Class 2A has been wild this year with a revolving door of teams vying for the top few spots in our rankings and once against in Week 9, the status quo was shaken. Pierce County took down Toombs County, who just the week before beat #2 Appling County, and the key player offensively in the victory was junior Caden McGatha.
The junior rushed the ball over 30 times for 200 yards while also being efficient passing the football for several big gains. McGatha’s impressive Week 9 performance earned him Player of the Week honors on the website and shows the kind of determination the junior has displayed throughout the season, and helped his team to the #3 spot in Class 2A.
“This season has been full of excitement and success, we have been working super hard all year and we are seeing the results we expect, we have been extremely blessed by the Lord this season,” McGatha said.
We are down the stretch of the 2023 regular season, and two games remaining for Pierce. With a three-way tie for first place in the region, the final two games will have major playoff implications. However, McGatha is more concerned is on the task at hand.
“Our goal for this year has been to win every week each week at a time, and we will continue to do that every week till the end.”
The Pierce County junior has added a bigger aerial attack for Pierce County this year throwing for 988 yards completing 77 of 116 attempts and 13 touchdowns. You have to be impressed with just 3 interceptions too. The junior is even more dangerous on the ground rushing for 140 yards per game on just 117 carries and 8 touchdowns.
In total, McGatha has accumulated almost 1500-yards of offense and 21 touchdowns on the season. The junior attributes his jump in play to a number of improvements but would still like to sharpen up his ball security.
“I need to improve the most at being the best teammate and leader I can be on and off the field every week, and on the field, I need to work on my ball security, I have had some fumbles in key parts of the game where we need to go ahead and punch it in early to set the tone of the game,” he said.
Still, the junior resolve was instrumental in beating one of the toughest teams in 2A. McGatha took a pounding for those 33 carries, but just continued to push his team forward.
“My mindset on the field is to do whatever and anything I can do to put us in the best place to be able to win whenever the horn goes off in the 4th quarter,”
On the recruiting front, McGatha has yet to really start the process and has not taken any college visits. The three-sport athlete is still a new name to most recruiting circles, but he shows a lot of promise with good film, a hard worker in the weight room, and the desire to get better.
Those are the types of qualities you look for in a junior recruit, so McGatha is one to watch over the next year as the recruiting process continues to develop. So be sure to follow @RecruitGeorgia on Twitter/X to hear more about the Pierce County junior playmaker and athletes all over the state.
