Gateway was the 48-20 winner over Armstrong when they last played one another back in September of 2024, but their luck changed this time around. The Gators and the River Hawks were almost perfectly matched up on Friday, but the Gators suffered a 29-28 defeat. While the Gators didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the River Hawks 7-3 in the first quarter.
Gateway lost despite a true team effort on offense. The best among them was Mayson Mitchell, who threw for 225 yards and a pair of TDs while completing 72% of his passes, and also punched in one touchdown on the ground. Julian Dancear helped Mitchell out on the ground, rushing for 118 yards on only 15 carries.
It was another big night for Jaydon Oliver, who rushed for 90 yards and a pair of scores, and also threw for 234 yards and one TD while picking up 11.1 yards per attempt for Armstrong. Costa Couknas was another key player, rushing for 100 yards and one touchdown on only 13 carries.
Gateway's loss was their first in the conference, dropping their conference record down to 2-1 and their overall record down to 2-4. As for Armstrong, their victory ended a five-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 3-3.
Gateway and Armstrong could both be facing uphill battles in their next games considering their disadvantage in the MaxPreps Pennsylvania Rankings. The Gators will face off against Penn-Trafford at 7:30 p.m. on Friday with a big rank disadvantage (252 vs. 50). Meanwhile, Armstrong (ranked 180th) will meet Woodland Hills (ranked 16th) at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
