Cougars Fall to Gatewood 37-12
The start to the 2015 football season did not go as planned for the Piedmont Academy Cougars.
Traveling to Eatonton to face its old nemesis Gatewood, Piedmont trailed by just two points at halftime, but saw the host Gators score 22 points in the third quarter to take control of the contest on their way to a 37-12 victory.
While disappointed with the loss, coach Wes Tanner said there is still a lot of season to go and plenty to play for.
“A football season is a long journey,” Tanner said. “Everything we want to do is still in front of us. We will be fine. We will go back to work and make the pieces of the puzzle fit.”
Last Thursday’s game was the debut for several new Cougar starters as some key players from the 2014 team were lost to graduation.
Piedmont took the game’s opening possession and put together an impressive drive before turning the football over on downs inside the Gatewood 30-yard line. Ben Davis carried the football on the first three plays followed by a quarterback keeper by Mack Brady. The junior quarterback, making his first start, converted a fourth and one on the drive.
After gaining four first downs and running nine plays, the drive stalled, however, after an unsuccessful pass attempt on fourth and 16 at the Gator 28-yard line.
Gatewood then moved into Piedmont territory before eventually missing on a 37-yard field goal attempt by Matthew Weeks.
Taking over at their own 13-yard line, the Cougars would find the end zone on their second series of the game on a 37-yard keeper by Brady with 6:20 left in the second quarter. The point after attempt was blocked to leave the score at 6-0.
The Gators would take the lead into halftime, however, after they began their second offensive possession at the Piedmont 35-yard line following the kickoff return. Gatewood would use nine plays and get in the end zone on a six-yard run by Palmer Clark. A botched snap on the extra-point attempt turned out to be a favorable thing for the Gators as they were then able to convert the two-point conversion.
Gatewood took control of the game at the start of the second half moving 54 yards on eight plays. Clark hauled in a 10-yard touchdown catch and the Gators once again converted a two-point try for a 16-6 advantage.
Needing to put points on the scoreboard, the Piedmont offense took the field for the first time in the second half but went three and out. Gatewood then moved 60 yards in just four plays for a 23-6 lead following a nine-yard reception by Clark.
The teams then traded turnovers as Piedmont fumbled only to get the football back on an interception by Chris McClain. The Cougar offense, however, could not get on track in the second half and ended up punting the football back to the Gators.
Reid Sasser went in from four yards out for the next Gatewood touchdown just before the end of the third quarter and a 30-6 lead after the point after kick.
The Gators eventually went in front 37-6 before Piedmont put a final score on the board on a 1-yard run by McClain, who was playing quarterback at this point in the game. The drive covered 70 yards using nine plays.
Davis finished the game with 42 yards on 16 carries for the Cougars while the team compiled 181 yards on 42 attempts.
While naturally not satisfied with the outcome, Tanner said the game can prove beneficial for his team down the road.
“It gave us a chance to evaluate personnel and get people in the right spot,” the coach said. “It also gave us a chance to see that we didn’t have everyone in the right spot, but that’s OK. We’ll get them there. We have some players we can build around.”
Last week’s game was the first for several Piedmont players in starting roles.
“We are breaking in a lot of new players,” Tanner said. “We had eight, sometimes nine, new starters on both sides of the football. When you do that, it’s not an overnight process.”
Next up for Piedmont will be a road trip on Friday to Bethlehem Christian Academy. The Cougars will be part of program history at BCA as the school is hosting its first-ever on campus football game.
“We are excited to be a part of that,” Tanner said. “I know it’s an exciting time for their football program.”
Piedmont easily defeated BCA last season, but Tanner said he expects the Knights to be improved in 2015.
“They are building a program and it just takes time to do that in football,” the coach said.
Piedmont’s 77-0 win last season against BCA was the largest victory in terms of points in program history and one of the widest margins in GISA history. While official records are not kept by the GISA of this nature, the largest victory in a game is believed to be 80 points.
This is a new season, however, and Tanner said BCA has already showed improvement in its season opener (a 48-15 loss to Windsor.)
“They look more comfortable in their skin,” Tanner said. “I think they are more at ease with what they are doing. They are also more sound in what they are doing offensively and defensively. It’s not an overnight process starting a program. I’ve been down that road myself. Many times it doesn’t happen as fast as you would like. I give Coach (Lance) Fendley a world of credit for sticking with it and staying the course. I give their kids credit as well.”
NOTES: Captains for Friday’s game against Gatewood were Ben Davis, Chris Cain and Zach Wilson.
The Piedmont-Gatewood rivalry dates back decades and the programs have engaged in some classic battles throughout the years. One person who knows about the rivalry as a player and a coach is Pat Hayes, a 1988 Piedmont Academy graduate.
Hayes has helped coach Gatewood in recent years and is once again an assistant for the Gators this season. While coaching for Gatewood now, Hayes was a key part of the 1987 state runner-up team for Piedmont which finished the season 12-1.
Following Friday’s game against Piedmont, Hayes said he thought Gatewood played well in the second half.
“We made some halftime adjustments that helped us,” he said. “This win will do a lot for us in terms of confidence.”