Cougars Blanked At Robert Toombs

Piedmont Academy’s football team, similar to a boxer, took one on the chin last Friday night.

The Cougars (3-5-1 overall) were blanked by Robert Toombs on the road, 54-0. For Piedmont coach Mike Parris it was just another step in his team getting to where it ultimately needs to be.

“Playing an opponent like we did last Friday shows us where we need to be,” Parris said. “We are not there yet. We have to get faster and stronger.”

The overall schedule for 2018 has been tough and the Cougars have taken their share of lumps.

“Robert Toombs is big and very good,” Parris said. “We have to keep working to get to where they are and to where we want to be.”

Piedmont will close out the regular season this Friday hosting long-time rival Gatewood of Eatonton. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Cougar Field.

“Gatewood is very well coached,” Parris said. “They play very disciplined football and it is going to be another tough battle. Our goal at this point is simply to get better with each game.”

The Gators enter the contest 6-2 overall. Gatewood has defeated Trinity Christian School-Dublin, Brentwood, Community Christian, Westwood, Terrell and Flint River. The lone losses have been to John Milledge Academy and Memorial Day.

Gatewood, coached by Jeff Ratliff, was not able to play its Oct. 12 game against Southwest Georgia due to weather conditions at the time.

In 2017 the Gators were undefeated all the way until the semifinals when they fell to Trinity Christian School-Sharpsburg. In 2016 Gatewood finished as state runner-up.

“We know Gatewood will present another strong challenge for us,” Parris said. “We have had to face several top level teams this season. However, we want to continue improving and hopefully we can do that this Friday.”

After competing at the Class AAA level in recent seasons, Gatewood is back in GISA Class AA. Piedmont and Gatewood have a long rivalry, based in part on the closeness in location of the schools, dating back decades.