Gateway on the Prowl: Panthers Look to Make Their Mark In and Around Osceola in 2026

By: J. Daniel Pearson
Positively Osceola

In 2025, Gateway experienced its best season in almost a decade – winning five games and qualifying for a bowl game. The Panthers hope to build on that momentum this year, as they return to district play.

Gateway, who played the last two seasons as an independent, was originally scheduled to play in the same district as state powers Lakeland and Osceola. Upon appeal, they were placed in Class 6A with county rivals Tohopekaliga, St. Cloud and Harmony. “It’s not going to be easy by any stretch of the imagination, but our original placement would have made it incredibly difficult for us to have any chance to be competitive,” Roberts said. “This new district is not only a lot more representative of our level but also is much better in terms of travel.”

What was probably most impressive about last year is that Roberts – the Dean of Osceola County Head Coaches entering his 18^th season — and the Panthers won five games with an extremely young team and most of those players are returning for the upcoming campaign.

The big gun is junior running back Nydrell Thigpen, who amassed 1600 all-purpose yards and scored 16 touchdowns– despite playing injured for part of the season. Thigpen (1383) became the first Panther running back since Philip Bangura in 2019 to gain 1000 rushing yards in the regular season and also has shown the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield – averaging more than 10 yards a catch on 20 receptions. Running back Honor Kim also returns. The senior rushed for 455 yards last season and will take a lot of the pressure off Thigpen. Johnny Reyes II returns (9-103) as the team’s top wide receiver.

A big key to the season will be the further development of quarterback Aristotle Span Jr. The junior started last season, completing 52.9% of his passes for 577 yards and six touchdowns. Last year he tended to be a little indecisive with the ball, something Roberts hopes will improve after another off-season and training camp.

Gateway graduated most of its offensive line from a year ago and that unit remains a concern. Markell Solomon and Jesiah Hilbert are the two top returning offensive linemen. “We played a lot of musical chairs in the spring, moving players around and will continue to do so in the fall camp,” Roberts said. “It will be imperative that we find a combination that will work for us.”

Depth was an issue for the Panthers as Thigpen, Kim and Reyes were three of several starters that had to go both ways. Several transfers could bolster the roster. Although overall depth at Gateway continues to improve, the Panthers will most likely have several two-way players again this season.

The defensive backfield returns mostly intact, with Reyes being joined by Jadrriell Cedano and Nathan Cadogen as dependable defenders.

One huge blow came with Division-1 prospect Dory Thimote announced his intentions to transfer to Osceola for his junior season. Thimote was tremendous on the defensive line, racking up 12 quarterback sacks, 21 tackles-for-loss and 33 quarterback hurries; while also scoring six touchdowns from as the team’s starting tight end.

“Our talent and depth the last couple of seasons has improved greatly, but obviously we would like to be better in that category,” Roberts says. “When you have to start four, five or six players on both sides of the ball you tend to wear down in the fourth quarter and any injuries during the season become magnified.”

Gateway Panthers (6A, District 5)

Coach: Marlin Roberts

2025 Record (5-6)

8/14 University^ 7 p.m.

8/21 Bye Week

8/28 Lake Minneola 7 p.m.

9/4 at Colonial 7 p.m.

9/11 at Harmony* 7 p.m.

9/18 at Poinciana 7 p.m.

9/24 at Nova Lakes 7 p.m.

10/2 St. Cloud* 7 p.m.

10/9 Tohopekaliga* 7 p.m.