ROCKWALL -- Ryan Pate's message to his 2017 Gilmer team was to finish empty. That is, finish with nothing else left to give and no regrets.
The Buckeyes rallied back from an injury-riddled start in district play and then advanced all the way to the fourth round of the Class 4A state playoffs, but their run ended Wednesday at Rockwall High School to Decatur in a one-game playoff.
While there were tears and some consoling hugs from the several hundred East Texans in attendance, Gilmer walked off the field feeling like it belonged in the late May scramble.
