About The Eatonton messenger. (Eatonton, Ga.) 18??-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 21, 2025)
George Patton On, Sept. 19, 1964, a muggy night in Tusca loosa, Ala., Joe Namath lined up under center for the first series, called for the snap, and dropped back to throw. As soon as he set up in the pocket, George Patton was in his face and threw the heralded Tide All-Amer ican for a nine-yard loss. Sitting in the press box beside the irrepressible Dan Magill, I had trouble restraining myself in that no-cheering environment. Patton, the cornerstone of the Vince Dooley era, returned to his home state (he grew up in Tuscumbia, 119 miles north of the Alabama campus) confi dent the Bulldogs would win. Unfortunately, Patton’s sack of Namath was the highlight of the evening for UGA partisans as the home team won 31-3 and went on to win the national championship. The fact that Patton believed the Bulldogs could win the game reflected his competitive confidence. He never failed to believe his team could win. He never embraced or accepted losing. More often than not, he was right and when big things happened on the field during his era, he either made it happen or was the catalyst that brought it about. Patton came to Athens as the third brother in his family to play South- eastern Conference football — Huston had played for Ole Miss and James at Alabama. The youngest Patton was a strong-armed quarter- back, but otherwise had little distinction. George, however, was quick and agile, which would prove to be his ticket to starting status and becoming a two-time All-American. George arrived in Athens in 1963 when Johnny Griffith was in his last year as the Bull dogs’ coach, and No. 76 was ineligible to play as a freshman. When the Dooley staff came to town, some of the seasoned players were capable and competent. They appreciated the core fundamentals of the game and were adept at blocking and tackling. Dooley’s youthful brain trust placed a premium on finding players with the consummate desire and passion to play. Initially, they did not know where to put the sanguine Alabamian. Fortuitously, he caught the eye of canny defensive coordinator Erskine Russell, who coveted George’s speed, quickness, and on the field smarts, a perceptive competitor who often knew what the opposing quarterback was thinking. When the head coach reviewed the defensive tackle idea with Patton, he grinned and said, “Coach I don’t care where I line up, I just want to play.” That was the essence of George Patton, nick named “The General,” for old “Blood and Guts” of World War II fame. UGA’s Patton loved the game of football and never played a down in which he did not give his best, becoming the master of “big plays” his MORE PATTON > B3 Thursday August 21, 2025 he Lance McCurley lance@msgrnews.com Putnam County relied on a strong running game last Friday night to defeat Greene County 42-15 in the season opener for both teams. Running backs Omarion Butts and Kumari Thomas made the biggest impact, accounting for most of the War Eagles’ rushing yards and touchdowns in the lopsided win at home in Eatonton. Putnam head coach Joel Harvin said he thought Butts and Thomas were the difference against the Tigers. “Both of those guys are going to carry us all year long, and we’re looking forward to it,” Harvin said. Greene took a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter when tail- back Dontriel Grable scored on the ground. Putnam quickly responded, however, as quar terback Ethan Whatley threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to tight end Bryson Brown. MORE PUTNAM » B3 Loran Smith Columnist LANCE McCURLEY/Staff barine PEM Putnam County senior running back Omarion Butts (6) runs past a Greene County defender on his way to the end zone Putnam pounds Greene with ground game Gatewood falls to Flint River in season opener IAN TOCHER/Staff Gatewood quarterback Blake Brannen is somewhere in the middle of the crowd as he gets pushed across the goal line by teammates for the Gators' lone score on Friday night. Ki Ian Tocher ian@msgrnews.com The new-look Gatewood Gators got off to a rough start Friday night, falling 20-6 to the visiting Flint River Academy Wildcats out of Woodbury. Under hot, miserable, muggy conditions Flint River struck first with a diving touchdown at the 6:30 mark of the opening quarter, though they missed the extra point. The score remained stable until 3:59 of the second quarter when the Wildcats scored again on the ground from inside the 10 -yard line, but this time tacking on a PAT to make it 13-0 at halftime. Gators running back Brady Haley eventually made a couple of determined drives to get the ball to the Wildcats’ 1-yard line, where fellow sophomore Blake Brannen took over with a quarterback sneak to finally put Gatewood on the board with 7:53 left in the third. Just a couple of minutes later, junior wide receiver Drew Love came oh-so-close to making an extended, one-handed catch in the end zone, but just couldn’t make it stick. Following a half-hour delay for lightning protocol at the midpoint of the fourth quarter, the visitors put the game away with just 1:01 left, punching it in on the ground and tacking on the extra point for the 20-6 win. ‘We’ve got a young team, but we’re not going to make excuses. We’ve just got to get better,” Gatewood head coach Jeff Ratliff said following the game. “There were some things that we just didn’t adjust to that they did, and that’s on me. We’ve got to fix that kind of stuff and we have got to recog nize it quicker. MORE GATORS » B3
