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Gaither 30, Mitchell 14

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Bart O'Connell/The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 6, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY - They played in the rain, in pain, and left every ounce of fight they had somewhere in all the mud at Mustang Stadium.

It might have been hard for fans to see just how hobbled Gaither tailback Jarvis Giles and Mitchell quarterback Tate Humphrey were. A strong wind from the north and horizontal rain made their Class 5A-District 5 opener unwatchable at times.

Though both found a way to make their usual impact, Cowboys freshman runner Toney Salter was the difference in a 30-14 Gaither victory, rushing for 118 yards and a late touchdown on 20 carries.

'If you look back about 15 years ago, he'd still be in middle school,' Gaither coach Mark Kantor said. 'To play like this on this grand of a stage, he did a heck of a job.'

Salter's performance was necessary because Giles was still nursing a lower body injury suffered last week against Jesuit. While Giles missed all but one minute of the first half, Salter carried 17 times for 49 yards, setting up two Kamren Hawkins-to-Justin Lattimore touchdown passes that gave Gaither (4-2, 1-0) a 14-0 lead.

But once Mitchell (2-3, 0-1) began playing with the wind, which exceeded 20 mph, at its back in the second quarter, Humphrey, hampered by a sprained right ankle, began to find his receivers. He completed 11 of 14 passes for 171 yards and two scores (to Tyrone Hendrix and Jesse Dustin) to tie the game at 14 with a minute remaining in the half.

At that point, Giles, with gloves on, approached Kantor and said he wanted in the game. He went on to rush 12 times for 125 yards and a touchdown.

His biggest gain was a 71-yard run in the third quarter straight up the middle, set up by a failed fourth down attempt by Mitchell.

The Mustangs had successfully recovered a pooch kick to begin the second half and drove to the Gaither 4, but instead of trying a 21-yard field goal that would have given them the lead, they went for the touchdown. Humphrey was rushed by lineman Spencer Jimenez and threw an incomplete pass that ended the drive.

Giles' long run got the Cowboys out of trouble, and kicker Nick Cattoi made a 40-yard field goal into the driving wind to give Gaither the lead for good.

Mitchell's offense was doomed once the teams switched ends to begin the final quarter, the wind whipping harder than at any other point.

Humphrey (19 of 30, 242 yards) threw a late interception to Tony Moore that fluttered in the wind and was well short.

'We had a couple of chances to make some plays in the second half and dropped the ball,' Mitchell coach Scott Schmitz said. 'In the fourth quarter we had to throw against the wind, and that's a big part of our game.'

Giles and Salter's scores came on Gaither's final two drives to seal the victory.

Humphrey had to leave the game late after aggravating the ankle injury, and Schmitz was unsure if he would be able to play next week.

G-Lattimore 7 pass from Hawkins (Cattoi kick)

M-Hendrix 16 pass from Humphrey (Vasquez kick)

M-Dustin 21 pass from Humphrey (Vasquez kick)

G-FG Cattoi 40

G-Salter 31 run (run failed)

G-Giles 1 run (Cattoi kick)

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