MACON, Ga. — "Football players, young men don't talk about loving each other very often, right?"
ACE football head coach Keith Hatcher probably has a point there.
But loving each other is something the Gryphons talk about quite a bit now, and it's all thanks to one of Hatcher's former players at Mount de Sales, Indiana University quarterback Dexter Williams II.
"He came home after he had been up there for a few months and brought me a shirt that said 'LEO' on it," Hatcher said. "I said, 'What is LEO?' and he said, 'Coach, you wouldn't believe how impactful LEO is on our football team. Everyone on our team loves each other. If you don't, you're not allowed in the locker room.'"
Now, LEO is at the center of the Gryphons' culture, which Coach Hatcher admits was missing when he was hired at ACE last year.
"When I first came here, the program was really new, so we had not had an opportunity to really build culture yet," Hatcher said. "We've really focused on that the last two years."
"I felt like a lot of individuals rather than a team," senior quarterback Kaleb Scarbary said. "You don't really know how crucial that is until you get it and you realize how much things change. We were definitely missing that before, and it's great to have it now."
Banners, t-shirts and wristbands remind the Gryphons of their new motto.
But what is LEO, after all, and why does it matter?
"It's a lot easier to fight for the guy next to you on Friday nights when he feels like family and feels like a brother," Scarbary said.
"You love the guys next to you, you play harder for them," Hatcher said. "You hold each other accountable on and off the field. You build a tighter relationship within your team."
Sure, it might've taken some getting used to, but now, ACE winning in the locker room is translating to ACE winning on the field in 2023.
"That's definitely a big reason for our success," Scarbary said. "We all love each other, we're all very close, we have the chemistry at an all-time high. It just makes winning and executing on Friday nights easier."
The Gryphons knew they were ready to take the next step as a program.
All they needed was each other.
"Individuals go out and play the game, but championship teams are built around a group of guys that work together, play together, encourage each other, push each other," Hatcher said. "LEO, loving each other really ties into that, and our guys are truly there for each other in good times and bad."
The Gryphons (3-0) host Jordan (0-2) on Friday night in Macon.