Gators season comes to an end in 35-7 loss to Central

The Gators wrapped up their 2005 season with a 7-4 record after losing to Pittsburgh Central Catholic in the WPIAL AAAA Quarterfinals by the score of 35-7. The Gators had problems getting in sync on offense without a healthy QB Aaron Smith, and were limited to less than 150 yards of offense. The only Gators score came on a David Williams KO return for TD of 80+ yards to cut the score to 14-7 in the first quarter. The Gators "D" also had problems all night with Central RB Lemont Smith who ran for more than 300 yards against the Gators - which might be an all-time high allowed by a single back against the Gators.

Please join us in wishing all the Seniors best of luck!

Update 11/07/2005:
After examination at the hospital on Friday, it was determined that Mike Cornelius has a bruised leg, not broken.

Gators/Vikings game photo gallery (~250 photos)

Gators 37 - Hawks 16

Jordan Stephens and Shayne Hale sack the Bethel Park QB

QB David Williams scores on an option play to make the score 27-16 Gators

RB Cameron Saddler darts around the corner on his way to a big gain...

The Gators got of to a rocky start Friday night, trailing 16-7 at halftime. The second half was a different story as the Gators came out fired up and rolled off 30 unanswered points, behind 181 yards rushing from David Williams who was filling in for QB Aaron Smith, and 130 yards rushing from Cameron Saddler. The Gators advance to take on #1 seed Central Catholic at a neutral field next weekend.

Gators/Hawks game photo gallery (296 photos)

2004 WPIAL CHAMPIONSHIP REMATCH:
Gateway vs. Central Catholic
WPIAL AAAA Quarterfinals

The Gators will travel down the valley and over the hill to Norwin High School today, Friday, Nov. 4, where they will take on #1 Central Catholic in a highly anticipated rematch of last years championship game.

Read the Game Preview...

Gators defeated by McKeesport, 47-17

The Gators run of three consecutive conference titles came to a sudden end tonight as the McKeesport Tigers prevailed 47-17 to capture the Quad SouthWest title. Trailing 20-10 at halftime, the second half started as a defensive struggle, and after the Gators recovered a McKeesport fumble at the McK 20, QB Aaron Smith passed to WR David Williams who made an acrobatic catch in the corner of the endzone to cut the lead to 20-17. That was as close as it would get as the Tigers then reeled off 27 unanswered points to round out the game. Congratulations to McKeesport for a well played game.

The playoff seedings meeting is on Monday night and we will have the playoff brackets as soon as they are available.

Gators/Tigers game photo gallery (150 photos)
(note: due to the lighting conditions at McKeesport, the photos are darker than normal)

Gators 35 - Trinity 20

The Gators stormed to a 35-7 halftime lead on a beautiful night at Antimarino Stadium. David Williams scored on a 6-yard run and a 70-yard punt return and Aaron Smith ran and passed for a score each in the first half. Joe Martin gained 160 yards on 13 carries, including an 85-yard touchdown run. The second half found the Gators unable to do much offensively, and Trinity got back into the game with 2 TD's.

Gators/Trinity game photo gallery (282 photos)

Gators Upset by AAA Thomas Jefferson 10-7

The Gators were upset at home by AAA Thomas Jefferson on a drizzly Friday evening. The Gators opened the scoring at 9:59 of the 1st quarter on a 56 yard TD run by Joe Martin, however, that would be it for the Gateway offense, who could not manage any points in the final 46 minutes of the game. The Gators defense, who hit ferociously and knocked the 1st and 2nd string TJ QB's from the game and generated several TJ turnovers, could not stop TJ on a single drive in the 4th quarter when TJ drove 70+ yards to score the go-ahead TD and make the score 10-7. TJ ran what looked like the same off tackle sweep about 5 times in the drive, each time chewing up 10+ yards. Congratulations to TJ on a game well played and good luck in the AAA playoffs.

Gators/Thomas Jefferson game photo gallery

Gators 28 - Fox Chapel 0

The Gators shutout host Fox Chapel in a Quad SouthWest matchup Friday night. Aaron Smith passed for 3 TD's and rushed for another. On the receiving end of the TD's were David Williams (30 yards), Jon Ditto (10 yards), and Charles King (27 yards).

Gators/Fox Chapel game photo gallery

Gators 45 - Wildcats 0

Posted By: Shane
Saturday, September 24, 2005

Jr. WR Jon Ditto makes a spectacular jumping TD catch - 13 yards - against Latrobe, Sept. 23, 2005
View the entire catch photo sequence here...

The Gators blanked the Latrobe Wildcats Friday night at Antimarino Stadium 45-0 behind 3 TD catches by Jon Ditto, a 30 yard INT return for a TD by Brandon Livsey, and a 70+ yard punt return for a TD by David Williams. Throw in some nice rushing and a TD by Joe Martin, and it was an all-around solid performance from the Gators. This was the third straight shutout for the Gators against the Wildcats; the last time Latrobe scored on Gateway was in 2002.

In other news, former Gator captain Justin Colbaugh - Seton Hill safety, had an INT and a fumble recovery in the Griffins 35-10 loss to West Liberty on Saturday. Justin King - Penn State WR/DB, had a 43 yard reverse run and a 37 yard TD catch to lead the Lions over Northwestern.

Gators/Latrobe game photo gallery (331 pictures!)

Photo Highlights:
Jon Ditto's jumping TD catch
Shayne Hale's heat on the Latrobe QB forces the Livsey INT for TD
David Williams trick play pass to Jon Ditto
Joe Martin TD run
David Williams punt return TD

Gators boys soccer team suffers their first loss

Written By: Chad Stubenbort
Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Well, the whole perfect season idea went down the drain, as the Penn Hills Indians defeated the Gators last Thursday night. The Gateway Gators played poorly the entire first half. Things looked as if they were getting better...Read more »

Gators 27 - Kiski 20

Written By: Shane
Saturday, September 17, 2005

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View the entire punt return TD photo sequence here...

In a game delayed twice due to lightning and that finished past midnight, the Gators escaped Kiski stadium with a 27-20 victory behind a 93 yard KO return for a TD by David Williams.

The game started by the Gators marching downfield to score on an Eric Livsey TD run to make the score 7-0. After kicking off to Kiski, the Gators proceeded to allow Kiski to move almost the entire length of the field due to several 15 yard and 5 yard penalties. The penalties combined with about 25 yards of offense by Kiski resulted in a TD to even the score at 7. Kiski then kicked off to Gateway and that started a three-consecutive drive turnover spree, in which on the first or second plays of the next three Gators possessions, the Gators fumbled, were interecepted, and fumbled again. All of the turnovers occurred inside the Gators 25 yardline, and only by solid defensive play were the Gators able to limit the Kiski damage on those three turnovers to a field goal, making the score 10-7 Kiski with about 10 minutes left in the 2nd quarter, where the first 45 minute lightning delay happened.

During the first break, Gators RB Eric Livsey was diagnosed with a separated shoulder and would miss the rest of the game. Coming out after the delay, the Gators were able to turn up the defensive pressure on Kiski to keep them in check. Late in the 2nd quarter, with about 1 minute left, the Gators stopped Kiski on about their own 15 yard line. Upon punting, Aaron Smith took the punt at about the Kiski 45 and scampered down the sideline in front of the Gators bench, performed a 360 spin move and danced into the end zone for a 14-10 Gators halftime lead.

In the 3rd quarter it again was a back and forth defensive battle. With about 8 minutes left in the 3rd quarter the Gators punted to Kiski deep in their own territory. Kiski tried a trick play - a halfback toss pass, which was intercepted by Gator Charles King at about the 50 and returned for a TD, to make the score 20-10. A large Gators celebration in the end zone resulted in a 15 yard "celebration" penalty, which moved the extra point back to the 18 yard line. But before the kick could be made, the officials once again stopped play due to lightning at about 10pm. This delay would last about 1 hour.

When play resumed at 11pm, with 7:43 left in the 3rd quarter, the Gators were out of sync on the offensive end of the ball. After all, by this time, it had been 7 plus hours since the team meal and energy levels were down due to the sitting around during the delays.

Kiski was then able to stage a comeback which culminated with Kiski evening the score at 20 with about 10 minutes to play. On the ensuing kickoff down to the Gators 7 yard line, Gator David Williams broke up the middle and avoided several tackle attempts on his way to a 93-yard KO return for TD. Lichtenstein's extra point made the score 27-20.

That was hardly the end of the game, however, as Kiski continued to put pressure on the Gators "D" trying to tie the score. With about 1:08 left on the clock, the Gators turned over the ball on downs on the Kiski 30. Kiski then hit several passes combined with a few QB scrambles to move the ball to the Gators 20 with 14 seconds left. Kiski made one attempt into the endzone which was incomplete, followed by a second, last-ditch pass into the end zone which was intercepted by Charles King and returned out to the 50 yard line as the clock ran out.

As Gators coach Terry Smith put it after the game, "Vandergrift is a hard place to play. A win is a win and we're just happy to take it and move on...". The Gators will face 3-1 (0-1) Latrobe at home this Friday. Latrobe was upset 17-14 by Fox Chapel, who won their first game after 14 consecutive losses.

Gators/Kiski game photo gallery (330 pictures!)

Read the Detailed Game Preview

Gators 42 - Mustangs 20

The Gators had another slow start Friday, trailing Plum 13-10 at the half. The second half was a completely different ballgame, as the Gators rolled off 32 points and took the victory. Leading 23-20 in the fourth quarter, Gateway (2-1, 1-0) got touchdown runs of 23 and 9 yards from quarterback Aaron Smith and a 1-yard score from Brian Williams. Smith provided 202 yards of offense, rushing for 93 on 9 carries and completing 6 of 12 passes for 109. Teammate Eric Livsey (SOPH) added 148 yards and one touchdown on 12 carries. The Gators had three turnovers. Plum (0-3, 0-1) has lost four consecutive games and six of its past seven against Gateway.

Photos AND Video now available!

Gators/Plum game photo gallery (380+ pictures!)




Read the Detailed Game Preview

Gators handed loss at Wolvarena

In a game in which almost all the bad breaks went their way, the Gators lost to Woodland Hills 48-28 at the famed Wolvarena on Friday night. The Gators traveled 5 miles west to Woodland Hills seeking their 1st ever win at the Wolvarena, and first 2-0 start since 1988, but it was not meant to be. The game started off with the Gators making several miscues, which led to a quick 28-0 Woodland Hills lead that they could not dig out from. The Gators pulled the score to within 28-21 before another misfortune on the ensuing kickoff led to WH returning the kick to the Gateway 36, where they took several plays to make the game 34-21 at the half. On the other hand, the Wolverines played a near mistake free game, outplaying the Gators at nearly every phase of the game and scoring three consecutive touchdowns on nearly the same rushing play in the 1st quarter, as well as a fade jump-ball pass that Coach Smith sniffed out in advance, but two Gator defenders could not break up. The Gators depleted offensive line had a rough night - and the rushing offense was held to minimum yardage by Woodland Hills, forcing Gateway into the pass all night long. The only bright note was another stellar performance from WR David Williams, who snagged three TD passes from Gators QB Aaron Smith. This is the 3rd consecutive year the Gators have started 1-1.

Photos now available!

Gators/WH game photo gallery
Sept. 1 Practice photo gallery

Incredible Comeback - Gators 37 - Benedictine 31

The Gators staged an improbable comeback last night by overcoming a 24-3 deficit and scoring 34 points in the last 15 minutes of the game. Behind the running of Soph. RB Eric Livsey and two long TD passes to David Williams, the Gators earned a split of the PA - OHIO Kickoff Classic 2 at a drizzly Antimarino Stadium.

Sr. WR David Williams was named the Applebee's Player of the Game via his 3 catches for 146 yards, 2 TD's and a crucial 38 yard punt return in the 4th quarter. QB Aaron Smith was 17 of 26 for 317 yards passing and 2 TD's. This was the first opening game victory for the Gators dating back to 1988. Prior to the game, Aaron Smith gave his verbal committment to Pitt to play WR.

PHOTOS NOW AVAILABLE!   We were able to recover 178 photos through the end of the 3rd quarter. Enjoy!

View the photo gallery

Individual Game tickets now on sale!

Updated news from the GatewayGators.com newsdesk...

Individual game reserved seats are now on sale for all games! You can now purchase all remaining Boxed and Reserved seats on an individual basis.

For those of you coming from out of town, please see our revised Maps & Directions page.

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View the photo gallery

Gators 3 - Bethel Park 1

Updated news from the GatewayGators.com newsdesk...

After surrendering an opening series TD drive by Bethel Park, the Gators "D" rose to the moment and blanked Bethel Park the rest of the way. QB Tudor Cisloiu played the entire varsity scrimmage as normal starter Aaron Smith was held out of the game due to injury. The Gators got on the board through a 60+ yard TD run by Freshman RB Eric Livsey, an INT returned for a TD by Dan Loheyde, and a 3 yard TD run by Joe Martin on the final drive.

View the Bethel Park Scrimmage - Varsity photo gallery


NEW CONTENT: Team Photo & Roster, Gators team by position, Coach Photos, Head Coach Terry Smith Bio, and the Gators Captains

Coming soon to the web site: Senior profiles, DVD's of all 2004 season games - 7 DVD's in total, a new T-Shirt and Shorts and BLOG capabilities where you can comment and provide input on our feature stories. Stay tuned...

Scrimmage results: Gators 3 - Butler 1
Coach Smith foretells Livsey INT...

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On a broiling hot Saturday afternoon in which the temperatures reached over 100 on the field, the Gators posted 3-1 scores in both the JV and Varsity scrimmages. The JV game was highlighted by a 60+ yard TD reception by Steve Horvath. In the Varsity matchup, the Gators saw their 1-0 lead quickly advance to 2-0 via an INT return for TD by Safety Brandon Livsey. Seconds before the INT, Gators Coach Terry Smith called out Livsey and said "Brandon - you're overdue!". Livsey obviously heard Coach Smith's remarks as it took him less than 30 seconds to catch the pick and score the TD. Robbie Wratcher also hooked up on a long TD pass/run on a pass from Tudor Cisloiu.

Notables: The Gators played without the services of at least 4 starters. DB Cameron Saddler (5'6"), who played well at DB, received a concussion when tackling the huge Butler TE (6'4" 260lbs.+). Cameron did stop the Butler TE but didn't remember the tackle.

Quotables: Shayne Hale "Coach Booth, I'm going to throw up!", Bill Binion on why he should get a shot at RB "My cuts is sick", Coach Smith to Safety Brandon Livsey "You're overdue!"

View the Butler Scrimmage - Varsity photo gallery
View the Butler Scrimmage - JV photo gallery

Gators update...

A couple of bits of news from the GatewayGators.com newsdesk...

QB Aaron Smith will be announcing his college choice prior to the Gateway/Benedictine football game on August 27. Aaron has over 20 D1 scholarship offers. Be sure you read the articles from 8/12 about Aaron from the P-G and Trib (see the left column)...

Start me up! Gateway Football 2005

Wiz works on Dan Loheyde's helmet

Gateway football enters it's 48th season! Equipment day started with the largest opening day player count in recent memory. The 9th grade class this year was the largest that we can recall - and talented! After picking up their equipment, the players picked their locker in Gateway's brand new locker room. View the photo gallery from equipment day New Web Site Launched! We hope you enjoy our newly revised web site, GatewayGators.com 3.0. This new design will allow us to present our information in a more orderly fashion. We'll be adding more features and interactivity soon... If you enjoy this site and want it to continue to be a valuable resource, please support our site and either shop from our online Gateway store or send us a donation.

Kickoff Classic 2 - August 27

Gateway Football is pleased to announce that the 2nd annual SPORTSfever Pennsylvania Kickoff Classic will take place at Gateway's Antimarino Stadium this August 27. With a live television audience spanning three states and an expected crowd of more than 12,000, two of the top teams in the WPIAL and Pennsylvania and two of the top high school teams in Northeast Ohio and the entire Buckeye State join the heated Cleveland-Pittsburgh NFL football rivalry at the SPORTSfever Pennsylvania Kickoff Classic II August 27 at Antimarino Stadium on the Gateway High School campus. St. Edward (AAAA nationally-ranked) and Benedictine, the two-time Ohio Division 3 (AAA) state champion, will make the 130-mile, two-hour trip from Cleveland to challenge Central Catholic, PIAA State AAAA defending champion, and Gateway, the preseason Number 1-ranked team in the WPIAL. The St. Edward-Central Catholic game will kick off at 4: 05 p.m. on August 27. The Benedictine-Gateway game will follow. All tickets are $5 and good for both games. They can be purchased in advance at all four schools. View the photo gallery from the press conference here Map and directions to Gateway

Gators & PCC representative at the KOC2 Press Conference

Gators excel at the Akron 7-on-7 camp

David Williams catches a TD pass

The Gators turned in a stellar performance at Akron, by going 4-0-2 in the Akron camp. The Gators played to two ties against Cleveland powerhouse Glenville. Coach Terry Smith commended the entire team on a great effort in the camp, and singled out Sr. WR David Williams for turning in "the best single day receiving performance" by a Gator receiver. View the photo gallery from Arkon