Aiden Morillo rushed for a career-high four touchdown,s and the Gateway defense posted its first shutout in five years as the Panthers took a 27-0 win over Liberty Monday night.
The District 3S-8 game was a make-up from Oct. 1 postponement from Hurricane Ian.
“We were able to accomplish what I thought we were capable of,” Gateway Coach Marlin Roberts said. “They (Liberty) are thin on numbers and are having a rough year. Still, you have to come out and play the game and I thought we did a pretty good job in all three phases.”
It was the Panthers first shutout since a 24-0 win over Haines City in 2017.
Despite the dominant win, Gateway did not get off to a great start offensively. Jamare Owens recovered a fumble on the Charger 34-yard line on opening kickoff but the Panthers went four-and-out on its first two drives during a scoreless first quarter.
Gateway would finally get on track on their next possession. Starting at the Liberty 33, freshman quarterback Elijah Aponte directed a 10-play drive that Morillo capped off with a seven-yard touchdown run. Gateway had to overcome several penalties and a bad pitch that lost five yards on the drive, but Aponte’s 19-yard completion to Josh Fuller on fourth-and-12- kept the drive alive.
Liberty would again turn the ball over on downs in Gateway territory again, and this time Morillo capped a six-play drive with another seven-yard run. Morillo rushed four times 30 yards on the drive to put Gateway up 14-0 at the half.
Returning the second half kickoff to midfield, the Panthers would need just five plays to drive 45 yards and take a 21-0 lead with Morillo taking it over from the 4. The key plays were Aponte pass completions of 24 and 14 yards to Yasin Muns.
Aponte completed 5-of-7 passes for 80 yards in the game. He regained the starting job when junior Eli Azize, who missed the first three games of the season with a leg injury was injured again in last week’s St. Cloud game.
“We have had a lot of player transitions and our playing a lot of young kiss, including starting a 15-year-old at quarterback. He’s going to make some mistakes, but he played well tonight and continues to learn,” Roberts said of his rookie quarterback.
Morillo’s fourth touchdown run of the game, a six-yard jaunt at the 1:26 mark of the third quarter, gave the Panthers a 27-0 lead. Aponte’s 17-yard completion to Mims on third-and-6 and an 18-yard run by Darius Young were the key plays in the drive.
Liberty (0-6 overall, 0-2 in districts), which has scored just one touchdown this season, put together an impressive drive in the fourth quarter. They kept the ball for 22 plays and all 12 minutes of the fourth quarter, driving from their own 29 to the Gateway 11. But a holding penalty and sack kept them out of the end zone as the Gateway preserved the shutout.
For the game, Liberty quarterback Jeremiah Pierre-Louis rushed for 53 yards and passed for 44. Morillo finished with 41 yards for the Panthers and promising sophomore running back Josh Fuller had 49 yards rushing.
The Panthers (2-3, 1-1) host undefeated district opponent Lake Wales (6-0) on Friday; while Liberty hosts Auburndale (2-2) in a district game.
Aiden Morillo rushed for a career-high four touchdown,s and the Gateway defense posted its first shutout in five years as the Panthers took a 27-0 win over Liberty Monday night.
The District 3S-8 game was a make-up from Oct. 1 postponement from Hurricane Ian.
“We were able to accomplish what I thought we were capable of,” Gateway Coach Marlin Roberts said. “They (Liberty) are thin on numbers and are having a rough year. Still, you have to come out and play the game and I thought we did a pretty good job in all three phases.”
It was the Panthers first shutout since a 24-0 win over Haines City in 2017.
Despite the dominant win, Gateway did not get off to a great start offensively. Jamare Owens recovered a fumble on the Charger 34-yard line on opening kickoff but the Panthers went four-and-out on its first two drives during a scoreless first quarter.
Gateway would finally get on track on their next possession. Starting at the Liberty 33, freshman quarterback Elijah Aponte directed a 10-play drive that Morillo capped off with a seven-yard touchdown run. Gateway had to overcome several penalties and a bad pitch that lost five yards on the drive, but Aponte’s 19-yard completion to Josh Fuller on fourth-and-12- kept the drive alive.
Liberty would again turn the ball over on downs in Gateway territory again, and this time Morillo capped a six-play drive with another seven-yard run. Morillo rushed four times 30 yards on the drive to put Gateway up 14-0 at the half.
Returning the second half kickoff to midfield, the Panthers would need just five plays to drive 45 yards and take a 21-0 lead with Morillo taking it over from the 4. The key plays were Aponte pass completions of 24 and 14 yards to Yasin Muns.
Aponte completed 5-of-7 passes for 80 yards in the game. He regained the starting job when junior Eli Azize, who missed the first three games of the season with a leg injury was injured again in last week’s St. Cloud game.
“We have had a lot of player transitions and our playing a lot of young kiss, including starting a 15-year-old at quarterback. He’s going to make some mistakes, but he played well tonight and continues to learn,” Roberts said of his rookie quarterback.
Morillo’s fourth touchdown run of the game, a six-yard jaunt at the 1:26 mark of the third quarter, gave the Panthers a 27-0 lead. Aponte’s 17-yard completion to Mims on third-and-6 and an 18-yard run by Darius Young were the key plays in the drive.
Liberty (0-6 overall, 0-2 in districts), which has scored just one touchdown this season, put together an impressive drive in the fourth quarter. They kept the ball for 22 plays and all 12 minutes of the fourth quarter, driving from their own 29 to the Gateway 11. But a holding penalty and sack kept them out of the end zone as the Gateway preserved the shutout.
For the game, Liberty quarterback Jeremiah Pierre-Louis rushed for 53 yards and passed for 44. Morillo finished with 41 yards for the Panthers and promising sophomore running back Josh Fuller had 49 yards rushing.
The Panthers (2-3, 1-1) host undefeated district opponent Lake Wales (6-0) on Friday; while Liberty hosts Auburndale (2-2) in a district game.
