Terrence Griffin rushed for 133 yards and three touchdowns, and St. Cloud’s defense forced three turnovers as the Bulldogs won their annual rivalry game with Gateway, 46-0, in a game played at Hickory Tree Park.
“After last week’s game with Osceola (a 49-3 loss), we really needed a performance like this,” St. Cloud coach Mike Short said as his team improved to 3-3. “Being Homecoming, it was a great atmosphere tonight and I think our kids fed off of that energy. We were solid in all three phases of the game.”
St. Cloud came out firing on offense, as Alex Springs returned the opening kickoff to midfield. Three consecutive plays resulted in a first and goal from the nine and Griffin carried it over three plays later for a 7-0 lead.
Gateway would move the ball 64 yards on its first possession, but a holding penalty stalled the drive out and the Panthers would be forced to punt.
“Pretty much the story of our season,” Gateway coach Marlin Roberts said. “We are playing with so many young players and young players are going to make mistakes. Every time we take two steps forward, it seems like we follow it with three steps back. It’s just frustrating some times.”
On St. Cloud’s next possession, a quick slant to from Logan King to Springs went for 45-yards and a touchdown as the Bulldogs pushed the lead to 14-0.
Roberts’ frustration was never more apparent two possessions later, when his defense sacked King and forced a fumble. But neither player who was in on the sack realized the ball was loose within arm’s length and King eventually recovered to keep possession. On Gateway’s next drive, the Panthers drove inside the Bulldog 35, only to throw an interception in the end zone.
A series later after Griffin broke loose on a 62-yard touchdown to make it a 21-0, Gateway again drove the ball inside the 35, only to see St. Cloud’s Bryce Williams rip the ball out of running back Joshua Fuller’s hands and race 70 yards for another touchdown. After a short Gateway punt, Adrian Gonzalez booted a 42-yard field goal at the buzzer as St. Cloud took a 32-0 lead into the locker room at the half.
Griffin’s third touchdown of the game, this time on a 16-yard run midway through the third quarter, pushed the lead to 39-0 and initiated a running clock. Late in the fourth quarter, Jonathan Morales would put a stamp on the win with a 16-yard touchdown run. Morales finished the game with 69 yards on nine carries.
St. Cloud outgained Gateway 354-173. Christian Charity (10-72) and Joshua Fuller (12-73) let the Panthers in rushing.
Despite the lopsided win for his team, Short had praise for the Panthers. “They are young and they made some mistakes, but Coach Roberts has some pretty good players on that team. (Charity) is a load and tough to bring down. As they get some experience, they are going to be a tough team to handle in the future.”
Gateway (0-6) will travel to undefeated Lake Wales (6-0) for a District 3S-8 game next week. St. Cloud scheduled a replacement game for a contest lost earlier in the year to a September thunderstorm. They will play Tru Prep Academy (0-4) from Miami on Thursday night.
