FNL Matchup: 1983 Daingerfield vs. 2009 Gilmer
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Updated: May 2, 2018
Friday Night Legends
Historic Game Recap
Friday Night Legends is a football board game that uses actual team statistics, play calling and some luck to determine the outcome - kind of like real life! In this series, we will take some of these great teams we have compiled and give you a write-up of how the two played using Friday Night Legends.
Friday Nigh Legends Kickstarter
In this game, we pitted 1983 Daingerfield against the 2009 Gilmer squad. Daingerfield is considered to be one of the best defensive teams in Texas high school football history going 16-0 and only giving up 8 points during the entire season on their way to a state championship. Gilmer was a 2009 state champion going 15-0. They brought a high scoring offense that averaged 52.13 points per game. The big question in this game was... can Gilmer score on that Daingerfield defense? If they can score, can they beat Daingerfield. Lets see what happened.
1st Quarter
Daingerfield received the opening kickoff and they fumbled at their own 10 yard line but recovered it. Gilmer could have been set to score with the game just starting!! Daingerfield was forced to punt giving Gilmer the ball at midfield. On 3rd and 8, Gilmer broke a 26 yard run. Later in the drive facing a 3rd and 3 at the Daingerfield 9, Gilmer was stuffed for a 2 yard loss BUT they were offsides. Two plays later, Gilmer scored on a touchdown run and took a 7-0 lead. It didn't take long for them to get points against that defense.
Daingerfield returned their next kickoff to the Gilmer 48 yard line but were forced to punt after going 3 and out. The teams trade punts as both defenses shut the other team down. The first quarter ended with Gilmer having the ball at their own 42.
2nd Quarter
The second was the same as most of the first quarter. Neither offense could get anything going. Daingerfield finally completed a big 27 yard pass play into Gilmer territory with 4:00 left until half, BUT there was a flag on the play. Holding against Daingerfield. The Daingerfield fans were saying...."what the heck is going on?"
Gilmer got a 23 yard punt return to midfield with 3:20 left in the first half. The Daingerfield defense stepped up and picked off a pass on the first play. Daingerfield's ball at their own 40 with 2:40 to go. The Gilmer defense made a big play causing a fumble on first down but Daingerfield recovered the ball. Daingerfield eventually was forced to punt again, pinning Gilmer down at their own 13 with 1:40 before the break.
Three straight incomplete passes forced Gilmer to kick a 44 yard punt which Daingerfield returned 26 yards. With 1:10 before half, it was Daingerfield ball at the Gilmer 33. On a 3rd and 6 play from the Gilmer 29, Daingerfield busted at 24 yard run with 30 seconds until half. The next play was a Daingerfield scoring run. The game was tied at 7 at the half.
3rd Quarter
Gilmer begins the second half still unable to move against that tough defense. They go 3 and out and hand it back to the Tigers. Daingerfield reeled off a couple of big runs and drive 63 yards for a touchdown and take a 14-7 lead. Daingerfield keeps the momentum going by intercepting a pass on Gilmers 2nd play. Daingerfield with the ball at the Gilmer 31 is in position to bust the game wide open. The Gilmer defense stepped up and stuffed Daingerfield on a 3rd and 2 at the Gilmer 23. Daingerfield settled for a 40 yard field goal to make the score 17-7.
The Buckeyes continue to struggle moving the ball. Their next series was incomplete pass, -2 yard run, 1 yard pass and yet another punt. The teams trade punts to end the 3rd quarter.
4th Quarter
Gilmer began the final quarter the ball at their own 11 but were unable to make anything happen. After a short punt, Daingerfield continued to use their strong running game for a 51 yard touchdown drive. They missed the extra point but extended their lead to 23-7. Gilmer once again took over at their own 11, this time with 4:10 left in the game. The Gilmer result was another punt and once again Daingerfield responds by being able too move the ball. They drove to the Gilmer 9 where Daingerfield faced first and goal with 1:50 left in the game. The Gilmer defense stuffed the run on first down pushing the ball back to the 10. On the next play, that Daingerfield running game swept the entire 10 yards out. The extra point was good making the final score 30-7.
Gilmer was able to get a few good runs in and finished the game with 28 carries for 131 yards. They could not pass though as they went 5 of 25 for 13 yards and 2 interceptions. The Daingerfield running game started off slow but finished with 49 carries for 252 yards.
The game was closer than the final score. It was an epic battle. The big news of the day though was that Gilmer scored an offensive touchdown against that great defense - something that never happened against the '83 Daingerfield squad in real life.
NOTE: These are just two of the many historic and current Texas high school football teams available for the Friday Night Legends game. (more than 50 teams already) Look for future game wraps as we continue to play out dream Texas high school football matchups.
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