Steve Gates, Cass head coach
Today’s interviewee is Cass coach Steve Gates, whose team defeated North Cobb 35-27 after losing to the Warriors 43-14 in 2024. Gates, in his sixth season at Cass, has led the Colonels to four consecutive playoff appearances. The current team is 3-1. Gates is a former McEachern and Georgia offensive lineman.
1. Big turnaround against North Cobb from one year to the next. What happened in the game, and what was the difference? “They absolutely beat us up last year and were faster than us in all aspects. Our kids knew it, admitted it and felt it after the game. They found out what it takes in the weight room to play with a team as physical and fast as North Cobb. To the players’ credit, they took that to heart all offseason in the weight room. All week we preached that if we can match their speed and physicality and do it with more discipline than they do, then we’ll be in the game in the fourth quarter, and that’s exactly what happened. I thought we played extremely physical and matched their speed and we had no turnovers and less penalties than they did. That was the difference in the game. They don’t have the fumbles and a few less penalties and the outcome may have been different. They’re a really good football team and well coached. All the stars aligned for us that night.”
2. Your quarterback, Mississippi State commit Brodie McWhorter, had a big game [17-of-22 passing for 210 yards and three touchdowns] What's his skill set? “This may sound crazy but he’s a hybrid pocket passer and dual-threat type of quarterback – meaning he can drop back with the best quarterbacks in the country and read progressions and he can also tuck it and get us 15 yards on a scramble. He is sneaky fast. We don’t call many QB runs, which is why I don’t label him a true dual threat. His mental aspect is beyond his years. We could turn a series over to him and he could call his own plays and go score. Bottom line, he can do it all, and he will showcase that in the SEC in the next few years at Mississippi State.”
3. Your 2024 team was ranked No. 8 going into the North Cobb game but unraveled against a tough schedule but also the season-ending loss to McWhorter, who suffered a broken fibula and dislocated ankle in the fifth game against Hiram. What it was like losing a franchise player like that, and how did you make the best of it? “It was a very difficult night. As a head coach, you know who your guys are that are tough as nails and will get banged up and still get up. When Brodie stayed down after that play, I knew it was bad. We all had to shift gears and move some players around. That’s what some people don’t see. They see it as we lost our quarterback, but we also lost at the time the 4A leader in receiving yards after that game because Elijah Slocum had to go play quarterback the rest of the season. So essentially, we lost two elite players on one play. Elijah did a phenomenal job at a position he wasn’t comfortable in and led us to the playoffs. Brodie made the best of the situation like I’ve never seen before. Besides the week after surgery, he didn’t miss a practice or an event, even though his season was over. He was there coaching and helping everyone wherever he could. But most importantly, he took the time away from playing to absolutely kill it in the weight room. He gained 15 pounds of pure muscle, and it’s already showing this season. He’s bigger, stronger and faster and, to be honest, he’s a little ticked off, which is a good thing for us.”
4. Your teams’ won-lost records over the past few years probably haven't reflected the quality of teams you’ve had. [Gates’ record at Cass is 32-29, though he won the school’s first playoff game in 40 years in 2023.] A few tight losses and one of the toughest regions have conspired to produce some battle scars. How does this year's team compare to some of the others? “The best way I can answer this is that I never want to go 10-1. To me, that’s not preparing your players and coaches for the playoffs. That happened to me personally playing for Coach [Jimmy] Dorsey at McEachern. We went 10-1. In the years following, he started to schedule the Valdostas and LaGranges of the world. So I try to schedule the toughest non-region games I can to challenge our program. If we get punched in the mouth, so be it. The last several years, we’ve had 7-8 of our 10 regular-season games against playoffs teams from the previous year. I want our kids to not only be challenged but learn how to fight through adversity and, frankly, learn how to lose. In life as adults, we lose all the time, I want our players to know how to deal with that and how to learn from life’s challenges. Trusting this process, our kids play fearless every Friday night. They don’t care who is ranked what or who has what players. They know they’ve already seen or played against as good or better because of the way we schedule.
"It's always hard to compare teams. I would say we’ve had teams in the past that were more top-heavy talented, but this team plays together and for each other better than we’ve ever had. I attribute that to having very few move-ins, we have no ‘me’ guys. I believe we’ve had three players in my six years move in after ninth grade and start for us. Which means most all of our kids are Cass kids, played Cass middle or enrolled starting ninth grade. Depth is nowhere close to where I want it, but it’s getting better by the year. They’re fun to coach. They have great personalities and keep this staff entertained on and off the field.”
