Local Story on Boo Boo Gates--Moving, Must Read

If you want to get an idea of the kind of player Coach Clawson is bringing to BG, check out this local story about Jerry Gates of Middletown.  He had been academically ineligible as a sophomore and his grades as a junior did not make him eligible for a scholarship.  Then, his father was killed in a motorcycle accident.  From here, Rick McCrabb of the Middletown Journal takes over.

And Gates grew up.

“I decided to live my life through my father,” Gates said after the ceremony. “I had to do something if I wanted to get out of here.”

MHS Principal Dennis Newell called Gates “immature” as a junior, but one of the team leaders as a senior.

“His growth was amazing,” Newell said. “He kicked it in.”

His mother added: “He stepped up real fast.”

Faster than his 40 time.

The first semester, while some seniors chose “soft” courses, Gates took six core subjects — two science and two English classes, and social studies and math — and aced every one. He raised his grade point average from under 2.00 to 2.83, said Jason Krause, Middie football coach. Krause credited Gates, tutors and teachers for turning around his academic performance.

He became eligible to earn a scholarship to a NCAA school.

 Finally....

As Gates signed his letter of intent, his mother — wearing his father’s leather motorcycle vest — cried like, well, a proud mother.

Amen, brother.  Welcome to the Falcons.