Gorman will have hands full at C-M

Spencer Patterson

Friday, Nov. 17, 2000 | 10:21 a.m.

For Bishop Gorman football fans, Cimarron-Memorial's dramatic overtime win over Cheyenne last week can be looked at either of two ways.

The optimist might point to the Spartans' narrow 21-20 win over the Desert Shields as a sign that the two-time defending 4A state champs are vulnerable.

The pessimist might argue that Cimarron -- a team with 28 wins in its last 29 games -- rarely gives opponents a chance to win, and that the Gaels may come up against a club with something to prove after last week's near-miss.

One way or the other, the Gaels (8-3) will take their best shot at halting the 11-0 Spartans' march toward a third straight state title in tonight's 7 o'clock Sunset Region finale at Cimarron.

Bishop Gorman head coach Roger Whalen was in Texas Thursday, attending to a death in the family. But defensive coordinator Kevin Kent had plenty to say about Cimarron's recent string of success.

"It's a terrific program over there," Kent said. "Coach (Greg) Spencer and his coaches have put together a tremendous run, a dynasty. You just have to look at it as an incredible challenge and an opportunity."

The Gaels might take some solace from a close inspection of film from the Spartans' come-from-behind win last week. Cheyenne held Cimarron's normally potent running game in check until the late going, but the Shields were unable to close the book on the champs.

"Cheyenne pretty well dominated the first half, and then it was a defensive struggle in the second half," Spencer said. "We were lucky enough to generate a few key plays. Maybe they had a little flash of it being over with, so hopefully they'll understand that luck played a part of it."

The Gaels also come into tonight's matchup fresh off an overtime battle. Gorman held on for a 27-20 win over Palo Verde in last week's Sunset semifinals.

In that game, the Gaels' top two players, Dyante Perkins and Jason Rogers, contributed several big plays on both sides of the ball late in the contest.

"Obviously, No. 1 (Perkins) and No. 2 (Rogers) are their big players," Spencer said. "They're both exceptional players, and we need to slow them down. You want to keep the ball out of their hands as much as you can, so if we can move the ball offensively that would be the best thing."

The Spartans are ranked No. 8 in USA Today's weekly western regional rankings, and haven't lost since Oct. 22, 1999, when they fell 28-14 at Western. Prior to that, their last loss came on Oct. 16, 1998, with Cheyenne coming out on top 27-11 in that game.

"They've been so good for so long, stopping them is going to be awfully tough," Kent said. "If we do what we need to do and we execute, hopefully we'll have a chance to be successful."

Tonight's winner advances to next Saturday's 4A state semifinals, along with the Sunrise Region champion and Northern Region finalists McQueen and Wooster.