By Ken Jackson
Sports Writer

For the third year in a row, Gateway and Poinciana will open the regular season against each other when the two meet Friday at Eagle Field at 7:30 p.m.

The winning team will be the one that recovers most from their disappointing Kickoff Classics, which were moved up due to Hurricane Irene.

Gateway lost to Port Orange Atlantic, 28-14, on Thursday, and Poinciana played scoreless halves against Citrus and Cypress Creek on Aug. 24.

After its game, GHS Coach Marlin Roberts said he was  unhappy about the team’s mistakes as he walked off the field.

“It wasn’t as bad when we watched the film afterward,” he said. “It showed we need to establish the run more. What hurt were the no-so-smart things we did, like penalties on third downs that gave them first downs. We’re going to need to get the defense off the field this week to win.”

The Panthers had 130 yards of rushing on 26 attempts, led by Efrem Mitchell (8-85).

“(Mitchell) showed he can make some plays,” Roberts said.

Gateway’s defense held Atlantic scoreless in the second half; each team’s backups played most of the fourth quarter.

“We needed to see if we can get some more depth, use some other guys and get our core guys off the field,” Roberts said. “We had some number twos who made some plays in the fourth quarter.”

Sophomore Jonathan Goldwire led the defense with 12 tackles, eight solos.

Poinciana Coach Cory Fleming said he enjoyed his defense’s  shutout – but the one produced by his offense troubles him.

“I’m happy with the defense, but we have a lot to work on,” he said. “Everyone is healthy and we had a pretty good practice (Monday), hopefully that will be the attitude for the rest of the week. We are really trying to show people we are doing something different.”

Roberts said that a normal week of preparation would be a blessing – and fully necessary to win on Friday.

“I need the lightning to stay away,” he said Monday. “There’s no doubt in my mind they’re better than I remember from last year. People talk about Poinciana as being down, but we’ve gone down to the wire the last two years. Their problems are like ours, with depth.

“They have the players. (Receiver Joey) DeComo’s like a dart, and that No. 77 (lineman Darius Bladek) is a man.”

A Poinciana win wouldsnap the Eagles’ current 16-game losing streak, and the 1-0 start would be its first since 2001.

Fleming is optimistic.

“We feel like we can score against (GHS),” he said. “We are challenging our kids to focus on us and get better at what we’re trying to do. We’re making personnel changes to try to put the best guys on the field. We are sticking to our plan to be aggressive on offense and defense.”

Gateway won the last two of these matchups, coming from behind to score two late touchdowns in 2009 and winning a 36-35 double overtime affair last year.

The game does not count in district play. Gateway plays in 7A District 6 against the other Osceola County programs, while Poinciana will compete in 5A-7.