Gateway gets statement win over Hempfield

Tagged under: District 7, Gameday Hub, News

Andrew Schaffer | October 1, 2022

Coming into this game Gateway had struggled to score on offense. That was not the case on Friday night in Gateway’s 60-7 trouncing over previously unbeaten Hempfield. Gateway had eight possessions in the first half and all eight ended with a touchdown. “We got in a pretty good rhythm obviously and I think the mindset was just try to attack and Brad really played his tail off and our skill guys really made plays” said Coach Holl.

Coming into this game Hempfield had one of the highest scoring offenses in the WPIAL averaging an impressive 45 points per game. Gateway was able to hold them to 7 points total. “That’s how we play, we play a lot of man coverage, a lot of pressure and we felt that we could hold up” said Coach Holl.

Gateway got the ball to start the game and marched down the field and never looked back. The drive started at their own 42 yard line and after a run they were already in Hempfield territory. A couple plays later Jaquon Reynolds scored on a 30 yard run which made the score 6-0 Gateway with 10:50 in the first quarter.

Hempfield got the ball at their own 35 but ended up going three and out and punting it away. Gateway’s second drive started at their own 45 yard line. After a pass interference call Gateway was in Hempfield territory. A couple of plays later Brad Birch found Anez Jordan for a 17 yard touchdown pass. That made the score 12-0 midway through the first quarter. Jordan was one of the main receivers for Gateway he had 5 catches for 113 yards.

Hempfield got the ball for a second time and for the second time went three and out and punted it back to Gateway. The third drive for Gateway started at their own 22 yard line but that didn’t slow down the offense. On the first play of the drive Brad Birch found Dallas Harper on a 53 yard pass play down to the Hempfield 25 yard line. A couple of plays later Birch found Malachi Moore for a 3 yard touchdown pass which made it 19-0 Gateway with 3:45 in the first quarter.

Crazily Gateway was not done scoring in the first quarter they started their fourth drive on their own 38 yard line. After a couple more passes Brad Birch found Dallas Harper for a 14 yard touchdown pass. The score at the end of the first quarter was 26-0 Gateway.

The second quarter was more of the same. Hempfield’s fourth drive ended on a turnover on downs and gave Gateway the ball at basically midfield. They marched right down the field and Brad Birch scored on a 8 yard run making it 33-0 Gateway. Birch was the player of the game for Gateway. He was 15 of 21 for 297 yards in the first half passing for 4 touchdowns and running for 1 and he even had a catch for 13 yards. “It’s a team performance, the line stepped up big this game, I barely got touched this game and the wide receivers they kept doing their job, just making plays when I got the ball in their hands, it’s just a team game” said Quarterback Brad Birch.

About 2 minutes later after Gateway made it 33-0 they struck yet again when Brad Birch completed a perfect pass to Anez Jordan for a 66 yard touchdown strike. That made the score 40-0 Gateway with 7:23 remaining in the first half. “We had a mindset that we were going to take some shots and our guys really executed” said Coach Holl.

The next Hempfield drive started at their own 19 yard line and on third down the ball was intercepted by Demetrius Harper which was his first of 2 interceptions. It didn’t take Gateway long to capitalize when Jaquon Reynolds scored on a 2 yard run.

Hempfield got the ball back yet again and again another interception was thrown which gave Gateway the ball at the Hempfield 8 yard line. Jaquon Reynolds finished the drive off on a 4 yard run. Hempfield only managed 2 first downs in the first half. “Defense played as well they didn’t give up anything, that’s just great to see right there” said Quarterback Brad Birch. That made the score 53-0 at halftime.

The entire second half Gateway and Hempfield had their backups in they both exchanged touchdowns. Hempfield finally got on the board early in the fourth quarter. That final score ended up being 60-7 Gateway. Up next Gateway has another big game against rival Penn Trafford at home. Hempfield plays Seneca Valley

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