Much like he slices through opposing defenses on Friday nights, Westgate’s Tavais Gordon has burst onto the scene in his sophomore year, establishing himself as one of the Tigers’ most dangerous offensive weapons.

After suffering an injury in his freshman season, Gordon has cemented his place in the starting lineup for Westgate.

“I feel like it went better than I was expecting,” Gordon said of the season so far. “Last season, I got hurt, so this year nobody was expecting me to do well. I think I’ve done very well this year.”

Gordon has been a running back for his entire career, first picking up the position in the pee-wee leagues.

“I’ve been playing running back my whole life, ever since I started playing football,” Gordon explained. “I’ve played a lot of other positions, but running back has been my main position since little league. It’s the feel of it. Getting through the line feels great.”

Coming into Westgate with experience helped Gordon, but working with coach Randal “Skiez” Antoine has pushed him over the edge to greatness.

“My coaches in little league showed me how to do the basics, but Skiez showed me how to be patient and watch my blocks,” the sophomore said. “When you find that hole, just go straight through it with no hesitation. Don’t think about anything else. If you see somebody, run through them and don’t let the first man tackle you.”

Head coach Ryan Antoine said that Gordon has impressed everyone this season with his performances, which also open up opportunities to pass the ball.

“Tavais is getting better and he’s kind of sneaking up on everybody,” Antoine said of Gordon’s improvement this season. “It’s like ‘wow, Tavais is running the ball’ but his work ethic at practice is great. Coach Randall (Antoine) does a good job with those guys. We feel like we’ve got a good punch with our run game and offensive line. With Tavais running the way that he’s running, it’ll definitely open up the passing game for us as well.”

Gordon’s personal goals for the season might have seen a bit optimistic at first, but he’s already surpassed one major milestone and is rapidly closing in on the second.

“My goal is to hit 1,000 yards and get over 10 touchdowns, but I already went over 10 touchdowns and I’m just 100 yards away from hitting 1,000. I’m going to get that in this game.”

The game in question is Westgate’s quarterfinal matchup with No. 2 seed Neville on Friday.

In 2019, Neville knocked Westgate out of the playoffs by a score of 26-24. They repeated their performance the following season, when the two teams met up in the second round. The Monroe team defeated Westgate 53-34 that year.

This year, the odds are in Westgate’s favor.

Neville still entered the playoffs as the higher seed, ending the regular season with a 7-2 record and defeated East Ascension 31-9 in the second round of the Non-Select Division I playoffs.

According to Gordon, Westgate’s running game is going to perform well against Neville.

“We’ve been watching film on them and our run plays are really going to work against them,” he said. “We just have to hit the hole without hesitation. They’re good, but they’re not really that good. We’re better than everybody that we play, and we’re better than them.”

Westgate will host Neville on Friday. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.