ACE had caught Keith Hatcher's eye as a school, and now it's caught Hatcher as head football coach

By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

            As a Hatcher, a part of Keith Hatcher’s heart will always be with Mount de Sales.

            He’s a graduate, part of a long line of Hatchers who have roamed the courts and fields for the Cavaliers, and it culminated with him taking over as head football coach in 2013.

            But across Bibb County, ACE Charter had caught Hatcher’s eye a little bit.

            “I had always thought that ACE had an unlimited ceiling,” Hatcher said. “That it could be a really special place. They’ve done a lot of great things, especially academically.”

            Hatcher gets the chance to try to do great things on the football field as the school’s new head football coach.

            ACE made the announcement Monday afternoon, a little earlier than planned, athletics director Josh McLendon said. Hatcher said ACE and Mount de Sales decided to move up the announcement because of growing rumors about the move.

            “It spread so fast that I had to talk to my team,” Hatcher said. “I didn’t want them to hear about it all around town. I was able to talk to them, and I did that (Monday).

            “Once that happened, it spread like wildfire, and so both schools decided to go ahead and make an announcement.”

            Hatcher wasn’t necessarily thinking about a job change, but when communications started after the Cavaliers were eliminated by Calvary Day in the first round of the GHSA Class A Private playoffs, his interest was piqued.

            McLendon said an ACE panel interviewed almost a dozen candidates, from in Bibb County and Central Georgia and beyond.

            “We had pretty thorough interviews with all those guys,” said McLendon, also the Gryphons’ head baseball and head softball coach. “We felt pretty good about it.”

            Hatcher’s success at Mount de Sales as well as a lengthy career as a college assistant coach put him atop the list.

            “We were really looking for somebody with previous head coaching experience, that knew all the nuances and ins and outs of running the program,” McLendon said. “Obviously Xs and Os are a big part of that, but beyond the Xs and Os, is being able to talk to the media, positive media relations, being able to run a booster club, fund raise, deal with parents, communicate effectively with the parents and build those relationships.

“Also that he had college coaching experience. Those were all attributes that we found very attractive.”

            Hatcher graduated from Mount de Sales in 1996, and played at Mars Hill, a Division II program in North Carolina, earning letters in baseball and football, as well as several all-conference academic honors before graduating in 2000.

            He chose the financial world as a career initially out of college as an investment advisor specialist, but less money and more hours proved more attractive, and he became another Hatcher coaching football.

            He started out as a graduate assistant at Valdosta State under cousin Chris Hatcher, moving two years later to Alabama-Birmingham under Watson Brown.

            He went back to Valdosta State as director of operations and secondary coach for two more years, adding special teams duties with punting. He then followed Chris to Georgia Southern and Murray State.

            Hatcher dealt with football operations, recruiting, the secondary, and special teams during his college coaching career.

            Hatcher succeeded Robert Slocum as head coach at Mount de Sales after the 2013 season – becoming only the third head coach since 1968 - and then added athletics director duties in 2016.

            In February of this year, Hatcher switched administrative jobs at Mount de Sales, going from athletics director to a position in the advancement office to work with alumni and others in fund-raising.

            The Cavs’ 19-3 record in 2018-19 was their best two-year run since 1997-98 when they went 22-4, reaching a GISA final and semifinal. Hatcher had four straight winning seasons, from 2017-20, the first time that had happened at Mount de Sales since 1994-98.

            Mount de Sales was in a bit of a rebuilding mode in 2021, riding the abilities of A’Khori Jones, moved to quarterback. The Cavs went from a balanced team to run heavy, and Jones was en route to a 1,000-yard rushing season when he was hurt against FPD in mid-October.

            The Cavs were 3-4 at the time, and down a major weapon, finished the regular season 5-5 – sparked by Fernando Washington in Jones’ place – and lost 49-7 to second-ranked Calvary Day in the first round of the GHSA Class A Private playoffs.

            Sam Zanders took over as interim head coach at ACE when Jason Stephens – ACE’s first head coach – was dismissed a few days after the season-opening 48-0 loss to FPD in the Macon Touchdown Club Middle Georgia Kickoff Classic.

            Zanders had been the defensive coordinator and headed strength and conditioning. Thomas Darrah moved up to offensive coordinator. The Gryphons regrouped, had a three-game winning streak, and made the GHSA Class A playoffs for the first time, losing to fifth-ranked Schley County.

            “We’re going to sit down with those guys,” McLendon said. “There are some good guys we have on the staff right now, and we’d love to be able to keep them and blend them in with Coach Hatcher. They would be good for him and I think they would be good to keep in our program.”

            Hatcher said he knows some of the staff, but specific talks will be delayed until after he gets past Tuesday’s elbow surgery he’s undergoing.

            “Not the best time for that,” Hatcher said.

            Hatcher starts at ACE in January, and will be teaching some morning weightlifting classes.

            “It’s an exciting opportunity to over there and build (the program),” Hatcher said. “Mount de Sales will always be a part of me, but it’s a new challenge, a new opportunity.”