25 Teams in 25 Days: Gautier Gators
We are officially ten days away from that high school football whistle blowing for week zero’s jamboree matchups. One team eager to hit the gridiron are those Gautier Gators, who are determined to get over that South State hump and end the season carrying that golden ball
“Family. It’s all it’s ever been is family,” said Head Football Coach Marc High. “We’ve always tried to build something here and I think we’re on our way. We’re not to the end point we’re trying to get to right now but I think we’re done a good job working to get to that goal.”
“We’re all on the same agenda. We all have chemistry so we know what we can do. Everyone can score and it’s like a brotherhood,” said junior running back Solomon Baggett. “Our offensive lineman did a big one last year. We went from not running the ball because we were air raid to running the ball a lot, so that just turned everything around.
Brayden Jackson, senior OLB/DE:
“I feel like my position is really important for my defensive scheme. I make sure to contain the outside and that nothing gets outside of me,” said senior outside linebacker and defensive end. “Myself and number 11, Fredrick Nicholson, we’re kind of co-captains with it. We both play linebacker and both do a great job at that.”
This season, the Gautier High School football program is expected to stay dominant on the offensive side of the ball with eight returners on offense and being led by quarterback Trey Irving, running back Solomon Baggett, and wide receiver Kainen Rush. The defense on the otherhand only has four returners, but Coach High says they have a good core nucleus in the form of Brayden Jackson, Fredrick Nickleson, and Deontrius Hye.
“We’ve got a really good senior class with some really good leaders, and they know how to push. They’ve been in the big games and they know how to push the young ones and the young ones are really buying in on it,” said Coach High. “We’re excited and everyone’s ready for the season.”
Being a leader is an honor and priviledge, but it also comes with some pressure and sacrifices.
“Being a leader is everything to me because you know they’re looking up to you, so every little thing you do, they’ll do after you which means you’ve got to go hard everyday,” said Baggett. “You can’t slack because you know they’ll slack if they see you slacking.”
“I played left tackle last year and was number 55, so I’ve switched from offense to defense again,” said Jackson. “It was really more of a sacrifice. They asked me to do it and I did whatever the team needed me to do to win. I’m really a winning guy and not big on myself. I’m really unselfish.”
The Gators do ultimately have a tradition of winning and making it far in the postseason, but an obstacle they’ve faced back to back years is the South State Championship.
“It just encourages me to want to go harder because we keep going back to back and we don’t want to keep going home after South State. We’ve got bigger goals,” said Baggett.“
“I really try to not look too far in the future. I’m really in the moment,” Jackson said. “It is important, but I need to focus on today.”
“We take that 1-0 mentality,” said Coach High. “When the next team shows up, that week, that’s the one we’re worried about. RIght now we’re just 1-0. We tell the kids to get one percent better every day you touch this field. If you do that, by the season gets here, non-district, district, playoffs and all that, you should be leaps and bounds better.”
As they continue to get one percent better, they plan to leave no doubt of exiting The Swamp.
“This year our motto is leave no doubt. Leave no doubt that you left it all on that field on a Friday night for your school, your community, your family, and yourself,” said Coach High.
The first field they strive to leave no doubt on is Harrison Central’s as they hit the road for their first regular season game on August 30th.
