Gatewood was off to a great start this past Friday against Trinity Christian.
Senior Hunter Johnson scored first, catching a pass from Ben Brannen to give the Gators an early lead.
The extra-point attempt was blocked, however, and less than 90 seconds later, the Crusaders were up 7-6, a lead they never relinquished. They eventually took a 28-12 win home to Dublin.
Following a season-opening loss a week earlier, head coach Jeff Ratliff said, “undisciplined play” doomed his team’s efforts. This week, he chalked the loss up to making “too many mistakes.”
“We’ve just got some growing pains here. The missed tackles and missed blocks or not finishing the blocks really hurt us. Because when we go back and watch this film, I know we’re going to see the three- or four-yard gains that they should’ve had turned into big runs when we missed the tackle,” Ratliff said immediately after the game. “And we’ll see the three- and four-yard runs that some of our backs were making could have been 20, 30, 40-yard gains, but we missed the blocks, or again, we just didn’t finish.”
In a post-game email to Gatewood parents and supporters, Ratliff said his team's Friday losses included “poor field position, fumbles, and penalties.”
“While we were physical and stopped them at times, we struggled on third down, which allowed them to extend drives and flip field position several times,” he added.
On a positive note, however, Ratliff said he’s already seeing improvement in some of his younger starters and expects that trend to continue.
“With two games under their belts, they are figuring out what it takes to play at this level,” he said in his email. “In addition, we should have a few players returning after being out of action … I promise you, we are getting better. We must continue to work hard to produce the results that we want.”
Ratliff stressed it’s not nearly time to panic. He recognizes it’s a tough start for a team that went to the state final last season, but also believes his team will rally and return to form.
“There are things we’ve got to do better, that we’ve got to clean up, and I never shy away from responsibility. It starts with me; it starts with me,” he repeated. “But I’ve got a lot of confidence in these guys. I believe in my seniors, and we’ll get back some key guys soon, too. We’ll be okay.”
Gatewood remains at home on Sammons Field this Friday to take on Loganville Christian Academy. After losing their season opener 47-35 to Mount de Sales, then falling 28-26 last Friday to Strong Rock Christian, Ratliff knows the Lions will arrive in Eatonton ready to play.
“Apparently, they can put some points up. And I don’t know how much defense was being played, but we’ll be ready for them,” Ratliff said.