EATONTON – It was a scene reminiscent of the 1981 Sugar Bowl. On that New Year’s Day night in New Orleans, the University of Georgia football team defeated Notre Dame for the national championship … without scoring a point in the second half.

Gatewood Schools football, winners of three straight state championships from 2018-2020, is back in the GIAA Class AA finals … without scoring a point in the second half of a 15-12 semifinal win at home over Briarwood.

All of the Gatewood postseason contests in 2023 will be rematches from the regular season, including Friday’s final game with Edmund Burke at Mercer University, kickoff slated for 5 p.m. But unlike the games against Augusta Prep and Briarwood – completing 2-0 sweeps for the Gators – Gatewood will be looking to avoid being swept by Edmund Burke, which won 20-14 on Homecoming Night in Eatonton Oct. 20.

That was one of two blemishes on the Gator record this fall, the other coming to GIAA Class AAAA foe Pacelli in Columbus 35-0 Sept. 22.

“We’ve had a really good year,” said head coach Jeffery Ratliff. “We won our region, 10-2 headed to the state championship. (Briarwood) was a big semifinal win for us. Really good, physical playoff football game.”

Ratliff will start with the senior class as those who got Gatewood where they are today. There is the 6-3, 220-pound linebacker Evan Bennett, who is committed to North Carolina. But it was a junior, Ames Johnson, who took the reins at quarterback and threw for more than 1,000 yards and rushed for over 800 more. He’s also used in the return game, giving Ratliff a 2,000-yard weapon with one more year to play.

“We’ve had so many people,” the coach said. “On the offensive line, we have a senior in Luke McNeill, who plays on offense and defense. My big junior, Blake Daniel, is a 300-pounder who’s had a really good year at offensive tackle and nose. Those two have been solid along with Gage Rainey, a junior who plays on both sides.”

There’s also Blake Callaway, a 6-2 senior target for Johnson, and Lawson Wooten, another 6-2 senior, whom Ratliff said might be the best of them all at defensive end and tight end.

“Take your pick from those guys,” said Ratliff. “Lawson is leading our team in catches and Blake leads our team in receiving yards. Our leading rusher is Ames.

“Ames does a good job of scrambling around, throwing the football and getting it to receivers. We probably opened it up a little more than normal. We relied on (the pass) a little more is a better way of saying it. Got some talented receivers, and the O-line does a good job blocking. Ames does a good job biding his time.”

Gatewood has also overcome an injury to Bennett, who concentrated more on defense after returning.

“He’s a beast in there,” said Ratliff.

Against Briarwood, the game came down to two big plays on offense plus one on defense, all in the first half. It didn’t begin well, Gatewood fumbling away the opening series. Briarwood recovered and turned the takeaway into six points.

On the second offensive series, Hunter Johnson, another junior, went 60-plus yards on a sweep to paydirt on a third-down call.

Very late in the half, Ames Johnson scrambled and found Wooten behind the secondary for another touchdown of more than 60 yards.

“We didn’t do a whole lot in the second half,” said Ratliff. “But the defense did. The defense won the game. They played championship football.”

Both teams missed PATs on their first scores, then the Wooten touchdown made it 13-6 Gators. Gatewood also blocked a punt in the first half, turning it into a safety.

“It stayed 15-6 for the longest time, then they scored in the fourth quarter, went for two and missed,” said Ratliff. “It was big. It was fun.”

On his Gatewood football newsletter, Ratliff wrote that he told the team ‘Winning ugly beats losing pretty any day … when you are in the playoffs, it doesn’t matter how you do it. It just matters that you are still playing.”

“The guys left everything on the field. It was a total team effort. They played with a 1-0 mentality. They refused to let up, and they played every play like it was their last.”

Edmund Burke defeated Southwest Georgia 35-6 in the other semifinal and sports an 11-1 record. They actually lost to Briarwood in their region.

“They play a physical brand of football and rely on all that talent to make plays,” said Ratliff. “They are very explosive on offense, but they can play a ball control game. Defensively, they are very sound and rally to the ball. They are aggressive and tackle well.

“It will take an incredible effort to beat them, but I wouldn’t have it any other way … It is going to require a tremendous amount of discipline to stay focused … There will be a lot of distractions this week. It is so important for us not to lose sight of what’s at stake Friday night. We have a tremendous opportunity … This is what we have been practicing for all season.”