Gorman takes control with turnovers, romps past Liberty — PHOTOS
According to scientists and meteorologists, the chance of lightning striking in the same place twice is actually a lot greater than never. Lightning can, and often does, strike in the same place, the experts say.
But the chance of that happening when the Bishop Gorman football team is involved is greatly reduced.
The last time the Gaels played at Liberty, the Patriots prevailed in a 30-24 overtime thriller that ended Gorman’s 115-game winning streak against Nevada opponents and run of 10 consecutive state titles.
Friday night’s rivalry renewal between the private and public schools on the Patriots’ field turf was nowhere near as dramatic as the 2019 game.
Liberty kept it competitive for nearly a half. But Gorman turned two late first-half turnovers into stunning touchdowns en route to a 56-14 victory in the Class 5A Southern Region championship game.
The Gaels (12-1) will face Bishop Manogue (11-2), a 34-28 winner Friday over Spanish Springs, in the state title game at 1:30 p.m. Nov. 19 in Carson City.
“We had a lot of chances to get a lot of touchdowns early in the game. We dropped some balls, and that was uncharacteristic (of us),” Gorman coach Brent Browner said. “In big games, weird stuff happens every once in a while.
“But I think our offense started to click after a while, and our defense, obviously, stepped up big (late in) the first half.”
The Patriots were still within striking range, trailing 14-0 with two minutes to go before halftime, when Quincy Davis scooped up a fumble by Liberty’s Isaiah Lauofo and returned it 45 yards for a TD. Liberty was moving again when Gorman’s Jeremiah Hughes intercepted a sideline pass and brought it back 63 yards for another score 20 seconds before halftime.
“The two scores that led to touchdowns for them were back-breakers,” said Liberty coach Rich Muraco, whose Patriots closed the book on an 8-4 season. “”I thought we played so well in the first half, and maybe we would go down and score there.”
That might have made a second half shortened by the running clock a bit more compelling. But Muraco agreed that Gorman was simply the faster, deeper and better team, as its No. 5 national ranking would suggest.
“That’s what happens when you play a really elite team — they make you pay,” Muraco said of the Gaels’ lightning strikes on defense in the final two minutes before halftime and their ability to convert Liberty defensive breakdowns into several easy second-half TDs.
The game went to a running clock three times in the second half, but Gorman still racked up 393 yards of offense to Liberty’s 277.
Micah Alejado completed 7 of 12 passes for 206 yards and two TDs and was sharp after having his first throw of the night intercepted. Zachariah Branch, the nation’s top-ranked wide receiver recruit, caught four passes for 125 yards and a 46-yard TD but also dropped a pass in the end zone.
Liberty quarterback Tyrese Smith had some early success before the Gorman defense tightened up and held him to 10 completions in 28 attempts for 184 yards.
Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ronkantowski on Twitter.
