Following disappointing losses in the season’s first two games, the Gatewood Gators (1-2) stormed back with a dominating 40-0 performance at home in Eatonton Friday night against the Loganville Christian Academy Lions.
“I’m going to hand it to my guys now. We had a good week of practice, and they haven’t lost confidence in that, haven’t lost faith in what we do,” Gatewood head coach Jeff Ratliff said immediately following the win. “They’ve been working hard. And I would tell you they worked hard for all three weeks; we just didn’t get the results we wanted the first two. But tonight, it bubbled over. Proud of them, proud of the way they played.”
The Gators opened scoring with 5:14 left in the first quarter when quarterback Ames Johnson tossed a perfectly placed, 40-yard bomb caught by junior wide receiver Ben Brannen just as he crossed the right-corner goal line.
Four minutes later, a lateral by Johnson from about 12 yards out to fellow senior Hunter Johnson also reached the end zone to put the Gators up 12-0.
Ames Johnson scored a third touchdown for Gatewood on a quarterback sneak with 3:20 left in the first half, capped by a huge leap over defenders into the end zone from about three yards out.
A fumble by Loganville on the next possession turned the ball over in dangerous territory, and Gatewood capitalized once more. It was Brannen again, leaping high to make another spectacular catch in the end zone to give the Gators a 26-0 lead at the half.
It took less than two-and-a-half minutes for Gatewood to tack on another seven points in the third quarter, followed by yet another diving score by Hunter Johnson to reach 40-0 with 4:17 to go in the third. That marked the end of scoring, followed by a relatively uneventful final quarter.
After the game, Ratliff said his offense was executed as it should and played well. Still, he singled out the Gators’ defense for playing “as a team unit” and standing up to an overall larger and stronger Lions offensive line.
Ratliff said the play of senior nose guard Blake Daniel and Tyler Middleton, who just returned from injury, were crucial.
“We were resilient. Every time they made a play, we backed it up with two better plays. I felt like our speed and athleticism neutralized their size,” he wrote in a post-game email. “We rallied to the ball, making it tough for Loganville to sustain drives. A shutout is hard to achieve. There are so many things that have to go right. Our defense was great Friday night.”
Looking ahead to a third-straight home game this Friday, Ratliff said he doesn’t know much about Southland Academy (0-3), out of Americus. The Raiders have been outscored 100-21 after scoring seven points in each game so far this season.
“I know their coach (Chancelor Jones) is new there, but I don’t really know much about the team other than they dropped down to AA this year, which means their high school numbers are lower than they were,” Ratliff said. “It doesn’t matter, though; we’ll look at film this week and be ready for them.”
The game against Southland will also mark Gatewood’s annual “Gold Out” game, which features special uniforms for the Gators but, more importantly, serves as a fundraising event to help fight childhood cancer.
“While the gold jerseys look great, we wear them on this occasion for a special reason,” Ratliff reminded everyone reading his email message. “Please, help us do whatever we can in this fight. The players will be collecting money from the student body during the week. The cheerleaders will be collecting money from the stands during the game. All proceeds will go toward a charity specializing in fighting childhood cancer.”