football (Sarah A. Miller/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

SULPHUR SPRINGS — Cason Maupin rushed for a touchdown and passed for another, but it was the Sunnyvale defense and special teams that forced five Gilmer turnovers which led to a 27-17 Class 4A Division II area round playoff upset win over the reigning state champion Buckeyes at Gerald Prim Stadium.

Gilmer fumbled on its second play from scrimmage and Sunnyvale recovered the ball at the 26-yard line, but the Buckeye defense stiffened and held Sunnyvale to a field goal.

Gilmer struggled to get anything going offensive early on. The Buckeyes fumbled on their opening drive and went three-and-out on their next two drives. Gilmer appeared to have the Raiders pinned deep in their own territory after a 51-yard punt, but Sunnyvale quickly got out of the hole on one big play.

Sunnyvale receiver Hudson Leonard somehow snuck past the entire Gilmer defense on a post down the middle of the field and quarterback Cayson Maupin found him on a deep pass that went for a 79-yard score to give the Raiders a 10-0 lead, midway through the first quarter.

Gilmer put together its best drive of the game late in the first quarter as Zade Taylor picked up 24 yards on four carries as the Buckeyes moved inside the Sunnyvale five-yard line. Gilmer cut the deficit to 10-7 on the first play of the second quarter when Alec Sims scored on a 2-yard run.

The Buckeyes held Sunnyvale to another field goal on the Raiders’ next possession then Gilmer went back to work on offense and once again it was Taylor shouldering most of the load. Taylor carried the ball nine times for 33 yards, while quarterback Brady McCown mixed in a pair of completions to Grayson Bates and Cadon Tennison for 32 yards.

Gilmer faced a fourth-and-1 at the Sunnyvale one-yard line and the Buckeyes converted it into a score when Taylor powered his way into the end zone to make the score, 14-13 in Gilmer’s favor late in the second quarter. The Buckeyes then recovered a Sunnyvale fumble at the 12-yard line and Gilmer added a field goal for a 17-13 halftime lead.

Sunnyvale came up with a big defensive play early in the third quarter when defensive back Garren James intercepted a McCown pass and returned it 18-yards for a touchdown to give the Raiders a 20-17 lead.

Sunnyvale caught another big break on a lucky bounce off a punt that hit an unsuspecting Buckeye at the Gilmer 32-yard line. But once again the Gilmer defense answered the call when they sacked Maupin for a big loss and forced Sunnyvale into another punt.

Gilmer made a change at quarterback as Cadon Tennison took over as the signal caller and he seemed to provided a spark with a pair of first down runs but an unlucky bounce de-railed the drive when Drew Gardner intercepted Tennison’s pass off a deflection which set Sunnyvale up at the Gilmer 22-yard line.

The Raiders turned it into a TD six plays later when Maupin scored on a 2-yard keeper to give Sunnyvale a 27-17 lead over Gilmer with 4:23 left in the game.

Gilmer tried to get back in the game late in the fourth quarter when they moved the ball down to the Sunnyvale 30-yard line, but the Raiders forced an errant pass and took over on downs. Sunnyvale then added another late interception as the Raiders forced another Gilmer interception as the Buckeyes finished the night with five turnovers.

Sunnyvale moves on to the next round of the playoffs where they will play the winner of Friday night’s Van-Van Alstyne game.

Gilmer 0 17 0 0 — 17

Sunnyvale 10 3 7 7 — 27

SUN — Gabe Pendyala 40 yard field goal (10:18) 1Q

SUN — Hudson Leonard 70 pass from Cayson Maupin (Pendyala kick) (5:46) 1Q

GIL — Alec Sims 2 run (Brayden Pate kick) 11:54 2Q

SUN — Pendyala 30 field goal (9:28) 2Q

GIL — Zade Taylor 1 run (Pate kick) 1:42 2Q

GIL — Pate 24 field goal (0:32) 2Q

SUN — Garren James 18 INT return (Pendyala kick) 10:11 3Q

SUN — Maupin 2 run (Pendyala kick) 4:23 4Q

TEAM STATS

Gilmer Team Statistics Sunnyvale

14 First Downs 12

8-23-3-63 C-A-Int-Yards 6-17-1-151

41-131 Rushing, Att.-Yards 35-107

8-63 Receptions-Yards 6-151

5-44.5 Punts-Ave. 8-41.5

3-32 Penalties-Yards 7-57

2-2 Fumbles-Lost 1-1

5 Turnovers 2

Passing — Gilmer: Brady McCown 6-14-1-50, Cadon Tennison 2-9-2-13. Sunnyvale: Cason Maupin 6-17-1-151.

Rushing — Gilmer: Zade Taylor 22-79, Cadon Tennison 7-36, Trilyon Butler 5-21, Brendan Webb 2-1, Alec Sims 2-0, Brady McCown 2-(-1), Amauri Morton 1-(-5). Sunnyvale: Cayson Maupin 18-53, Cade Andrews 11-43, Aydin Brown 4-9, Cash Hamilton 2-2.

Receiving — Gilmer: Grayson Bates 1-18, Zade Taylor 2-16, Cadon Tennison 1-14, Amauri Morton 2-13, Brendan Webb 2-2. Sunnyvale: Hudson Leonard 2-107, Owen Dlabaj 2-26, Joshua McDill 2-18.