Bowling Green School’s Buccaneers suffered a 34-18 loss to Gateway (Ga.) in the Southeastern Commission of Independent Schools Kickoff Classic at the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Ala. in jamboree play on Saturday.
Bowling Green trailed 14-0 and then the Buccaneers got on the board against the defending Georgia Independent Schools Association Class AA Champion.
Rahaan Duke connected with Steven Scott Cooper on a 17-yard pass, trimming it to 14-6.
Each team scored once more in the first half.
Gateway went up 21-6 before Duke threw a 12-yard scoring pass to Cade Knight.
It was 21-12 at halftime.
Gateway tallied the second half’s first 13 points for a 34-12 advantage.
Bowling Green scored the game’s final touchdown when Narada McGill threw a touchdown pass to Cooper on a 64-yard connection to cap off the scoring.
“We stayed healthy for the most part,” Bowling Green School coach Riley Boudreaux said. “Saw some good things and saw some bad, but it’s better to see the bad stuff now to where we can fix it and clean it up before week one.”
The Buccaneers open the regular season Friday on the road against Cathedral Unit School.
“Cathedral coach (Chuck) Darbonne has done a great job,” Boudreaux said. “They’re big. They’ve got some great looking kids. Quarterback throws it well and runs it well. We’ll be in a dogfight week one and see what happens. We want to fix the mistakes and get this train rolling in the right direction.”
Cathedral, which is a Class AAAA team, is coming off of a 4-6 season.