by Jeremy Benson, GrandRiverConference.com
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After eight years as an assistant coach behind Chris Holt, Brock Goodman finally had the opportunity to coach his first high school game Friday night for the Gallatin Bulldogs against the Maysville Wolverines. Attravius Addison also coached his first game for the Wolverines.
The Bulldogs held Maysville out of the end zone and forced a field goal attempt by Maysville's Mac White with four seconds left. White's kick from 39 yards was a few yards short, and Gallatin left Maysville with a 30-27 victory.
While Goodman still employs much of the same style as his protege, Holt, he opened it up more. This was evident when he passed on the first play. Goodman said, "I've been with Coach Holt for eight years. I was at Lathrop and then here at Gallatin. Hands down, by far, one of the best X's and O's coaches, especially with the running game. So I learned a lot about that. This year, I am going to throw it a bit more. I feel like my skill kids are a little better, and I have a really good quarterback."
Gallatin got on the board first in the game when they converted a 4th and 4 from the 13-yard line to set up a touchdown. Brody Bird would then run it in from four yards out. After a Brendan Rainey PAT, the Bulldogs were up 7-0 with 6:58 left in the 1st quarter.
Maysville was able to drive into Gallatin territory on their first drive. Parker Sollars returned the kickoff to the Gallatin 36-yard line. The Wolverines moved the ball as far as the Gallatin 9-yard line before turning it over on downs. Brayden Watkins intercepted Jackson Ohlberg on the next possession and returned it to the end zone for a pick-six. A Mac White PAT tied the game at 7 with 2:08 left in the 1st quarter. After one quarter of play, it was Gallatin 7, Maysville 7.
Gallatin built a sizeable lead by scoring on its next two possessions. On a fourth-and-16, it looked like Maysville would stop them, but Ohlberg found Bird for a 25-yard touchdown pass. A direct snap to Connor Michael on the conversion was successful and made it 15-7 Bulldogs with 9:25 left.
The Bulldogs deployed a trick play for the conversion. Goodman said he put that play in during the summer. "Coach Holt did not like the swinging gate. This is year three for me here at Gallatin. So we put it in. It's just another thing teams have to prepare for."
After a Maysville punt, Ohlberg scored with a quarterback keeper from the 1-yard line. He then found Bird in the end zone for the two-point conversion to put Gallatin up 23-7 with 3:19 left in the half. Maysville would not go away, however. They struck fast. Kris Gabbard scampered downfield for a 65-yard run to get the Wolverines to the 4-yard line. And Walker Tracy finished the job with a 4-yard touchdown. The snap was fumbled on the conversion, leaving the score Gallatin 23, Mayville 13 with 2:44 left in the half.
Maysville forced Gallatin to punt with about 30 seconds left. The kick was a short punt that Brayden Watkins fielded and ran back to the Bulldogs' 14-yard line. However, he was stripped of the ball, which Gallatin recovered. The Bulldogs took a knee, leading at the half 23-13.
In the third, Maysville would respond when Parker Sollars scored on a 24-yard touchdown reception. The PAT was mishandled, making it 23-19 Gallatin. Gallatin would respond with another 4th down conversion. This time, Ohlberg would find Connor Michael on a catch and run to score on a 4th and goal from the 13. The PAT by Rainey made it 30-19 Gallatin with 1:06 left. Gallatin would hold that lead at the end of the 3rd.
Goodman said that the Bulldogs responded well after Maysville's opening drive. "We went to that 300. It's a heavy package that we do, and we just kept running it. And wherever they put #44 (Dillon Willis), I would call it the other way. My thought process is you take their best player out of the game, and he can't really affect it."
This was the 2nd touchdown of the game for the Bulldogs on a 4th down conversion and the 3rd drive with a critical 4th down conversion. Goodman said about the conversions, "It was really good to see adversity. That's good. We didn't see that last year. We battled a lot of things. It was good to get that taste out of our mouths tonight."
Carson Bray would come in for Kris Gabbard at quarterback and drive the Wolverines down the field. Walker Tracy capped it off with a 7-yard touchdown run. Kaleb Watkins added the two-point conversion, and the Wolverines only trailed 30-27 with 7:04 left.
The Wolverines stopped Gallatin on a quarterback sack on a 4th and 11 at the Maysville 28 with 2:53 left in the game. This would give Maysville one last shot to tie or take the lead. Maysville got down to the 24 on a Walker Tracy run of 18 yards with 1:13 left in the game. But Gallatin stopped them on the following 3 plays and left them with a 39-yard field goal attempt with four seconds left. Mac White's attempt was online but fell short of the goalposts to end the game.
In college and NFL games, the decision to kick the field goal in the situation would be automatic. But kicking can be an adventure in high school football, especially for Class 1 schools. It was not an easy decision for Coach Addison. "We came down to the wire with a kicking decision. Where it was either to go for it for the win or to kick it. Something obviously that is unfamiliar for our team and Maysville to kick field goals. So I was told I would go down in legendary history to kick the field goal."
Goodman was complimentary of Ryker Whetstone, who made two big tackles to keep the Wolverines from having a more manageable field goal attempt. "That was really big. We wide our D-ends right there at the end. As a sophomore, Ryker made those two big tackles. It was good to see him step up for sure."
It was a significant victory for the Bulldogs, who had a challenging season last year, winning only one game. This win not only marked a promising start to their season but also a significant milestone for Brock Goodman, who won his first game as a head coach.
Goodman was happy with the play of Jackson Ohlberg, who battled adversity last year, saying, "I am glad to see Jackson back. Jackson actually tore his ACL on this field last year. And so, to see him come back in a year and work the way he did in the weight room, rehab, and to be where he is now is a pretty cool story."
Gallatin is now 1-0 (1-0 in the GRC). They will host Marceline, who defeated Putnam County 33-7 in their GRC opener.
For Maysville, it was Coach Addison's first game. While they had some positive developments, they also made some key mistakes that cost them a chance at their first win. Coach Addison said, "We had a lot of success early on from our returning guys—Kris, Dillon, Brayden Watkins. They did well offensively. We tried to establish the run early and often, and then we can, pass the ball. I was very proud of what they were able to showcase and do early on and throughout the game in general."
Addison was complimentary with how the players fought adversity during the game. "I think that shows the character of the team and the program in general. Where there's adversity, you are either going to meet it, or you're going to lay down. I think our team met adversity, and we fought against it."
Addison added that they need to work on fixing mistakes with more repetitions. "Offensively, we had some breakdowns due to having to play third- and fourth-string quarterbacks due to some injuries and bumps. Obviously, that is the nature of football. It's bound to happen. So giving them more repetitions and more time to learn from these errors and mistakes. Comes along side with fatigue."
Addison said he is proud to be the head coach of Maysville's program and looks forward to the rest of the season.
Maysville is 0-1 (0-1 in the GRC). They will travel to Brookfield, who defeated Trenton 35-14 in their GRC opener.
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