Midway drops Spring Creek
By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on September 5, 2010 12:21 AM
SEVEN SPRINGS -- Midway beat Spring Creek on Friday night.
And on some level the Gators beat themselves.
That fact left third-year head coach Aaron Sanders shaking his head as he looked up at the 16-6 final score.
"I don't know what else to say," said Sanders. "We have been making the same mistakes for three weeks, and each week it's harder and harder to understand."
The Gators botched 10 snaps from center and were tagged for seven penalties that totaled 60 yards.
In the opening quarter Midway took the opening possession 83 yards on 13 plays. The visitors pushed the ball across the goal line when Chad Allen burst through the line for an eight-yard score. The Raiders ran in the two-point conversion and claimed an early 8-0 lead.
Spring Creek immediately answered when Ricky Brayboy took the Gators' first snap of the following drive 80 yards to the end zone. A missed extra point left the Gators down 8-6.
"We have shown that those type of plays are there in this offense," said Sanders. "We can move the ball when we are not shooting ourselves in the foot."
The Raiders missed a field goal on their second possession and the Gators appeared to take advantage when Daivon Thomas raced 65 yards inside the Raiders' five-yard line. Fitting the theme of the night, the play was called back due to a holding penalty and the Spring Creek drive stalled.
A fake punt resulted in a turnover on downs and set the Raiders up at the Spring Creek 27-yard line. Allen capped the scoring in the second quarter with a 20-yard touchdown run up the middle of the field.
The second half was marred with more penalties and several injuries as players began dealing with cramps late in the game. The Gators' best chance to score came late in the third quarter when a muffed punt was recovered by D.J. Russell at the Midway 20-yard line.
After a holding penalty took a first down off the board the Gators lined up for a 37-yard field goal attempt, but Dante Ortiz's kick clanged off the crossbar and bounced out.
"We can't say that we didn't have chances," said Sanders. "We were able to keep ourselves in it with good defense, but it wasn't enough to get our offense in the end zone."
Aaron Thurman led the Raiders attack with 200 yards on 26 carries. Allen added 108 yards on 12 totes. Midway owned a 329-223 advantage in total offense.
Brayboy paced the Gators with 130 yards on the ground and 38 through the air. Russell added 46 yards on five carries. Sean Stallings tallied 32 receiving yards.
The Gators (0-3 overall) travel to Lakewood on Friday.