Gorman finding more competiton in practices than games

After tearing through yet another valley opponent Friday night, defeating Legacy 69-0, Bishop Gorman coach Brent Browner watched the nation’s two top-ranked teams play each other.

Mater Dei beat fellow California and national power St. John Bosco, and Browner would have rather played one of those schools rather than watch.

The out-of-state portion of Gorman’s schedule is well into the rear-view mirror. But to the Gaels’ credit, they aren’t letting up even if their practices are more competitive and demanding than their games.

Gorman is playing for their 12th state championship since 2009, but the Gaels would really love a fourth national title. That hope ended Aug. 26 in a 24-21 loss to Mater Dei.

The Gaels (7-1, 3-0 Desert League) are ranked eighth nationally by Maxpreps, but they know the Nevada portion of their schedule won’t make up the difference.

“The hardest part is we’ve gotten better,” Browner said. “Playing Mater Dei in week two, that was unfortunate to lose that game. I wish we would’ve been able to schedule them later so that we can get good at what we’re doing and find out what our team really is.”

Browner also has other reasons to lament.

Gorman took a 41-0 lead in the first quarter against Legacy, another early running clock against an overmatched opponent. Gaels starters are off the field by the second half.

“Games like this are tough for them because they put in a ton of work and a ton of preparation,” Browner said of his players. “They want to play more. … Some of these guys are seniors. This is their last time playing for Bishop Gorman. They want to play every single minute they can possibly play.”

Under the radar

Desert Pines is able to use a number of offensive weapons to complement a shut-down defense, and the Jaguars now are playing more disciplined as well.

The Jaguars committed only four penalties in Friday’s 48-0 victory over Clark, and three of those were on special teams. Coach Tico Rodriguez got his players’ attention by making them run after they committed 17 infractions the week before.

But with Gorman again dominating and Liberty re-emerging as the potential challenger to the Gaels, the Jaguars (6-1, 2-0 Mountain League) are rarely mentioned in the same conversation about Class 5A contenders.

“In the past, we’ve been overhyped and everybody’s talking about us,” Rodriguez said. “This group of kids, they just work hard. We just want to show up and play good, hard football. We don’t need all that right now.”

Surging Skyhawks

Like with Gorman, it would be easy for Silverado’s players to slack off some. And like with Gorman, they don’t do it.

The Skyhawks (7-0, 3-0 Desert League) are rolling toward what appears to be another Class 4A state championship. But coach Andy Ostolaza said he’s concerned about potential obstacles once the postseason arrives.

He won’t count out Shadow Ridge, Coronado, Basic or Las Vegas as teams capable of pulling off the upset.

“Especially if we have to play a team a second time, it’s going to be tougher,” Ostolaza said.

Up next

Las Vegas plays up a class when it travels to Reno to play northern 5A power Bishop Manogue. Faith Lutheran at Desert Pines carries 5A playoff implications.

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