By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

 

          Gatewood knows what it’s like to be atop the mountain.

          Edmund Burke hasn’t been near the top of the mountain in more than a decade.

          That was in 2011, when a head coach with Central Georgia and Laurens County ties led the Spartans to an 11-2 record and trip to the championship game, which ended in a 13-8 loss to Piedmont.

          Here are the Spartans again, 11-1 and entering the final led by a coach with Central Georgia and Laurens County ties.

          Can the upstart Spartans, after three straight 5-7 seasons, handle the big stage against a program that hasn’t been to the finale since 2020 but expects to be?

          That’ll be answered after the 5 p.m. kickoff Friday in the GIAA Class AA title game at Mercer’s Five Star Stadium.

          Edmund Burke may have a hunger edge, but also  has to settle nerves early on. They weren’t penned in by many to get this far with this kind of record.

          “To start the season, we only had two returning starters on our offensive line,” Edmund Burke head coach Andy Woodard said. “We lost our starting center Davis Brown to a knee injury in the third game of the season … (he) was a starter in every game last season.

          A sign of a special season appeared when Davis rehabbed and came back for a few snaps two weeks ago only to re-injure the same knee in practice last week. Harrison McClellan moved from tackle to center, his debut at the position, with Cutter Askew taking over for him in his second year of football.

          And the Spartans surprisingly didn’t lose a beat. Well, except for the 44-22 loss to Briarwood in the regular-season finale.

          “One of the biggest moments of our season was our loss to Briarwood Academy in the region championship game,” said Woodard, who coached at Trinity Christian with his dad Buddy, who’s currently his defensive coordinator. “We were outplayed and committed several turnovers. Our coaches and players have used the loss to refocus the importance taking care of the ball, executing consistently, and being physical.”

          And the immediate result was outscoring Piedmont and Southwest Georgia 70-6 in the first two playoff games.

          Briarwood gave Gatewood a scare last week, the Gators holding on 15-12. The Gators lost 20-14 to Edmund Burke four weeks after quite a marketable loss, albeit by a tougher score than expected, 35-0 to Class AAAA defending champ St. Anne-Pacelli.

          Gatewood has had to adjust without a key player, too. Linebacker Evan Bennett, a North Carolina commit who is also in the running back rotation, hurt his thumb against Pacelli and finally returned for the regular-season finale against Brentwood.

          “He is a special player,” head coach Jeff Ratliff said. “He is a beast. We had to manage games without his presence.”

          Hunter Johnson filled in at running back and Landon Moreno at linebacker, and now the Gators have more depth at both spots.

          With the changes and players stepping up, both teams have been able to adjust, and yet they’re still a little different than in that Oct. 20 meeting in Eatonton.

          “Gatewood used two big pass plays to set up their first score,” Woodard recalled. “We answered with a long touchdown run. Gatewood scored their second touchdown on a long pass. We were able to answer that score with a drive and score in the second quarter. So in a highly anticipated game it went into halftime tied at 14.”

          The slugfest continued into the fourth quarter, Edmund Burke forcing a pair of turnovers, including one after the lead score that allowed the Spartans to run out the clock.

          “Edmund Burke is the No. 1 ranked GIAA AA team for a reason,” Ratliff said. “They  beat us during the regular season in what was a great football game. Biggest keys never change: stop the run, win the turnover battle.”

          The latter was the difference in the first  meeting.

          “Our players have a done a tremendous job of buying into the fact that to win in the playoffs, you must be able to run the ball, stop the other team from running the ball, executing, and creating turnovers,” Woodard said. “Gatewood has definitely improved since the first meeting, and we will have to play a very clean game to beat them again.”

 

Class AA

Edmund Burke Spartans, 11-1

Glascock County                  34-18
Trinity Christian                   47-3
Piedmont                               15-0
Thomas Jefferson                  49-0
Memorial Day                       43-7
Brentwood                             35-6
Robert Toombs                     14-7
Gatewood                              20-14
Augusta Prep                        35-0
Briarwood                              22-44
Playoffs
Piedmont                               35-0
SW Georgia                           35-6

Head coach: Andy Woodard, second season, 16-8; third season overall, 20-15
GISA championships: None
GISA runner-up: 2011, 2010, 2000
All-time record: 314-272-13, 53.5 percent
FYI: Woodard’s dad Buddy came out of retirement to be the Spartans’ defensive coordinator. Buddy was head coach at Trinity Christian from 2010-12, going 14-20, after serving as offensive coordinator. He has a 42-7 win over Gatewood in 2012.
          Offensive coordinator Phillip Richards is also a retired public school teacher and coach, and assistant Jonathan Broxton pitched for the Dodgers, Royals, Reds, Brewers and Cardinals in the major leagues from 2005-17. He’s a Burke County grad who was picked in the second round of the 2002 draft. …
          The Spartans have scored 390 points, second-most in program history. The 105 points allowed ranks in the top 10. …
          Others with Central Georgia backgrounds who have been EB’s head coach: Don Marchman, 18-20 from 1980-83 (also at John Milledge, Windsor, Brentwood, & River North); Buddy Sorrow, 40-18-2 from 2008-12 (also HC at East Laurens from 1994-2002, and in 2015); Rennie Atkinson, 7-5 in 1988 (has been at FPD for two decades, serving in a variety of roles); Tate Parker, 41-21 from 2000-04 (former FPD quarterback in the late 1980s).

Scouting Report

          The Spartans rack up some big plays. That’s one reason why they have 80 fewer carries than opponents. But they’ve run for 887 more yards.

          Quarterback Grant Mobley leads the run game with 1,022 yards and 17 touchdowns on 143 carries, while Ayden Phillips adds 609 yards and Connor Syms 419. Mobley has completed 61 percent of his passes for 1,347 yards, 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions, with Owen Redd the top target, catching 55 passes for 800 yards and nine touchdowns.

          Syms is fifth on the defense with 72 tackles but first with 17 tackles for loss and four sacks, plus four forced fumbles. Kade McGill leads the unit with 149 tackles, adding 10 tackles for loss. And Mobley roams the secondary, where he has plucked eight interceptions.

 

Gatewood Gators, 10-2

Trinity Christian                   35-0
Augusta Prep                        62-6
Southland                              20-13
Briarwood                              17-8
St. Anne-Pacelli                    0-35
Central Fellowship              35-27
Fullington                              34-6
Edmund Burke                      14-20
Piedmont                               36-18
Brentwood                             42-14
Playoffs
Augusta Prep                        54-12
Briarwood                              15-12

Head coach: Jeff Ratliff, 11th season, 95-43
GISA championships: 2020, 2019, 2018, 1990, 1977
GISA runner-up: 2016, 1988
All-time record: 353-244-7, 59 percent
FYI: Ratliff is six wins from topping Gene Harper (100-66) as the Gators’ winningest coach. He has passed Harper with two more state titles and one more region championship in three fewer seasons. …

          Gatewood has its eighth-best scoring season going with 394 points. Six of the top nine such seasons have come under Ratliff.

Scouting Report

          The wing offense offers four running threats with 300 yards or more, led by Ames Johnson’s 706 yards and 12 touchdowns. The quarterback has completed 58 percent of his passes for 1,088 yards and 17 touchdowns, with only two interceptions.

          Standout linebacker Evan Bennett, also part of the rushing group, has t68 tackles and 20 for loss despite missing 4.5 games with a thumb injury. Mason Sinclair has 105 stops, 12 for loss, Lawson Wooten adding another dozen TFLs.

          Gatewood has outrushed opponents 1,958-1,273. 

Common Opponents

Trinity Christian: Edmund Burke won 47-3; Gatewood won 35-0
Augusta Prep: Edmund Burke won 35-0; Gatewood won 62-6, 54-12
Briarwood: Edmund Burke lost 44-22; Gatewood won 17-8, 15-12
Piedmont: Edmund Burke won 21-0, 35-0; Gatewood won 36-18
Brentwood: Edmund Burke won 35-6; Gatewood won 42-14

Series history

          Edmund Burke leads 10-8, after an 0-2 start including a 49-6 loss in 1986. The Gators had a three-game winning streak stopped with this season’s 20-14 loss in October, and they’ve won five of the last seven. Ten games have been decided by 14 points or less.

Game Scouting Report

          Both teams have struggled through 5-7 seasons lately, three straight for Edmund Burke and two for Gatewood. One difference: Gatewood’s two seasons came after a state championship, so there’s no doubt a level of hungery and impatience.

          But Edmund Burke has played this season like a team expecting to be here, too, including a win at Gatewood with clutch play down the stretch.

          The Gators, though, are more accustomed to the bright lights of a college stadium, and are healthier than in the first meeting. With an expected wet field, a game very similar to the first meeting – low-scoring and defensive – is likely again.

Maxwell Ratings Prediction: Edmund Burke 21, Gatewood 18

The Sports Report prediction

          They’re familiar with each other, they’ve adjusted to personnel moves, and they’re on a roll.

          It’s even, so the basics – turnovers and avoid dumb mistakes and drive-slowing pre-snap penalties – are more important. One break and/or one mistake late can stifle a chance at the trophy.

          But having Bennett back makes the difference.

          Gatewood 24, Edmund Burke 21