Clinton Gatewood believes his team is close to putting it all together.
His confidence stems from how Greenwood rallied in the fourth quarter last week for a 34-28 comeback victory over Clarksdale.
“We have lost those games like that in the past. We lost three close games last year by a combined 10 points,” said the GHS head coach. “After we lost the lead Friday, our kids kept telling me they would win the game, and they did. But it shouldn’t have had to come to that.
“We dominated the first half and then had a letdown. As a coaching staff and as a team, we’ve got to find a way to stay motivated when we’re dominating somebody. But I do think that win will propel us toward good things the rest of the way.”
The Bulldogs led 21-0 in the second quarter but needed a 5-yard touchdown run by quarterback Kwadra Griggs with 25 seconds left to pull off the comeback win.
“Last week, we just went flat in the second half after controlling things pretty well in the first half. We can’t let teams hang around. We’ve got to be able to deliver that knockout blow.”
The Class 4A-member Bulldogs (2-1) will face their second Class 6A opponent in three weeks Friday night with a road game against Greenville-Weston (1-2).
“Greenville will be a good test for us because Coach (Shannon) Williams has that team on the rise,” Gatewood said. “They will test your defense with a lot of different formations, and they have a mobile quarterback who can hurt you running and throwing.
“They have some good looking athletes. We know that because we faced them at Valley in a 7-on-7 passing tournament. We know they will be excited about getting us at home.”
Greenville-Weston is led by senior linebacker Gerri Green. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound senior recently chose Mississippi State over scholarship offers from Ole Miss, Auburn, Arkansas, Vanderbilt and Tennessee.
According to the Delta Democrat Times, Green was ejected on the fourth play of last Friday’s 32-14 loss to Grenada. The Greenville newspaper reports that, according to Mississippi High School Athletic Association rules, Green must sit out the first quarter of the Greenwood game.
The Bulldog offense is led by Griggs, who has had his ups and downs in the last two games, including a couple of second-half interceptions last week against Clarksdale. But Griggs did wind up rallying his team for the win.
“Kwadra has been dealing with some personal issues that I wasn’t aware of until the Sunday after the Grenada game. When he had those two picks in the fourth quarter, his teammates picked him up and told him to forget about it and come back strong,” Gatewood said. “That was his teammates doing that, not the coaches. They have so much confidence in him, and I believe he’s ready for a breakout game.”
Griggs has completed 36 of 62 passes for 631 yards with seven touchdowns and four interceptions. His leading receivers are Sammie Epps (8 for 250 yards), Booker T. Chambers (10 for 181) and Korey Robertson (12 for 148).
Robertson suffered an ankle injury last week, but Gatewood expects him to play Friday night.
GHS opens Region 3 play next week against crosstown rival Amanda Elzy. That’s always a huge game in this community, but Gatewood says the Bulldogs aren’t looking ahead.
“Elzy hasn’t come up and won’t until the Greenville game is over,” said the GHS coach, who is 3-0 against his alma mater. “Elzy beat Lanier 67-0 last week; we know that. But we beat a much tougher Clarksdale team, and I know they’re aware of that.”
nContact Bill Burrus at 581-7237 or bburrus@gwcommonwealth.com. Follow on Twitter:@Bill_Burrus.
