Gateway forces 5 turnovers in playoff rout of Franklin Regional

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, November 9, 2018 | 11:00 PM

Franklin Regional knew field position and turnovers would prove pivotal in its WPIAL quarterfinal against Gateway, and so they did. But the Gators were the ones who reaped the rewards.

No. 1 Gateway forced five turnovers and turned the short fields into touchdowns, coming away with a 35-0 victory over No. 9 Franklin Regional in a Class 5A quarterfinal Friday at Norwin Stadium.

“That’s the game,” Franklin Regional coach Greg Botta said. “We tell these kids the game teaches you life, and you may not always get the result you want, but if you fight, you can walk away with your head high.”

Defending WPIAL champion Gateway (12-0) scored 28 points off of turnovers and recorded its sixth shutout of the season. With a win over No. 5 West Allegheny next week — the Gators play the Indians in the semifinals next Friday at a site and time to be determined — Gateway will get a chance to return to Norwin on Nov. 22 for the WPIAL title game.

“I think Chip Kelly said a long time ago the turnover stat is not the telling stat, it’s points off turnovers,” Gateway coach Don Holl said. “It’s what you do with it. I think we’ve been an opportunistic defense with guys who capitalize on those plays. That’s exactly what we preach to our guys.”

Just over a month removed from a 63-3 loss to Gateway in Big East Conference play, Franklin Regional (7-4) put up a much stiffer fight Friday. But the mistakes — in addition to the turnovers, the Panthers committed 12 penalties, including one that wiped out a score — proved costly on a damp evening.

Brendan Majocha passed for 162 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for another score for Gateway, and Syracuse recruit Courtney Jackson had rushing and receiving scores.

“Last time they came out and I don’t think they were prepared for what we were running, and we got up on them early and we were done by halftime,” Majocha said. “This time they came out (with a) competitive first half … and we came out in the second half and did what we had to do.”

Gateway had the ball in Franklin Regional territory on nearly every possession but found tougher sledding than their first game.

Franklin Regional’s defense made an early statement with a goal-line stand on Gateway’s opening possession, dropping Majocha for a 4-yard loss on third down from the 1 before Majocha threw incomplete for Jackson on fourth down. The Panthers pushed the Gators backward on their next possession, too.

“We had a couple different things in, and I think it gave them some confusion in the beginning,” Botta said. “But they’ve got tremendous athletes. We didn’t tackle well at times and missed some big opportunities on third and long for sacks or a tackle for loss, and they’d come back with a big score.”

A Franklin Regional mistake led to Gateway’s first points. Punter Trevor Brncic muffed a snap, and Gateway recovered at the Panthers’ 36. Eight plays later and just over a minute into the second quarter, Majocha kept the ball on the read option and ran into the end zone from a yard out.

After not registering a first down in the opening quarter, Franklin Regional found some forward momentum on the ensuing drive. The Panthers appeared to have the tying score as well, but a penalty for an ineligible receiver downfield wiped out Adam Rudzinski’s 60-yard touchdown strike to Michael Evans and ultimately led to a punt.

Gateway again turned the ball over on downs in Franklin Regional territory, but another FR error gave the Gators a prime scoring opportunity. Devon Powell dropped a direct snap, Gateway recovered at the Franklin Regional 15 and Jackson took a jet sweep around left end for a touchdown on the next play.

“Our defense is, I’d say, the best in the state,” Majocha said. “We get turnovers every single game, we take advantage of those turnovers and the more possessions we get, the more we can score.”

A trick-play, jet-sweep pass by Powell to Evans went for 41 yards on Franklin Regional’s first drive of the second half, but Jeremiah Josephs intercepted a tipped pass in the end zone later in the possession and returned it 87 yards, weaving his way to the FR 20. Gateway took advantage when Majocha ducked out of a sack and found Ethan Frenchik for a 13-yard score. A Majocha-to-Jackson 22-yard pass and Derrick Davis 2-yard run completed the scoring for Gateway.

Franklin Regional drove into Gateway territory four times in the second half but couldn’t find the end zone, with three interceptions and a turnover on downs keeping the Panthers off the scoreboard. Brandon Zanotto led the team with 41 rushing yards.

“Last week we were catching the ball, and this week we just weren’t putting it away,” Botta said. “But that’s the game of football, and I’m proud of the kids for how hard they fought. That’s what counts.”

The game included 21 accepted penalties, including offsetting personal fouls after a skirmish, and Josephs was ejected after a targeting penalty in the second half.

Doug Gulasy is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Doug at dgulasy@tribweb.com or via Twitter @dgulasy_Trib.

Tags: Franklin Regional, Gateway