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Gaither 34, Wesley Chapel 9

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 19, 2007

TAMPA - The packed crowd on the home side of Gaither's Death Valley was quiet - too quiet for a homecoming game.

Perhaps they were shocked by what they were seeing: star running back Jarvis Giles bottled up by the Wesley Chapel defense. The junior had just 8 yards on his first five carries, and a fumble that led to a Wildcats touchdown. Gaither trailed 9-0 after 12 minutes.

But after that, he reverted to being the same old Giles, ripping off a 58-yard touchdown run to restore order in Cowboy-land. The chants of 'Jar-vis Gi-les' rang out, and the cheering never stopped in a 34-9 Class 5A-District 5 win for Gaither (6-2, 2-0).

'We needed a break somewhere along the line, because they were getting the breaks,' Gaither coach Mark Kantor said. 'Jarvis hit a big run, and it changed the momentum of the game.'

Giles finished with 19 carries for 170 yards and three touchdowns, also scoring from 33 and 23 yards. Quarterback Kamren Hawkins had touchdown passes to Yemi Oyegunle and Justin Lattimore.

The Cowboys' defense also played a big role in the blowout, picking off Wesley Chapel passers three times, including two interceptions for William Joseph. The Wildcats (4-4, 0-2) had 148 yards of offense, 44 in the second half.

But Wesley Chapel couldn't have started the game any better, forcing a three-and-out and taking advantage of good field position on its opening drive, when Juan Salguero hit a 33-yard field goal for the game's first points.

Then Giles fumbled, and quarterback Greg Jenkins (8-for-13, 84 yards) engineered the scoring drive by scrambling 12 yards to set up fourth-and-goal from the 1, where freshman fullback Hunter Joyer punched it in.

'We worked real hard, and felt we had a shot at this - we did at the beginning, we were looking pretty good,' said Wesley Chapel coach John Castelamare. 'They're a good football team, though. No. 3 Giles is exceptional. He'll burn you any time.'

Momentum began to unravel when, after another Gaither three-and-out, Joseph got his first interception of Jenkins to stall another promising drive. It wouldn't be the last time the Cowboys stepped in front of a critical Wildcats pass to maintain their lead.

In the fourth quarter, trailing by 12 and in the red zone, Jenkins threw a jump ball to receiver Lionel Rayford in the end zone, but he lost it in the air. The ball bounced off a Gaither defender and into the arms of Allen Sampson, who returned it to the 27. It would prove to be the Wildcats' last decent scoring chance.

Kantor credited the strong second half to the Cowboys' resolve.

WC-H. Joyer 1 run (pass failed)

G-Giles 58 run (Cattoi kick)

G-Giles 33 run (Cattoi kick)

G-Oyegunle 13 pass from Hawkins (Cattoi kick)

G-Giles 23 run (kick failed)

G-Lattimore 22 pass from Hawkins (Cattoi kick)

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