PUTNAM COUNTY
A late touchdown in the final quarter preserved a perfect 8-0 record for the visiting Edmund Burke Academy (EBA) Spartans Friday night, as they beat the hometown Gatewood Gators 20-14 in a long, hard-fought match.
The Gators fell to 6-2 with just two regular-season contests left on the schedule. They will face Piedmont Academy in Monticello this Friday and Brentwood Nov. 3 in Eatonton, both region opponents.
“I can be upset, I don’t like to lose, but I’m happy with my team,” Gators head coach Jeff Ratliff insisted after the EBA game. “I thought we played hard; I thought we were gritty; I thought we kept ourselves in the ball game.”
In fact, despite the loss, Ratliff sounded encouraged by his team’s effort and performance.
“I mean, we knew they were a good football team, and I knew I had a good football team, but I found out tonight that I’ve really got a good football team,” he said moments after the final whistle.
Gatewood’s Jayden Daniel kicked off to start the game and it looked like the Spartans would score early, but the Gators’ defense held strong deep in their own end and the ball was eventually turned over on downs.
After a bit of mid-field back-and-forth, Gatewood got on the board first after Hunter Johnson made an impressive 25-yard run through several EBA defenders before being hauled down within a foot of the endzone.
A pair of quarterback sneaks followed, with the second-pushing junior shot caller Ames Johnson across the goal line for the first score of the game. Daniel added the extra point with 2:52 left in the opening quarter.
The Spartans quickly answered with a touchdown and extra point of their own, however, to end the quarter in a 7-7 tie.
Gatewood was back on top less than two minutes into the second quarter, though, as Blake Callaway made an outstanding over-the-head catch just before crashing to the ground in the end zone.
With 5:05 left in the opening half, EBA tied the game at 14 after quarterback Grant Mobley made a 10-yard end run to score. That’s how the first half ended before Homecoming activities took over the Gator’s playing field.
When play resumed, the game turned into a defensive battle with both teams’ scoring drives petering out before ending in punts. Both came close to scoring, but near the end of the third quarter, Johnson was intercepted and EBA eventually went ahead by 6 with a rushing touchdown to start the fourth quarter, though the extra point missed, making it 20-14 on the scoreboard.
With a couple of minutes to go, Gatewood did mount a strong comeback effort; however, while scrambling to gain ground near the 50-yard line the Gators fumbled, and the Spartans came up with the ball. They managed to reach about the 20-yard line in the Gatewood end, but with time running out Mobley played it safe by taking a knee on the final couple of plays to run out the clock and secure the win.
“Offensively, our undoing was the costly turnovers and lack of consistency on first down, but we hit some big plays and moved the ball at times. I really felt like the offensive line got better, and our skill players matched theirs,” Ratliff said in his weekly post-game email to parents and team followers.
“On the defensive side, I felt we were physical. We matched their physicality and played great,” he continued. “We held a very explosive offense in check most of the night. The two big plays they had in the first half were alignment issues for us, but to EBA’s credit, they made us pay.
“My message to our team is that we need to finish! Regular season wins are nice, but playoff losses are final. We still have much to say about who will win the AA State Championship. We will get back on the horse this week and be ready for region play.”