The Gatewood Gators opened their 2024 campaign with a 19-14 loss to Flint River Academy on Friday night in Woodbury.
Head coach Jeff Ratliff said his team played well overall but added, “undisciplined, senseless plays really hurt us and ultimately cost us the game.”
Gatewood scored first when senior quarterback Ames Johnson launched a 37-yard pass to junior Ben Brannen for a first-quarter touchdown, followed by a successful extra point by kicked Gage Rainey.
Last year’s Class AA champions, the Wildcats, answered with a 33-yard run for a touchdown and an extra point later in the quarter. They added 6 points with a 13-yard carry in the second quarter to reach halftime with a 13-6 lead after the Gators blocked the extra point attempt.
Gatewood did have a chance to draw close with about 15 seconds left in the half after driving to the Flint River 20-yard line, but this time, Brannen could not complete the end zone catch.
Meanwhile, an after-whistle skirmish developed at the line of scrimmage, resulting in some severe penalties for the Gators. Ratliff said the available video didn’t show much for him.
“A melee happened with two of our players and three or four of theirs,” he said. “So, I didn’t see what happened, but I was disappointed with a little bit of undisciplined actions on our part. We had some personal fouls that hurt and set us back.”
To open the second half, Gatewood kicked off and Flint River promptly scored to go up 19-6 with a first-possession touchdown. The Gators’ defense quickly recovered to stop a two-point attempt on the ground.
Later in the third quarter, Gatewood responded with a 56-yard rushing score from Brannen and another extra point by Rainey, but that led to a scoreless fourth and the 19-14 final favoring the Wildcats.
“At the end of the game, I told [the team], most of our mistakes were self-inflicted wounds,” Ratliff said. “And I don’t want to take anything away from Flint River. They have a really good team, and I think they played hard. They obviously played well enough to win. But doing things like that is not characteristic of who we are and is not who we want to be. And that hurt.”
Regardless, Ratliff and the Gators now turn their attention to beginning a three-game homestand this Friday night at home against Trinity Christian, which lost 44-21 last week to Brentwood.
“They got beat up pretty good on Friday night, so I’m sure Coach [Bruce] Lane will make adjustments and have his guys ready. But hopefully, we will, too,” Ratliff said.
“And I love playing in ‘The Swamp,’” he added, referring to Gatewood’s Sammons Field. “I love playing in Eatonton in front of our home crowd, especially after coming off a tough loss like that. Hopefully, we’ll bounce back and have some momentum for a couple of games.”