Clinton Gatewood has been the head coach at Greenwood High School for the past eight seasons. He’s 8-0 against crosstown rival Amanda Elzy. He has no plans to be 8-1 after Friday night’s battle at Bulldog Stadium.
“This game has no bearing on the playoffs. It’s about bragging rights for the players and the fans of these teams. Both of us beat Leflore County, so the winner of this game is the king of the county for another year,” said Gatewood, whose 2018 squad is off to a 3-1 start and winners of two straight.
Greenwood will celebrate homecoming Friday.
“This is the first time we have played Elzy for homecoming. We don’t lose homecoming games. We both come in with identical records, and we know this game is about pride. I love Coach (Sheldon) Hodge like a father. I’m going to hug him after the game no matter the outcome, but he knows we are out to win this game,” added the ninth-year GHS coach.
Greenwood holds a decisive advantage in the series, which dates back to 1987. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 25-6. The last time Elzy came out on top was in 2009 as it posted a 32-0 shutout. The Panthers won three straight from 2004-2006.
“It’s a community rivalry. It’s not between the coaches. But remember, he’s (Gatewood) only up one game on me. He beat me last year, and that’s the first time we’ve faced off as coaches,” Hodge said with a chuckle. “Elzy wants to win this game, and Greenwood is supposed to win. I think all the pressure is on them. We are making sure our players know it’s going to be a tall task.
“I’ve known Coach Gatewood a long time. I’ve known him as a player to a coach and as a friend. We go to church together. After this game, I’ll probably ask him somewhere down the road what he saw that we could do to be a better team. We have a great respect for each other.”
The Bulldogs are coming off a 46-23 win over Greenville Weston. Freshman quarterback DeAndre Smith continues to improve as he was 7 of 9 for 163 yards and three touchdowns — one each to Kobe Chambers, Daylin Metcalf and Walter Ivory, who led the ground game with 107 yards on 12 carries.
While Smith remains the starter, junior Dazarion Perez has returned from a knee injury and has been practicing this week.
“It’s still DeAndre’s job. He’s carried this team for four weeks. DeAndre is our quarterback for the future. With all the young kids we have on the line and at receiver, the future is bright for us,” said Gatewood.
Greenwood’s defense has been steadily improving from week to week. They’ve only allowed 29 points in their three wins over Leflore, Cleveland Central and Greenville. Coach Jimmy Stanford, who returned to GHS from Greenville after being there for two years, is learning the new crop of players.
“He’s beginning to see their skill level. He and I basically ran the same defense, but with different terminology. I can tell the defense is getting better. We continue to stay aggressive and hard hitting,” Gatewood said.
Sophomore end Davin Anderson and junior tackle Quiontavious Lymon are two of the leaders of the Bulldog defense. Anderson had 11 tackles and two quarterback sacks last week, while Lymon finished with eight stops and one sack.
The Panthers started the season with wins over Leland and Leflore County, but dropped a 30-6 decision to O’Bannon. They rebounded last week to knock off MS Palmer 12-6.
“I love the way we played last week. The defense played hard the whole game. We got that fumble recovery by Marquez Cary in the fourth quarter to get the win,” said Hodge.
The Panthers will be using Smithdarrious Wright and Norman Polk at quarterback the rest of the season. Deontae Neal suffered a torn MCL and ACL against O’Bannon. Elzy only threw four passes against Palmer and ran for 126 yards on 25 carries.
nContact Calvin Stevens at cstevens@gwcommonwealth.com.
