By: J. Daniel Pearson
Positively Osceola
The Gateway Panthers delivered another commanding performance Friday night, shutting out Tohopekaliga 33-0 to secure their first winning season in a decade and keep their district championship hopes alive. The victory improved Gateway to 6-1 overall and 2-1 in district play, setting up a pivotal showdown with Lake Nona next week.
A heavy thunderstorm swept through Panther Field just 15 minutes before kickoff, leaving the playing surface soaked and creating challenging conditions for both teams. Tohopekaliga entered the contest averaging nearly 300 passing yards and 37 pass attempts per game.
Still, one would be hard-pressed to say the conditions played a deciding role in Gateway’s victory, as the Panthers dominated the contest in every way possible, setting up a potential shot at the district title when they face Lake Nona (6-1, 2-0) next week.
“With us being a running team and they being a passing team, I’m sure the rainy conditions helped us a little,” Panthers coach Marlin Roberts said. “But it should in no way take away from the individual and collective effort of these young men tonight. I was not sure what to expect this week after the hard-fought loss to St. Cloud last week (a 28-21 setback), but our kids came ready to play tonight.”
Both teams started the contest with long drives that ate up the entire first quarter and ended with zero points on the board. Tohopekaliga took the opening kickoff and picked up three first downs – driving to the Panther 25. But two errant quarterback snaps resulted in 15-yards of losses and eventually forced a Tigers punt.
Taking over on its own 20, Gateway marched 72 yards to the Toho 8, but then gained just four net yards on the next four plays – turning the ball over on downs.
Johnny Reyes put Gateway up 6-0 two plays later, interception Gabriel Valez and returning it 16 yards for a score.
The Panthers then extended the lead on their next possession, as Aristotle Span Jr, faked a handoff to Nydrell Thigpen, dropped back and found a wide-open Tavian Martinez for a 7-yard touchdown pass. Thigpen tacked on the two-point conversion and Gateway led 14-0.
Gateway put the game out of reach at the beginning of the third quarter. After returning a short kickoff to their own 40, Thigpen gained seven yards on three carries. On a fourth and three play, Span faked a handoff to Thigpen on the right side, did a 180 pivot and pitched the ball to Reyes – who took the reverse 53 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown and a 21-0 lead.
“For a second week in a row, our opponent was stacking the box with eight to stop Nydrell,” Roberts said. “But he kept pounding the rock for four or five yards on practically every carry. He not only wore them down but set up three of our other touchdowns, including the one on the reverse. When we can force opponents to spend so much time defending him, it sets up our other playmakers.”
Thigpen, who rushed for 98 yards on 26 carries, added a three-yard touchdown run to push the lead to 27-0; before Jesan Hernandez hauled in a 25-yard scoring pass from Span for the 33-0 final.
It was the second shutout of the season for the Panthers defense, that continues to surprise this season. Gateway has now allowed just 53 points in seven games. They limited Valez to just 75 passing yards on an 11 for 22 performance with two interceptions and two sacks.
Although Lake Nona will be heavily favored to win next week, Roberts says he is just happy to be playing meaningful football in October. “They (the Lions) took in a bunch of talented transfers and are a really good football team,” the Panthers coach said. “But our guys will be excited for the challenge. This team has a lot of pride.”
After getting off to a solid 4-1 start, the Tigers have now dropped their last two games.
With a victory over St. Cloud and a 63-0 win over Harmony on Friday, Lake Nona controls their own destiny and can clinch the district title with a win over Gateway on Friday. A Gateway upset would move the Panthers to 3-1 in the district and set up a possible three-way tie if Lake Nona defeats Tohopekaliga and St. Cloud beats Harmony.
In other county action on Friday night, Poinciana (5-2, 3-0) kept a firm hold on the Class 6A, District 9 race with a convincing 36-19 win over Davenport. St. Cloud (4-3) dropped a hard-fought 24-13 non-district game to Windermere and also lost the services of star player Jaden Taylor-Irons to a severe leg injury.
Osceola (3-5, 1-2) snapped a four-game losing streak with an 18-16 district win over a tough Auburndale (4-3, 0-3) team; Celebration (1-6, 0-2) was manhandled by Ocoee (4-3, 1-1), 63-0; first-year Nova Lakes (2-5) dropped a 42-0 decision to Oak Ridge; while Liberty (1-6, 1-1) lost to Mulberry (3-4, 2-1).
Week 8 Scores
Lake Nona 63, Harmony 0
Gateway 33, Tohopekaliga 0
Osceola 18, Auburndale 16
Poinciana 36, Davenport 19
Ocoee 63, Celebration 0
Oak Ridge 42, Nova Lakes 0
Windermere 24, St. Cloud 13
Mulberry 20, Liberty 0
