Gateway QB Brady Walker throws 6 touchdowns in rout of Plum
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Friday, October 6, 2017 | 11:36 PM
The Gateway football team wasted little time getting scoring Friday night at Plum.
Gators senior quarterback Brady Walker found Jeremiah Josephs for a 12-yard touchdown. Josephs broke two tackles and found the end zone just 2 minutes, 1 second into the game.
Gateway, No. 5 in the Tribune-Review 5A rankings, scored touchdowns on its first four possessions and six of its seven overall in the first half en route to a 48-14 Big East 9 victory over the Mustangs.
Gators coach Don Holl said it was nice to see his players perform well after last week's shutout loss to Penn-Trafford.
“We follow the same process each week, win or lose, in getting ready for the next opponent,” said Holl, who saw his Gateway team improve to 6-1 overall and 4-1 in conference play.
“We try to stay in a routine. We saw good things and bad things from last week's film, but we learned from it. We came out and played with a lot of confidence and swagger. We played fast, hard and physical, the way we wanted to play.”
Gateway led 40-0 at halftime, and the mercy rule went into effect at the start of the third quarter.
Walker completed 20 of 28 passes for 286 yards and six touchdowns in two quarters of work.
His total puts him at 1,828 yards and 22 touchdowns through seven games. He also sits 13 passing yards shy of 6,000 for his career.
“Brady is the best quarterback in 5A for a reason, and their skill kids are fantastic,” Plum coach Matt Morgan said. “We weren't executing on defense. We were struggling in space against their receivers.”
Josephs finished with three TD catches and caught six passes overall for 77 yards. Courtney Jackson hauled in two touchdown passes, and Travis Thompson recorded the other touchdown reception.
Jordan Stancovich had six catches for 102 yards.
Plum had its opportunities in the first half, but three turnovers contributed to the offensive frustrations.
Three of its six first-half drives ended in Gateway territory. One stopped because of a fumble, and the Mustangs turned the ball over on downs on another. Jackson Gildea missed a 39-yard field goal in the first quarter.
Plum also fumbled the ball away at midfield on a drive midway through the second quarter.
“We moved the ball decently in the first half, but we just couldn't finish drives,” Morgan said. “Turnovers killed us. You can't turn the ball over against a team like that and expect it to be anything but a negative outcome.”
With backups getting the call in the second half, Billy Guzzi got Plum on the board early in the fourth quarter on a 58-yard run. He carried four times for 75 yards.
Dakota Sunday added a fourth-quarter rushing touchdown from 1 yard.
Coulter Robb led Plum in rushing with 19 carries for 111 yards.
“Plum has some really good linemen and some tough kids running the ball,” Holl said. “But our guys hung in there (in the first half). Their goal is to get the ball back, and we made some key stops and forced some turnovers.”
Michael Love is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at mlove@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Mlove_Trib.
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