Bishop Gorman outscores St. Louis in showdown of prep titans — PHOTOS

Bishop Gorman began the high school football season Friday night in the unusual position of having to prove itself.

After winning 10 consecutive state championships during an unprecedented run that included three mythical national titles, the Gaels lost to Liberty in the 2019 state playoffs before the onset of COVID-19.

The narrative coming into the 2021 season: An opener against fellow national powerhouse St. Louis of Hawaii would provide Gorman with the ideal chance to reaffirm its standing among the nation’s premier programs.

Narrative realized.

Running back Cam Barfield scored five touchdowns to lead the Gaels to an impressive 42-21 victory at Fertitta Field on the Bishop Gorman campus.

“That’s a big, physical team that came out here to play,” said Brent Browner, the former Gorman assistant beginning his first full season as Gaels head coach, about knocking headgear with St. Louis. “These kids have been waiting for a long time — we were lucky to play a couple of games in the spring, but this was our first real test, and I couldn’t be more proud of these guys.”

The teams last met in 2019, with St. Louis winning 31-19 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. The Crusaders finished that season 12-1, with their only loss coming against Florida juggernaut St. Thomas Aquinas in the State Champions Bowl Series at Bishop Gorman that snapped a 38-game win streak.

The Hawaiians scored first, and following Barfield’s first two TDs forged a 14-14 tie in the second quarter. Gorman then rattled off 28 unanswered points to take a 42-14 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Barfield scored on runs of 1, 57, 2, 1 and 20 yards as Gorman’s physical offensive line seemed to wear down St. Louis’ defensive front.Barfield finished with 136 yards on 13 carries, and quarterback Micah Alejado kept the visitors honest by completing 10 of 13 passes for 193 yards.

“It starts with the O-line, and Cam Barfield is really a dynamic back. Even if something breaks down, he can still make the play,” Browner said in assessing Gorman’s balanced and efficient offense.

The Gaels limited AJ Bianco, St. Louis’ strapping quarterback, to 10 completions in 25 attempts for 198 yards. Gorman’s pass rush constantly harried the Crusaders’ QB, who was hobbling when he left the game after three quarters.

Browner said it almost felt back to normal, save for the thousands of virus-protective facemasks in the stands.

“The emotions of this, we were so glad to have this game, this many fans in here,” he said of the capacity crowd. “A great team came in to play us and the guys handled it all week really well. Now the first-game jitters are out and we’re ready to keep rollin’.”

Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ronkantowski on Twitter.