Gaither junior quarterback Daniel Terry had the kind of night most quarterbacks only dream about — and he barely had to break a sweat doing it. Against Riverview, Terry completed 12 of his 16 passes for 288 yards and five touchdowns as the Cowboys rolled to a 53-7 victory.

His favorite target that night, Royce Leal-Gonzalez, needed just three catches to put up 145 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Three catches, 145 yards — nearly 50 yards every time the ball found his hands. It was the clearest picture yet of what Gaither’s passing game looks like when it is fully in rhythm: quick, vertical and very hard to tackle in space.

The Riverview outburst was not a fluke. Terry’s season-long numbers on MaxPreps back it up — he has completed just under 63 percent of his passes with a quarterback rating of 125.8, production that has powered a Gaither team sitting at 6-3 heading into the final stretch of the regular season.

And when the Cowboys are not throwing it over the top, they are perfectly happy to grind a game away. On October 16, Gaither’s defense took its turn in the spotlight, shutting out Sickles 56-0 for one of the most complete team performances anywhere in Hillsborough County that weekend.

Gaither has tested itself all season — a hard-fought 35-28 loss at Tampa Bay Tech, a city rivalry win over Plant (24-21) to open the year — and the Cowboys have come out of that schedule battle-ready, with an offense that can score in bunches and a defense capable of pitching a shutout.

With the playoffs approaching, that balance matters. Defenses can scheme for a running back or double one receiver, but a junior quarterback playing with this kind of confidence, surrounded by playmakers, is a problem that travels. Daniel Terry has already shown Tampa what one of his big nights looks like. November had better be ready for another.