 

Liberty-Eylau 14 6 15 20 - 55

Gilmer 7 21 20 13 - 61

First Quarter

GLM-Aaron Brown 18 run (Adan Ibarra kick), 10:13.

LE-Kameron Levingston 1 run (Steven Goben kick), 4:06.

LE-DeAndre Hoof 10 run (Goben kick), 1:24.

Second Quarter

LE-Kevin Florence 1 run (kick failed), 4:02.

GLM-Kelton Collier 74 pass from Brown (kick failed), 3:16.

GLM-Red Jones 25 pass from Brown (Ibarra kick), 1:34.

GLM-Dez Jones 2 pass from Brown (Rashaad Ward run), 0:04.

Third Quarter

LE-Levingston 11 run (Decorian Phillips pass to Isaiah Cross), 11:01.

GLM-LaMarcus Morton 74 pass from Brown (Ibarra kick), 9:55.

LE-Florence 32 run (Goben kick), 8:51.

GLM-Ward 2 run (pass failed), 7:10.

GLM-Morton 15 pass from Brown (Ibarra kick), 2:35.

Fourth Quarter

LE-Florence 39 run (Goben kick), 9:16.

GLM-Morton 37 pass from Brown (run failed), 8:36.

LE-Phillips 14 run (kick failed), 8:12.

GLM-Red Jones 11 run (Ibarra kick), 6:33.

LE-LaDerrick Gray 25 pass from Phillips (Goben kick), 4:29.

=L-E=Gilmer

First Downs=23=26

Yards Rushing=49-383=34-74

Yards Passing=96=578

Passes A-C-I=12-5-3=45-34-0

Fumbles-Lost=2-0=1-0

Penalties=5-40=11-89

Punts-Avg.=4-39.3=5-30.2

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING-Liberty-Eylau, Florence 19-164, Levingston 18-126, Phillips 5-66, Cross 6-17, Hoof 1-10. Gilmer, Rashaad Ward 17-59, Kelton Collier 5-9, D. Jones 1-11, R. Jones 1-11, Brown 9-(minus 24), Trendon Brooks 1-8.

PASSING-Liberty-Eylau, Phillips 5-7-1-96, Cross 0-7-2-0. Gilmer, Brown 34-45-0-578.

RECEIVING-Liberty-Eylau, Cross 3-27, Aaron Bruce 1-44, Gray 1-25. Gilmer, Morton 10-259, Collier 8-144, R. Jones 4-49, Heath 2-32, Kollin Hurt 2-20, D. Jones 2-17, Ward 2-1, Dimitri Fort 1-6, Nathan Mize 1-7, Ryan Lawhorn 1-9, Jordan Johnson 1-4.

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