Gateway Charter Slips Away From MIA in Downpour

Marco Island Academy’s 16-0 loss Friday night to Gateway Charter was a most unusual game from the get-go.

Before they even took the field, the game was moved to a makeshift facility at the STARS Complex in Dunbar. Half of the stadium lights did not work. The chain crew was using dilapidated equipment that was held together by tape. There were no yard lines painted on the field.

Then the rains came. The field became muddy, players were slipping and sliding, and the wet pigskin was as slippery as a greased pig.

But through it all, MIA battled gamely. Gateway scored on a 70 scamper by Deveon Simmons when the rain was falling hardest. Their other score was a 5-yarder by Isaac Santamaria.

Sandwiched around the two touchdowns was a lot of hard-hitting football. MIA just couldn’t quite put the ball in the end zone.

“It was a beautiful night for football as far as that nice drizzle,” MIA head coach Lew Montgomery said, "that fall-like atmosphere. Our fans filled up our sidelines. It’s community. I love that they’re still behind us.”

But Montgomery and his team were expecting more.

“We are disappointed with what we accomplished tonight,” Montgomery said, “just because we know what we should be doing now. How far we’ve come as a program. What we’re capable of. We were ready to keep going.”

This was just the second game this season for MIA. They didn’t have a practice game. Their only other game was on September 3. Gateway Charter, on the other hand, was playing their fifth. But Montgomery isn’t one to make excuses or to look backward. He’s always looking forward. Looking for that first win.

“If we can learn how to put together four quarters, we’ll get a W,” Montgomery said. "We’ve got to put the ball in the end zone and not let them respond to our mistakes with touchdowns.”

Montgomery doesn’t like to lose. Neither does his players. If it’s true that a team takes on its coach’s personality, then the Rays players must want a win in the worst way.

“I’m so frustrated,” Montgomery said. “The kids are frustrated, too. Our seniors have not won a game since they were in junior high. That’s our reality. That’s our understanding. We’re not gonna accept anything until we change that. There’s no success until we change that from here on out.”

“We have success as a brotherhood,” Montgomery explained. “We have success as a program. Everything we’re doing should be building toward the W. It will be building toward the W. But we’ve got to get the W now. We have to teach them how to win. They haven’t won, I get that. We need to show them exactly what that means. Thursday night. I can’t wait another seven days. I definitely can’t wait another three weeks. Six days is enough. I’m ready to go. My boys are ready to start practicing Sunday night. They said, ’Sunday night we’re ready to go, coach.’ That pit in their stomach is just as dark and heavy and killin’ ‘em as it is in mine. We are angry. I’m not angry at my team. We’re angry with our performance. We are going to do better. We deserve to do better for our brothers. We expect more out of our brothers. We’re going to push each other. I will do a better job. They will do a better job. Period. I have faith in them.”

MIA (0-2) travels to Fort Myers to play Southwest Florida Christian (3-1). They return home for an October 8 game against Gateway High School. Gateway Charter (3-2) travels to Legacy Charter (3-1).