After suffering its first loss of the season a week earlier, a 35-0 thrashing at the hands of Ste. Anne Pacelli, Gatewood bounced back last Friday night in Macon with a 35-27 victory over Central Fellowship Christian Academy (CFCA), the defending GIAA Class AA champions.
The Lancers beat Gatewood at home in Eatonton during the regular season last year, then eliminated the Gators from the 2022 playoff semi-finals.
Gatewood head coach Jeff Ratliff called it “a big win for us.”
He explained it not only kept the Gators atop the division points list but by defeating a highly rated opponent, it boosted the Gators’ playoff status.
Gatewood scored one touchdown in the opening quarter, then led 21-7 at halftime. When play resumed, both teams scored and added an extra point in the third quarter to make it 28-14 heading into the final 12 minutes.
CFCA managed to apply some pressure with two more touchdowns in the final quarter, adding one PAT, but missing on a two-point conversion attempt. Meanwhile, the Gators scored once more in the fourth quarter and senior kicker Jayden Daniel remained perfect on the night, going 5-for-5 on extra point attempts.
“Jayden has been really good for us,” Ratliff said. “And Lawson (Wooten), he had two touchdowns, one of them he recovered a fumble in the end zone off a punt. And Ames (Johnson), he had two touchdowns, too. He rushed for two and he threw for two, so Ames accounted for four touchdowns. So yeah, I’d say that’s pretty good.”
Ratliff added that Blake Callaway caught one of Johnson’s passes to account for the fifth touchdown.
“We were up 28-7 on them with the ball (in the third quarter) and I don’t want to say we had lapses; it was just momentum went their way. They got a couple of breaks, got a couple of calls, and the next thing you know we’re in a dog fight,” Ratliff recalled of the final quarter. “But the good thing about all that is, we won that dog fight. I’m proud of the way our guys responded.”
The coach also mentioned Gatewood’s biggest weapon on offense and defense, UNC commit Evan Bennett, did not play against CFCA after injuring one of his thumbs the previous week against Pacelli in Columbus.
“The doctors, they checked him out last week and they had to do a little procedure on his thumb. So, he’s out for a couple of weeks, but we’re off this week, so that’s good,” Ratliff said. “We’re supposed to get him back by the end of the season, but Hunter Johnson, he stepped in and played tailback for us and did an outstanding job. I don’t know right now how many yards he had rushing, but he had a really, really good game.”
Now in a bye week, Ratliff said it comes at a good time as the Gators have several nagging aches and pains that will benefit from a little time off. The team will return to action Oct. 13 with a home game against Fullington Academy, which is yet to win a game this season.
“I am proud of our team. We are 5-1 entering the bye week. We are currently ranked No. 1 in AA,” Ratliff wrote in his weekly email to Gatewood students, parents, and fans after Friday’s win over the Lancers. “We need to get healthy, focus on us, and correct our mistakes from the first six games. We still have much work to do, but we are getting there."