2004 Gateway vs. Thomas Jefferson - Recap
Back to 2004 Preview / RecapsGateway Gators 34 - Thomas Jefferson 21
(L) Safety Brandon Livsey #18 returns an Interception. Livsey had two INT's in the game - giving him 7 on the season. (R) Jon Ditto #7 scores on a 73 yard pass & run play, where he broke several tackles on his way to the end zone, to give the Gators a 14-7 lead.
Friday, October 8, 2004 - Jefferson Hills, PA:
Thomas Jefferson lived up to its billing as a solid AAA football team and gave the Gators a game. After going up 7-0 on a 59 yard TD run by Justin King, TJ tied the score at 7 on a 31 yard pass play. However, the 2nd quarter proved the difference in this game as the Gators rolled of 3 unanswered scores before halftime.
Justin King finished with 191 yards on 21 carries and 1 TD. QB Aaron Smith was 6 of 12 for 168 yards and 3 passing TD's. The game was penalty filled with the yellow flag going multiple times against the Gators in the 2nd half, which held down the scoring.
Scoring for Gateway besides King were Jon Ditto, on a 73 yard pass catch & run play in which he broke several tackles on the way to the end zone, a 25 yard INT return by LB Ryan Kwaitkowski for a TD, and a broken play, 55 yard TD catch and run by LB/SE Mike Barlak, who saw some duty Friday as a split end. Justin Colbaugh also had an excellent all-around game chipping in on key defensive, offensive and special teams plays. The defensive player of the game was Gator Safety Brandon Livsey, who had picked off two Dawson passes, giving him a total of 7 INT's on the year.
For TJ, QB Brad Dawson was 13 of 32 for 228 yards passing, 1 TD and 3 INT's. Dawson was the strongest QB Gateway has seen since taking on CC QB Shane Murray earlier this year. The main downfall for TJ in this game was their inability to get a running game going, which forced them into passing situations all night long.
TJ was a worthy opponent and will surely be a tough team in AAA heading into the playoffs this year. "They're a good football team and good football teams answer the bell," Smith said. "They could come to Quad A and compete at the highest level."
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