Jeremy Coleman oversees Sports Information and Social Media at Putnam City High School. He is a 2007 graduate of Putnam City.

It’s been 22 years since Putnam City High School has advanced to the state semi-finals in football. For a one-time high school powerhouse, that’s quite a drought. In all honesty, 22 years isn’t exactly a lifetime, but this drought is old enough to drive, vote, and sit at the bar. So maybe it’s a quarter of a lifetime, but it is certainly past all the birthdays you count to. 

This week is the opening round of the 6A-II playoffs, and the Pirates won’t be taking the field. After an 8-2 regular season and a second-place finish in district 1, PC has a bye week and will face the winner of Muskogee and Northwest Classen next Friday night (Nov. 21) at Pirate Stadium.

No matter the outcome of that first-round game, Putnam City will be favored when they take the field to host their quarterfinal matchup. With a win, the drought immediately Benjamin Button’s it’s way back to infancy. It all seems so simple, a moment to just reach out and take. A moment that seemingly sits right at the tip of the Pirates’ sword. However, big moments like these are never made of that one moment. They are made of a thousand tiny moments before it. A symphony of notes that now find themselves leading into a climactic crescendo. 

So how exactly did we get here? One piece of the puzzle may have actually been there nearly the whole time. 

It’s a rite of passage and the mark of a successful year when a high school football team in Oklahoma gets to practice on Thanksgiving Day. For those of you keeping score at home, the last time the Pirates practiced on Thanksgiving Day it was the year of our lord 2003. A quick scan of that ‘03 roster you would find the name of a then little known freshman offensive lineman Jerrod Gatz. 

As is the story with most linemen, even the best ones, they aren’t the names you remember.  Most guys who play center, guard, or tackle don’t have the marketing prowess of Jason Kelce. Think about it. When folks look back on those strong PC teams of the early 2000s, they recall names like NFL record holder Bryan McCann, or speedster Le’Otist Gordon, or the menacing presence that was David Tate. I doubt many would recall the name of a o-lineman like Gatz. 

Nevertheless, there is a key to football that any real student of the game could attest to. No matter what weapons you have at the skill positions, football comes down to the trenches. Control the line of scrimmage, and you control the outcome. A good offensive lineman may not be the name that gets brought up during those late-night bar reunions, but make no mistake, success would have been failure without him. 

Now back to that Gatz kid. Fast-forwarding past the fall of ‘03, the then Freshman would go on to have a successful football and wrestling career at Putnam City. While he wouldn’t practice football on Thanksgiving again during his final 3 years of high school, he carved out quite a path. Gatz was named All-Around Male Athlete his senior year in 2007. At the end of his high school career, he committed to UCO on a wrestling scholarship and a year later transferred to SNU to play football. While a student at SNU, Gatz acquired his undergraduate and master’s degrees and then went on to become a Certified Athletic Trainer. Then, of course, like any loyal, hard-working, team-first lineman, that journey brought him right back to Putnam City High School. 

Gatz would spend the better part of the next decade heading up PC’s Sports Medicine program. It was there he would simply put his head down and do the job every day, like he has always done, learning as much as he could during the process. 

In 2021, when then PC Athletic Director Eddie Wright stepped away to lead athletics for Oklahoma City Public Schools, it was Gatz that got the nod from Putnam City administrators to lead Pirate Athletics. It was a silent rise into a historical seat once sat in by legendary high school basketball coach AD Burtschi. It was a rise that seemed unexpected and yet expected all at the same time. 

I called Gatz earlier this week to talk about the precipice that the Pirates stand on, and to congratulate him on the success he has cultivated at his alma mater. What followed was a string of what most would classify as “coach speak.” You know what I’m talking about. Classics like, “It’s all about the team.” And, “I couldn’t do this without so-and-so.” And, “I just come in and work hard because that’s all I know how to do.” And his personal favorite, “I’m just an offensive lineman at heart.”

Now, I would never say that it’s necessarily inauthentic when we hear coaches or athletic folks talk like this. That may be a little harsh. I would just say most of the time it comes off rehearsed. Yet, with Jerrod Gatz I know better. It’s as genuine as the leather on a pair of good boots. 

You may be wondering how I know that? Welp, I’m really glad you asked. Remember when I mentioned earlier about that drought being old enough to grab a beer? Well, my friendship with Jerrod Gatz is that drought’s older brother. It’s on the downhill slope of its 20’s and careening like a comet towards 30. 25+ years to be exact. That’s like mortgage and kids territory (yikes). 

The thing so many people don’t realize is that Gatz has always been that hard worker. He has always had that offensive lineman mentality. He puts in the work no one else wants to do when no one is looking. I have watched him sweep countless gym floors, stock concession stands, and drag more chairs around than a mega church intern. Gatz always redirects the clout and recognition to his staff, the coaches, and most importantly the students. He never wants to speak publicly, he never wants to be noticed, he just wants to work. 

At PC High, the Pirate analogies flow freely to describe day-to-day operations and positions. It may be one of my favorite things about the culture there. As I think about his role, Gatz is certainly the captain of the athletics ship. Managing budgets, personnel decisions, operations, and day-to-day challenges. Make no mistake, the buck stops on his desk. However, if you were to spend a day on The Ship, what you would come to realize is that Gatz works like a deckhand. Doing the grunt work to make things run smoother and more efficiently. To make others’ lives just a little better. 

He’s gonna hate this article. (Sorry buddy you know I love you.)

As one of my best friends I can say with certainty that Jerrod Gatz is an anomaly. He is a true servant leader with a heart for his community and the place that raised him. And because of that, 22 years of waiting may very well be bookended… by The Deckhand Captain.