Gateway gladly wears bull’s-eye in WPIAL Class 5A

By: Chris Harlan
Wednesday, August 18, 2021 | 6:01 AM

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On paper, Gateway certainly has the look of a WPIAL contender.

The Gators added one of Pennsylvania’s top young quarterbacks in Brad Birch, return a Division I talent at wide receiver and safety in Patrick Body and carry a roster dotted with talent. But the team returns only four or five starters on each side of the ball, so the top-ranked team in WPIAL Class 5A has some unanswered questions.

“We’ve got some very good marquee players, but at the same time, we’ve got a lot of new pieces and untested guys,” coach Don Holl said. “They’ve got to pass the test. If they do, we can be right in the mix. If not, we’ll have to fight and scratch and claw to find a way to get into the conversation at the end of the year.”

Gateway is hunting for its third WPIAL title in five years after winning in 2017 and ’19. The Gators went 5-1 last season and reached the WPIAL semifinals, where they lost a one-point heartbreaker to Peters Township.

Yet, now a year later, this season’s roster doesn’t always resemble last season’s.

For one reason, graduation took away star running back and safety Derrick Davis, who’s now a freshman at LSU. Leading receiver Chamor Price also graduated and signed with a college in Kansas.

Davis and Price accounted for 16 of the team’s 24 touchdowns last year.

“It’s the nature of high school football that you’re going to cycles players out and in,” Holl said. “We lost some pretty good players, but then we got some pretty good young players waiting their turn, hoping to make their mark and earn their spot.”

The Gators largely promoted from within but also benefited from a few incoming transfers.

Among the new pieces is Birch, a standout sophomore who transferred into the district in March with older brother Brett. They formed a dynamic quarterback-to-wide receiver combo last season that led Jeannette to a WPIAL Class A title.

Brad Birch, who holds an Oregon offer, passed for 1,676 yards and 28 touchdowns. His arrival led to a quarterback competition this summer with senior Carsen Engleka, who started behind center last year and passed for 1,054 yards and 12 TDs.

Brett Birch, now a senior, had 46 catches for 669 yards and 11 TDs. The arrivals surely put Gateway in a spotlight, but the Gators are rather accustomed to attention.

“Last year, we were coming off the WPIAL championship, so I think there was a target on our back,” Holl said. “This year, for other reasons, we got more attention. But we love who we are. We love where we’re from and what we do. Not in an arrogant way, but like lots of schools, we’re proud to rep the ‘G’ and wear the uniform and play in Antimarino Stadium.”

Among the returning starters is Body, a Cincinnati recruit who’ll play both wide receiver and safety. He had 14 catches and scored five times as a junior last year.

Joining Body and Brett Birch at wide receiver will be a combination of seniors Micah McBean and David Howard and juniors Dallas Harper, Malachi Moore and Leonard Sherrod.

Replacing Davis in the backfield will be senior Jermir Harber and sophomore Jaquon Reynolds.

“We’ve seen a lot of Jermir over the last couple of years as the backup to know he’s pretty good,” Holl said. “But there’s a little bit of flash, a little bit of explosiveness, suddenness in (Reynolds) that we’re intrigued by.”

They’ll run behind a line with two returning starters: senior guard Hunter Dow and junior center Baron Vowler. Gateway also added junior lineman Matt Brooks, a transfer who earned second-team all-conference honors at Canon-McMillan. Brooks will start at left tackle and either defensive end or nose tackle.

The key for success will be “guys performing up to and exceeding expectations,” Holl said.

Dow and Brooks will anchor the defensive line with junior Demetrius Harper and senior Aiden Smith leading the linebackers. Engleka, if not playing quarterback, could start alongside Body at safety.

As the WPIAL’s preseason No. 1, Gateway clearly has the target on its back again. The Gators say they’re fine with that role.

“Would you want to be a team that nobody worries about every year?” Holl said. “That everybody just checks in as a win? Or do you want to be a team that other teams are aiming for or trying to knock off because you’re on top?”

Gateway

Coach: Don Holl

2020 record: 5-1, 3-0 in Class 5A Big East Conference

All-time record: 442-216-13

SCHEDULE

Date, Opponent, Time

9.3 Thomas Jefferson, 7

9.10 at Penn Hills, 7

9.17 at Bethel Park, 7

9.24 Pine-Richland, 7

10.1 Latrobe*, 7

10.8 at Penn-Trafford*, 7:30

10.15 Woodland Hills*, 7

10.22 Connellsville*, 7

10.29 at Franklin Regional*, 7

*Conference game

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Passing: Carsen Engleka

79-138, 1,054 yards, 12 TDs

Rushing: Derrick Davis*

98-747, 11 TDs

Receiving: Chamor Price*

18-346, 5 TDs

*Graduated

FAST FACTS

• MaxPreps named Brad Birch as a second-team Freshman All-American last fall.

• Holl is entering his sixth season at Gateway. His record there is 50-12 with two WPIAL titles, and the Gators have reached at least the WPIAL semifinals every year.

• Covid-related cancellations hit Gateway especially hard last season. The team missed three consecutive weeks in the middle of the season, including what would have been a first-place conference matchup with Penn-Trafford.

• Body chose Cincinnati from a list of finalists that included from Pitt, West Virginia, Illinois and Rutgers.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

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