Gatewood boosted its unbeaten record to 4-0 last Friday with a 17-8 win at home on Sammons Field against Briarwood Academy.
After being forced to punt in their first possession of the game, it looked like the Gators might finally be scored on first this season as Briarwood marched down to near the Gatewood 20-yard line.
However, the home team’s defense held strong and forced the Buccaneers into turning the ball over on downs.
“Our defense has played great all year. They’ve been the strength of our football team.
That’s no secret,” Gatewood head coach Jeff Ratliff said. “I have nothing but positives to say about those guys.”
A few plays later, senior Evan Bennett scored the first touchdown for Gatewood with a fiveyard carry up the middle and into the Bucs’ end zone. Kicker Jayden Daniel then tacked on the extra point for a 7-0 lead that lasted through the opening quarter.
A see-saw battle for field position continued throughout the second quarter until Bennett again took a handoff from junior quarterback Ames Johnson in the final minute of the half.
Again, Bennett went straight ahead for his second rushing score, and again, Daniel did his job to send the Gators to halftime with a 14-0 lead.
The struggle to gain ground continued in the third quarter, with neither team able to score.
But Briarwood finally put some points on the board halfway through the final quarter when Bucs’ junior receiver DC Sondles hauled in a nicely thrown ball from about 20 yards out by freshman quarterback Cutler Fleming.
Briarwood head coach Bo Fleming then made the gutsy call to go for the two-point conversion – and it worked – making it 14-8 and potentially allowing his team a win by scoring just one more touchdown and the extra point.
That plan was thwarted on the Gators’ next possession, however, as they marched downfield, led by a big 40-yardsplus gain by Jackson Hewatt.
Eventually, though, Gatewood was forced into a fourth-down situation, but well within Daniels’ field goal range.
With Johnson holding for a kick from about the Buccaneers’ 30, Daniel drilled the ball straight through the uprights to make it 17-8 with less than two minutes left on the clock.
Briarwood tried to mount a final comeback, but with even a touchdown followed by another conversion not able to get the job done, the win was secure for Ratliff and his Gators.
“To be honest, I felt comfortable pretty much the whole game,” Ratliff said later. “I knew I had a good field-goal kicker in Jayden (Daniel) and Ames (Johnson) does a great job scrambling and picking up yards when we need them,” Ratliff said. “Lawson (Wooten), he was good again, too, and Evan (Bennett), what can you say? He had another great game.
“The only thing that was a little disappointing was I felt like if we’d have come out and took the first-half kickoff, went down and scored, it’d have made life a lot easier,” the veteran coach added.
Ratliff and his Gators now set their sights on back-to-back away games, first this week at St. Anne-Pacelli this Friday, followed by a Sept. 29 trip to Central Fellowship Christian Academy in Macon. Gatewood next plays at home Oct. 13 against Fullington Academy.
St. Anne-Pacelli is the defending Class 4A state champion and last year handed Gatewood its biggest loss of the season with a 42-7 result in Eatonton.
“They got three quick touchdowns on us last year and that was the ball game,” Ratliff said.
“So, we’ve got a long bus ride to Columbus, got to go over there and play those guys, but I think we’re looking forward to it. We just need a good week of practice.
“They’ve got a huge football team, good athletes, so we’re looking forward to the challenge. We just need to go over there and play well. And my message is if we go play and we do what we’re supposed to do, I feel like we can play with them, so we’ve just got to do that.
“That’s the first step. And if we check that off the box, win, lose or draw, I’m going to feel good about the outcome. As long as we do that, we’re okay. It’s when we don’t do that, that’s the frustrating part. Just gotta’ play the game.”