AURORA | The Gateway football team got into the win column for the first time this season in a big way with a 40-6 win over Thornton Saturday afternoon at Aurora Public Schools stadium.
Senior Knyle Serrell piled up 200 yards of total offense — including 175 yards rushing — and scored four touchdowns to go with a fumble recovery as the Olys (1-4) delivered Rashad Mason his first win as a head coach.
Gateway ceded a touchdown to the Trojans in the first quarter, but evened it up immediately when senior Maximus Matthews took back the ensuing kickoff to the end zone.
Serrell — who finished with 175 yards rushing on just nine carries and also recovered a fumble on defense — scored on touchdown runs of 1, 2, 53 and 60 yards in the second quarter, while senior Keondre Meadows added a 40-yard touchdown run in a burst of 40 unanswered points before halftime.
Neither team scored in the second half.
Gateway begins I-25 League play with a Sept. 29 road game at Widefield (4-1).
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
GATEWAY 40, THORNTON 6
Score by quarters:
Thornton 6 0 0 0 — 6
Gateway 27 13 0 0 — 40
SCORING
First quarter
Thornton — 70 yard touchdown pass (kick failed)
Gateway — Maximus Matthews 70 yard kickoff return (Knyle Serrell run)
Gateway — Serrell 1 yard run (Alex Florentino kick)
Gateway — Serrell 53 yard run (kick failed)
Gateway — Serrell 60 yard run (conversion failed)
Second quarter
Gateway — Keondre Meadows 40 yard run (Florentino kick)
Gateway — Serrell 2 yard run (conversion failed)
RUSHING
Gateway: Knyle Serrell 9-175, Keondre Meadows 4-60, Maximus Matthews 4-38, Michael Washington 9-15, Lyric Wynn 6-15
PASSING
Gateway: Serrell 4-6, 60 yards; Westin Rayburn 2-4, minus-2 yards, 1 interception
RECEIVING
Gateway: Matthews 3-37, Forrest Clemmons 1-16, Wynn 1-0
