Gatewood is heading into the regular season with a little more confidence after using a pair of preseason scrimmages to identify weaknesses and make improvements.
The Gators hosted Edmund Burke Academy on July 31, before facing Central Fellowship Christian Academy in Eatonton last Friday.
The results of the scrimmages weren’t the priority for head coach Jeff Ratliff. Instead, he focused on the progress his team made from one week to the next.
Gatewood’s first live test against EBA provided plenty of areas for the Gators to address. Ratliff said the team held up well overall, but he pointed specifically to open-field tackling as a weakness.
The Gators also had two turnovers on roughly 50 offensive plays and needed to find more consistency in their execution, he said. Those became priorities heading into the matchup with Central Fellowship.
Ratliff said he was pleased with his team’s response.
“I thought we played hard and showed some grit against Central Fellowship,” Ratliff said. “As I told the team, you don’t win scrimmage games, but you can either take steps forward or steps backward. We definitely moved forward.”
The biggest improvement came on defense, he added.
“While we are far from where we need to be, we are getting better,” Ratliff said. “I was especially pleased with our tackling. We improved in that area from our first scrimmage.”
That improvement was important for a Gatewood defense that Ratliff wants to see play as a cohesive unit rather than relying on individual players.
“Football’s the ultimate team game,” Ratliff said. “You’ve got to be able to play together. You’ve got to be able to work together.”
The Gators are still looking for consistency on offense, particularly in protecting the football.
“We must finish drives and eliminate turnovers, but we are moving in the right direction,” Ratliff said.
That is the purpose of the preseason for Ratliff — to expose those weaknesses before the games begin to count.
“When you’re scrimmaging somebody else, it’s good on good,” he said. “All of a sudden now, some of those weaknesses that you want to correct or mistakes that you want to get right show up.”
Now, Gatewood will have to see whether those improvements carry over into the regular season.
The Gators open the season Friday at Tattnall Square Academy in Macon, giving them an immediate challenge against a team Ratliff knows well. A 1987 graduate of Tattnall, Ratliff played for longtime coach Barney Hester and later coached alongside him for 17 years.
“Needless to say, I have a tremendous amount of respect for Coach Hester and my alma mater,” Ratliff said. “He is a tremendous coach and will have his team ready to go.”
Tattnall runs a spread offense designed to stretch the field vertically while also relying on its offensive line to establish the run. Defensively, Ratliff expects a physical 3-4 scheme with athletic linebackers capable of making plays across the field.
For Gatewood, the challenge will be carrying the lessons learned during the preseason into its first game that counts.
“It will take an incredible effort to travel to Macon and have success,” Ratliff said. “It all starts with a great week of practice.”
The Gators may still have plenty to clean up, but after two preseason tests, Ratliff said he believes his team is moving in the right direction.
“Every player on our team has a role,” he said. “That role is important each and every day. Our success depends on our preparation and mental toughness.”