With head coach Patrick Treece on one side and an assistant on the other, Gallatin quarterback Peyton Baker was carried to the sideline in the first half of Gallatin’s district championship game at Hamilton on Friday night.
With Gallatin already in the hole, trailing by double digits, it’s more than likely the Hornets would have still wound up as the Class 1, District 7 champions anyway. But with Baker sidelined, Gallatin’s leading receiver — Payton Feiden — was forced to come in under center. Without Baker and Feiden in his traditional position, Gallatin’s offense was bogged down. By the time the Bulldogs finally cracked the end zone for the first time all night, it was the fourth quarter and they trailed 40-0.
“Obviously that is not the way we want to go out,” Treece said. “We feel like we are a better football team than what we showed tonight. Things were already not going well in the first quarter when we lost our quarterback to injury. The boys continued to fight throughout the entire game but we just couldn’t get much going. Hamilton is a good football team and flat outplayed us in the cold and wind. We wish them success as they continue on in the playoffs.”
Hamilton punched the ball in the end zone twice in the opening frame, scoring both touchdowns within two minutes. Even while Baker was in the game, Gallatin found offense hard to come by. Feiden kept Gallatin in the game, grabbing a pair of fumble recoveries in the second quarter, but Hamilton scored twice more, taking a commanding 27-0 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
Early in the third quarter Hamilton scored again to push the lead to 33-0 and the writing was on the wall for the Bulldogs. A 45-yard touchdown run later in the frame stretched the lead to 40-0.
Rodell Sperry got Gallatin’s only points of the game, scoring on a one-yard run and running in the 2-point conversion with 2:57 left in the game. That would be it, though as Gallatin’s next offensive possession resulted in a safety to give the game its final margin of 42-8.
Despite the unceremonious end to the year, Gallatin had a strong season that saw the team win 10 games, finishing 10-3 overall. Within the Grand River Conference there was no team better as the Bulldogs captured the outright league title with a 6-1 showing. It was Gallatin’s first title since 2019 and their first outright crown since 2006. It was the 12th time Gallatin collected at least a share of the conference championship.
“One game does not define us or the season that we had,” Treece said. “We were able to capture the outright GRC Championship and be district runners-up. Those are things that hadn’t been done here for a long time. We took steps in the right direction as far as improving as a football program and are fortunate to bring the majority of our core players back next year. I am extremely proud of our season and excited to get back after it next year.”
Gallatin will certainly have the pieces in place to defend their title next season, too. Running backs Jagger Gray and Sperry will graduate as will some key players on the line like Draygan Schweizer, Carson Lang, Garrett Dungy and Tre King. But Baker will be back at quarterback and his top targets, Feiden and Isaac Bird, were both just juniors this season. That will make Gallatin a strong contender again next year.