Boone forges on with landslide win over Gateway
By J.C. CARNAHAN | September 26th, 2009 | Category: – RECENT POSTS, Boone, Dr. Phillips, Gateway, High School Sports, Olympia, Orange County, Osceola County, Timber Creek | No Comments »If only last week was half as leisurely as Friday night was for the Boone Braves. Following the humiliation the football team experienced on the road against Winter Park, the Braves got a taste of what the other end of such a game was like as they opened up Class 6A, District 6 play with a 49-13 win over a Kissimmee Gateway program currently under construction.
Heading into a bye week with the biggest game of their district schedule taking place at home in two weeks, against Dr. Phillips (considered by many the cream of the crop in Central Florida), the past week of competing and practicing may have come at no better time.
“We learned that we weren’t as good a team as we thought we were,” said senior defensive back Tabarie Sullivan. “So starting Monday we came out with a lot of intensity and we kept it up everyday knowing that we had to come back out and play another game.”
They did that with relative ease against the Panthers. They did it by getting the big plays on defense and special teams that the Wildcats turned into points against them a week ago. It proved to be a nice change of pace from a three-week season opening schedule that truly tested this team’s mettle.
Before that forgettable night at Winter Park it was an opening week loss at Olympia, followed by a triple-overtime win at home against Timber Creek, that now has this team licking its wounds at 2-2 overall while heading into a game that should eventually decide the District 6 title.
“It helps if you go out there and play good teams before your district schedule,” said senior quarterback Sam Hutsell. “That’s going to help us in the long run now that these games start to count.”
– More Gateway at Boone coverage:
Video highlights at WFTV 9
Short game recap at Orlando Sentinel
District standings at Varsity Sports
Derrick Wood (#72), Ryan Orlando (#35) and Mike McEwan (#61) lead Boone onto the field. (Photo by Justin Kane)
