ARLINGTON -- Facing a 4th-and-6 from Bellville's 17-yard-line and nursing a 28-26 lead, Gilmer head coach Alan Metzel thought back to all the years he spent coaching with Jeff Traylor in the 2000s.

Traylor was present on the sidelines watching the program he'd built attempting to win its first state championship without him as the head coach. His name is carved on Gilmer's home stadium. The past two head coach hires after him, Matt Turner and now Metzel, were Gilmer assistants for parts of Traylor's journey to five state championships and three rings. They'd formed this program on a philosophy - 'Players, not plays.' Who is the dude? Get that man the ball and give him a chance.

So Metzel called a sweep to senior running back Will Henderson, who'd carried them to that pivotal moment with 223 rushing yards. Henderson took ball, broke two tackles well short of the line-to-gain, and powered his way to the most important 11-yard-run of his career. Ball game.

Henderson's known for his 10.2 100m dash speed. This time, he did it with strength.

"Will is not just a track guy, and you saw that today," Metzel said. "He gets dirty yards. He gets breaking-tackle yards. He gets, 'If I've gotta get three, I'm going to get six (yards).'"

Gilmer's 28-26 victory over Bellville in the 4A DII state championship Friday afternoon was an example of how closely this program still resembles Traylor's identity. It also made Metzel a legend in his own right. After losing in the state championship in 2020 and 2021, his first two years as the head man, he and Traylor are the only two men to win state for Gilmer.

Gilmer was perhaps the most unlikely state champion team competing at AT&T Stadium this week after starting 0–2 and limping to a 3–3 start. The defense was maligned, giving up 71 points to Tyler Chapel Hill in game one, 62 points to Prosper Walnut Grove in game five and suffering a 63-28 loss to Pleasant Grove in game six. 

But Metzel and his staff recognized the changes they needed to make and became one of the state's most improved teams. He said postgame that some starters in the state championship game were on the JV or freshman team when Gilmer kicked off the season. They overhauled their defense mid-season from an odd front to an even front and more 4-2-5 personnel.

"It's not like adversity makes you be great," Metzel said. "Adversity gives you the opportunity, and then people have to make that choice."

Heading into 2023, the team adopted 'Kaizen' as it's team motto, a Japanese term for continuous improvement. The unit that surrendered over 50 points in four of its first six games limited a Bellville offense that was averaging 52.8 points per game to just 26. Junior safety Brendan Webb, the game's Defensive MVP, forced a fumble that gave Gilmer the ball on Bellville's 29 and establish a 14-7 lead that they'd never give up. Later in the second quarter, he intercepted a pass in the endzone on a 3rd-and-7.

The scheme change certainly helped, but in the end, Gilmer's 2023 state championship team came down to the players making plays. Metzel went back to his roots as an assitant under Traylor and turned in his finest coaching performance yet.

"He was the only one that didn't lose faith in us when everyone else did," Henderson said.