The 2011 Gaither Cowboys football team is making history. It is just the second team to play in the regional final in the program’s history.
In his first season as the Cowboys’ head coach Jason Stokes has seen Gaither change.
Led by sophomore quarterback Alex McGough, who attended Wesley Chapel last year, the Cowboys are 9-3 with wins over Durant and Tampa Bay Tech in the 7A playoffs.
It’s only fitting for Stokes, McGough and the Cowboys that to make Gaither history, by being the first team to advance to the state semifinals, they have to go through Lakeland – a team that defeated Stokes 48-6 in 2008 while he coached the Bloomingdale Bulls.
“Coach has been harping on that – all the smoke and mirrors that Lakeland has with the stadium and the jumbotron,” said the 6’ 1” Gaither quarterback. “We just got to get past that and realize they’re just a football team. They’re 15, 16, 17 [years old] and we just got to go out there and play our best game to have a chance at winning.”
Lakeland has six state championships. Gaither has zero, and has yet to sniff the championship game.
“We talk about that all the time in the locker room; how we can be the best team that Gaither has ever had. We just really want to go out there and do our best for coach Stokes and allow him to be the first coach to go past the regional finals – in his first year,” McGough explained. “It would be so amazing for coach Stokes to have that under his belt. We feel that if we play to our best potential then we can definitely do some things.”
Confidence for the Cowboys is at an all-time high coming of a hard-fought win over Tampa Bay Tech. A Titans team that beat them 17-14 in the regular season. Although an ugly game, that featured 10 fumbles, revenge over the Titans tasted sweet. Gaither defeated TBT 17-14 in round two, when it really matter.
“When we lost to them, we knew we would see them again in the playoffs so when it happened we were just so pumped up and ready to go,” McGough said. “We prepared all week with hard practices. To have that win under our belt that just boost so much confidence and we think we can just keep that up for Lakeland.”
It has been a rocky road for Gaither. The team lost its two offensive coordinators – and with a new coach and a new quarterback trust was tough to come by. It took the abrupt departure of those coordinators to turn things around.
“I think that’s when we all said that we had to step up and make this season work. We just feel that we have to make coach Stokes proud and not have a 3-7 like we did last year,” McGough said.
The quarterback had to earn the trust of his players a different way, on the field. He did so with a spectacular play in week five.
“I got pressure from my backside and I somehow made the guy miss and I threw a touchdown. The offensive line just looked at me and said ‘wow, that was good’ and I think from then on I just believed in my offensive line and everyone else believed in me that I can fill the role at quarterback and help the team go deep in the playoffs.”
The Cowboys are doing just that.
If Gaither can tame its emotions, if it doesn’t get lost in the “smoke and mirrors,” if it can play its game, if it can contain Lakeland – then maybe, just maybe the Cowboys’ Cinderella-story of a season can continue.