The result was never in question last Friday night in Dublin, as the visiting Gators dominated the Trinity Christian Crusaders on both sides of the ball in a season-opening 35-0 win for the Gatewood squad.
After a dropped-ball miscue on the third down of its opening drive, Gatewood punted to put the Crusaders on their own 2-yard line and promptly scored a safety to get the shutout started.
“After that, we played an incredible first half,” veteran Gators head coach Jeff Ratliff said. “They (Trinity) didn’t even cross midfield in the first half.”
About a minute after the safety, Gatewood’s Evan Bennett scored a 45-yard rushing touchdown to make it 8-0, followed shortly after by a 57-yard passing play from junior quarterback Ames Johnson to Tanner Johnson for a second touchdown. The quarter ended 14-0 after two missed field goals.
No matter, Gatewood went right back to work as the second quarter began. Bennet, a North Carolina commit, made his presence felt again with a 62-yard rushing touchdown, followed by the extra point from Jayden Daniel to make it 21-0.
Johnson then followed suit with another passing touchdown, this time connecting on a 37-yard play to senior Blake Callaway, again followed by the extra point from Daniel to go up 28-0.
With a minute to go in the half, Johnson once more connected with Callaway, tossing a 13-yard pass for the score, with Daniel tacking on another extra point to reach what would be the 35-0 final.
Ratliff said he put his starters on the field for the start of the second half, but quickly switched to his second units and was very pleased with their effort and results.
“You know, it wasn’t that Trinity wasn’t any good. It was that my guys played better. We executed and got better. Defensively, we hit our keys and we played great pass coverage. They had one pass completion all game and the only drive they really sustained at all was the first drive of the second half. They picked up about, I’ll say 30 or 40 yards, but then we forced them out on a fourth down and got our number-one guys off the field. So situational football was huge,” Ratliff said.
And although the second unit didn’t score, Ratliff pointed out they also didn’t get scored upon, which he considers an encouraging sign.
“They were going against Trinity’s number one; Trinity really didn’t sub out,” Ratliff said. “And then we actually scored in the fourth quarter with our number-two group – but it got called back.”
Regardless, Ratliff considers the experience and confidence gained to be invaluable going forward.
“Those number twos, man, they went out there, they got the stops, they preserved the shutout, and they did score. Well, like I said, it got called back, but it was a great experience for those guys. They got to get out there on game night and get some reps. That’s good,” he added.
This Friday at 7:30 p.m., Gatewood will host Augusta Prep Day in its season opener at home.
Augusta Prep was off last Friday but suffered a 44-0 drubbing in its first game this year when it visited Bethlehem Christian Academy. The Gators last faced the Crusaders in the opening round of the playoffs last fall, winning 38-27 in Augusta.
“Here’s the deal. Augusta Prep is a division opponent. If we can’t get fired up playing a division opponent, then we don’t have any business showing up Friday night,” Ratliff said. “So, Augusta Prep over the years has been one of those teams that they play a power football game. We know what we’re going to get with them. They’re going to be big; they’re going to try to slam it at you; they’re going to try to keep the ball away from you. And they’re going to try to run the clock that way.
“As long as we can keep everyone focused and we understand the job at hand, it doesn’t matter if we’re playing the number-one team or the number-16 team, we’re going to come out and play our game. And if we do that, I feel good about our chances.”