GHS foundation in place, Roberts says

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GHS foundation in place, Roberts says

Sports

Thursday, 18 November 2010 09:07

By Ken Jackson
Sports Writer
A 40-6 loss to St. Cloud on Friday put the wraps on Gateway’s second-straight 2-8 season, but Coach Marlin Roberts said it’s been a process just putting in a foundation for future success.
“My first year (2009) we were just like a new school, I don’t think we had five guys who had played varsity,” he said. “This year, we played a lot of freshmen and sophomores because they were our most talented players.”
The youth showed on Friday, Roberts said.
“We’re still making mistakes that young players will give you,” he said. “It was mostly about field position for us; ours was all bad in the first half, although we drove the length of the field at the end of the first half, we just couldn’t get that last play into the end zone before time ran out.”
Showing the promise that the young Panthers hold, sophomore quarterback Anthony Rodriguez hooked up with junior tight end David Jerome on a 16-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter. Rodriguez played quite a bit this year as starter Roger Allen spent time down with ankle and knee injuries.
Zack Smith, a sophomore, was the leading receiver (21 catches, 234 yards, 1 TD).
“Zack and Theo Belhonne are sophomores who are developing into offensive threats,” Roberts said. “You could see the progress this year in the kids who are coming back. Except for Roger, we return all of our impact players.”
Four offensive linemen, including freshman center Johnpaul Sanchez, return. Another freshman, defensive end Jaquan Owens, recorded a sack on Friday for the third game in a row. Four of the top five tacklers, linebackers Jordan Spence (junior) and Troy Sexton (sophomore) and cornerbacks Smith and Bryan Rosa (junior) also return.
“The foundation is now there,” Roberts said. “Now we’ve got to keep building and make progress.”
The Panthers, the county’s lone Class 6A school the past two years, may drop to 5A next year.