Gilmer vs. Bellville Friday, December 15, 2023 State Championship game at AT&T Stadium. (Les Hassell/News-Journal Photo)

ARLINGTON — Gilmer is used to being in the state championship mix.

The Buckeyes played in their ninth state championship game on Friday — eighth since 2004 — winning three state championships before Friday.

Alan Metzel had been a part of seven of those appearances — five as an assistant — and was an assistant coach for the championship teams of 2009 and 2014.

Metzel took over as the head coach of the Buckeyes in 2020 and led the team to the title game in both 2020 and 2021, losing 70-14 to Carthage and 31-7 to China Spring.

“Sitting up here doing the first interview for a couple of years in a row was tough,” Metzel said of his program’s state championship losses in 2020 and 2021. “The one against Carthage, that was a rough day at the office. The next year, we made some good plays (against China Spring). Those were great teams (we played those years). To be able to experience what we’re getting to experience right now, it is sweet.”

On Friday, Metzel earned his first state championship as a head coach and the Buckeyes’ first since 2014 with a 28-26 victory over Bellville at AT&T Stadium.

“It’s very unique,” Metzel said. “It’s very special. The victory is sweet. I’m very humbled though to get to have the position to get to work with the people I work with, the administration and the kids I get to coach. I feel very humbled and honored that I have the role.”

When the Buckeyes took a knee to seal the victory, Metzel turned to the crowd and raised his hands in the air.

“I wanted to celebrate with them,” Metzel said. “I wanted them to know that Gilmer’s town won today. It’s not just about a group of kids or this or that. Our band won; our cheerleaders won; the community won. And to me, you enjoy it the most when you share it. I wanted to look at them and tell them thank you.”

But being in a football loving town like Gilmer with high expectations can create some interesting scenarios.

“You’ve got a town that tomorrow, they’re going to be asking me how we’re going to be next year and those kind of things,” Metzel said. “I’m going to tell them to give me a week or two. But every week, everybody is at McDonald’s or Bubba’s Burgers or Dairy Queen, and they’re sitting up there talking about the game. They know the kids’ names, what positions they are and how many yards they have. It’s a town that’s a throwback. It’s very unique and very special. I’m grateful to be a part of it.”

Metzel started his career with six years at Harmony. He then worked for Mike Maddox at Union Grove for three years. He then went to Gilmer with current UTSA head football coach Jeff Traylor, who was on the sideline on Friday, for three seasons. He left in 2004 and 2005 to go work for Tim Russell at Pine Tree, missing Gilmer’s state championship in 2004. Metzel returned to Gilmer in the spring of 2006 and has been there ever since. He took over as the head coach in 2020 and now has a 52-8 record.

As much as Metzel credits the players and everyone else around him, the players also wanted to credit their coach.

“He means a lot,” senior Ta’Erik Tate said. “I feel like he carried us through this season and taught us and kept uplifting us.”

“He is the only one that didn’t lose faith in us when everybody else did,” senior running Will Henderson said.

Gilmer started the season 0-2 with losses to Chapel Hill and Kilgore and was 3-3 after a 63-28 district loss to Pleasant Grove. The Buckeyes responded with 10 straight victories, capped by Friday’s state-title winner.