Schools
Gaither Advances to State Semifinals; Play on Friday Against Durant
Team knocked off their second #1 district seed last Friday 3-1 and move on to the state semifinals for a rematch with Durant.
Durant crushed the Gaither Cowboys on January 15 in the first round of the Wharton Invitational. Jacob Brumbeloe pulled a hat-trick on Gaither as Durant scored four goals in the second half.
Connor Bass, Durant’s giant, was dominant both defending and on set pieces.
The Cougars stumbled in their District 8 Final against Newsome, but have since dropped Central (Brooksville), Newsome, and Auburndale. All are No. 1 seeds, for a combined score of 10-4.
Meanwhile, Gaither also lost their district final to Sickles. They had to battle through Charlotte, Gulf Coast and East Lake to arrive in the state semis. Jordan See has fought a hamstring injury, yet still produced three goals for his team in regional action.
Gaither will look to even the score with Durant on Friday afternoon at 12:45 p.m. at The University of Tampa.
The Cowboys have to figure out how to slow down Brumbeloe and chop down Bass in order to make their first state championship appearance since 2001. Between Brumbeloe’s speed and Bass’ size, the Cowboys will have their work cut out for them, some say.
“ He (Bass) gives us all sorts of problems on defense. It’ s good that most teams don't have a guy that big,” said Gaither Coach Eric Sims.
Check Patch on Friday evening for live coverage of the semifinal game.