TAMPA — Twenty-four hours.
That’s how long Kirk Karsen allows his Gaither players to celebrate victories before “bringing them back to Earth” and turning the page toward their next opponent. After that shift and the six-day buildup to Friday night, the focus shrinks considerably.
“We’re 0-0 for the week,” Karsen said after a 56-0 home spanking of severely undermanned Blake in the Cowboys’ season opener. “Week 2, we’re 0-0 right now and that’s our message. We’ve got to practice every week and every day leading up into our Friday nights.”
The message becomes even more granular considering the youthful roster he brings to battle after a senior-laden squad fought to the regional semifinals last season.
“We’re really, really, really young and we think we know what we have but we don’t really know what we have,” Karsen explained. “So we just tell them: one play at a time, one series at a time, one quarter at a time, and one game at a time. That’s kind of been our mantra with young guys. It’s just taking it slow, you know what I mean?”
Gaither’s biggest addition, junior transfer Daniel Terry, has stepped up as a leader and motivator to help prepare the newcomers to life in varsity football.
“Two-a-days, three-a-days ... doing whatever I can to make sure that, when the season comes, we’ve got our timing down,” the former Wiregrass Ranch quarterback said. “Day-in and day-out making sure we’re ready.”
The Cowboys certainly looked ready against a Yellow Jackets team that graduated its quarterback room and saw its top running back, Elijah Newman-Hall, take his talent and Ohio State commitment to IMG Academy.
Terry was at the forefront of it, leading Gaither to touchdowns on all six of his possessions before his evening ended midway through the second quarter. Stretching the field both deep and from sideline to sideline, Terry deftly shared the wealth, connecting with four different athletic receivers (senior Hamilton Green, freshman Blaze Ingram, as well as sophomores Kaivon Williams and Elijah Evans, who also had a first-quarter rushing score), for touchdowns while rolling up 208 passing yards in his short time on the field.
“It was really important to me (to make an early statement for the season),” said Terry, who also turned his only carry of the night into a 7-yard touchdown. “I wanted to play in some better competition in Hillsborough County. I know that’s where the best play, and I wanted to be in the best opportunity for me to break out and show all these (college) coaches why they should come see me.”
Freshman QB Jayden Chavis also left his mark on the contest, throwing his first career touchdown pass, an 8-yarder to freshman William Jennings late in the first half.
And with ample help from senior kicker Ramsi Thalji (8-for-8 on point-after kicks), the Cowboys defense also rose to the occasion.
With Thalji’s powerful leg delivering consistent touchbacks that hampered Blake’s field position, the Gaither defense delivered the goods led by senior linebacker Brad Cobb.
A brutal force in the middle, Cobb helped box up a Yellow Jacket offense that could only net 67 yards by registering eight tackles, a sack, and a strip-and-score for the Cowboys’ final touchdown of the night.
“Brad has paid his dues,” Karsen said. “He didn’t play as much last year, but he and Tamarcus (Young) are the leaders of our defense. (Cobb’s) a grinder and the kids see how hard he works. He never takes a rep off, just goes out there and grinds every day.”
Disruptions up front from Cobb, sophomores Nolan Ellis and Ross Harris, along with senior Gio Feliciano turned into interceptions for sophomore Torrance Bacon, Jennings, and senior Kamari Williams in a dominant team performance.
“The defense played fast tonight, which I loved to see, and I also thought our offensive linemen made some quick adjustments and kept (Terry) pretty clean the rest of the game,” Karsen said.
The Cowboys also kept the field clean from penalty flags, getting whistled for only five in all, although one in particular will be addressed come Monday’s practice in preparation for Week 2 and Plant.
“We played a pretty disciplined game,” concluded Karsen. “Other than throwing the balls up (to celebrate touchdowns and draw unsportsmanlike conduct penalties), which they’re going to pay for that on Monday at practice.”
Terry by the numbers
Moving from Wiregrass Ranch to Gaither during the offseason, junior QB Daniel Terry looked to increase his level of competition as well as his visibility.
“I feel like I’m really underrated and really doubted, and I just want to put my name out there, put my name on the map,” said Terry, who currently has a dozen college offers on the table. “I’ve got a lot of coaches looking at me and I’m looking to blow up this year and stack up as many (offers) as possible.”
If his numbers from Friday’s shellacking of Blake are an indication, visibility will be no issue.
Consider these numbers.
20: Number of offensive plays Terry participated in against Blake
208: Number of yards Terry passed for
77: Percentage of completions, going 10-of-13 in the game
7: Number of different receivers with catches
4: Number of different Cowboy receivers with touchdown catches
“I like being a mobile passer so I can get my guys the ball,” Terry said. “My goal is no incompletions and keeping the percentages as high as possible. Our goal as a team is to be comfortable, not to give up any points and to score as many points as we can in the time we have, and that’s what we did (against Blake).”
And with numbers like those, the eyes will surely follow.
