PUTNAM COUNTY
The Gatewood Gators looked good early but just couldn’t keep pace with the No.1-ranked Lancers of Central Fellowship Christian Academy (CFCA) Friday night in Macon.
Despite being down by only a touchdown at the half and briefly leading in the third quarter, Gatewood couldn’t hold on as CFCA pulled off a 43-14 win to advance to the state championship game next week, while the Gators were left wondering what might have been.
“I’m not disappointed at all,” Gators head coach Jeff Ratliff insisted later. “I love my kids. I love the effort they gave me. And the score? I mean, the score is what it is. You either win or you lose. But the score does not accurately indicate that game.”
In damp, foggy conditions, CFCA scored first with a 30-yard passing play followed by a successful kick halfway through the opening quarter. They added another TD early in the second quarter but missed the extra point to take a 13-0 lead.
After missing an early field goal attempt, Gatewood finally got on the board with a minute left in the first half, as quarterback Ames Johnson handed off to Evan Bennett for a one-yard score followed by a good kick by Jayden Daniels to make it 13-7 for halftime.
About four minutes into the second half, Justin Jameson made a three-yard carry into the end zone for the Gators, then Daniels came through again to give Gatewood a 14-13 lead that lasted until the seven-minute mark of the third quarter.
At that point, the Lancers took over the ball on their own 33-yard line and essentially took over the game. They regained the lead when quarterback Jeb Walls took the snap and made the long run for a touchdown. CFCA followed up with a successful two-point conversion to go up 21-14 at the end of the quarter.
“We still felt good at that time,” Ratliff said. “But the next four possessions, man, I wish we could take ‘em back. We threw an interception, they scored; we fumbled, and they picked it up and scored. So we’re into the fourth quarter and now we’re down several scores, so I go for it, and well, we didn’t make it. They kick a field goal and then we do it again. We don’t make it and they score another touchdown. So our last four possessions, they score on all four of them, and that’s the game.”
Despite the obvious disappointment, Ratliff said he remains proud of his team and its effort against the favored Lancers, who will face No. 2 Brentwood this Friday night at Macon’s Mercer University for the 2022 GIAA Class AA championship.
“We put a scare in ‘em, just didn’t finish it off. Unfortunately, we ran into the same mistakes and did the things that we had done during the rest of the season and that’s what happened,” Ratliff said. “So I thought we had a great week, thought we had a good game, and we executed to a point, but I would say (CFCA) just found a way to win. And that’s why they’re playing the state championship game and we’re not.”
But Ratliff said he also told his team after the loss that they should have no regrets and everyone involved can be proud of their efforts going forward.
“There’s nothing to be ashamed of,” he stressed. “Even though our season record wasn’t great, we ended up 5-and-7, we always knew that if we could put things together, execute and quit with the silly mistakes, we could play with anybody in the state. I feel like we kind of proved both points. When we started doing those things, we proved that we could cause anyone’s undoing. So I told everybody to keep their heads up. I praised my seniors; those seniors that were part of two state championship teams when they were freshmen and sophomores.
"This was the seventh consecutive year that we had been in the semifinals, so regardless of record, you play to try to get to the championship game. For seven straight years, we’ve been in the semifinals and we’ve made it to the championship game for three of those years. So these guys have nothing to be ashamed of; they did all that I asked from them, and I couldn’t be any prouder of that.”