Bishop Gorman coach not ruling out national championship

Brent Browner didn’t shy away from talking about the possibility of his Bishop Gorman team capturing the national championship, even though the chances seem remote.

Maxpreps ranks the Gaels seventh nationally, so it’s not impossible, but the 24-21 loss three weeks ago to No. 2 Mater Dei (California) makes the task considerably more difficult.

Browner, however, has maintained an optimistic outlook.

“It’s super early,” he said. “Some of the top teams play each other. I think the caliber of consistent teams that we’ve played can definitely help us out.”

The Gaels (3-1) likely have one last real chance at a run at the title when they host Brookwood (Georgia) at 7:30 p.m. ESPNU will televise the game against the 1-2 Broncos.

Brookwood is quarterbacked by Dylan Lonergan, who has committed to Alabama. He is a dual threat QB, averaging 156 yards passing and a team-leading 79.5 yards rushing per game.

But Browner said Brookwood wasn’t just about Lonergan, pointing to the Broncos’ size on both lines and at linebacker. He also praised the strength of their ground game and receivers.

Expected back for Gorman is star wide receiver Zachariah Branch. The Southern California commit didn’t play in last week’s 45-0 victory over Hamilton because of injury.

“Hopefully, we’ll be full strength,” Browner said, referring to Branch’s return. “Just a little nicked (two weeks ago) in Hawaii. Just out of full-on precaution, we wanted to hold him out until he could be ready.”

After this game, Gorman will begin Desert League play and likely won’t be challenged, though Arbor View (3-0) is playing well. But the defending Class 5A champion Gaels will be expected to again dominate their Nevada competition.

“We played a lot of great out-of-state teams,” Browner said. “I think we’ve represented Nevada very well. Obviously, we had a tough game that we didn’t get done. Any time that teams from Nevada play other states, we root for them. Hopefully, they root for us, even getting beat. Nobody’s supposed to like us anyways.”

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.