Slow start, big finish

Adam Candee

Thursday, Oct. 2, 2003 | 10:19 a.m.

The neon yellow pieces of paper dot the walls throughout the Bishop Gorman locker room, carrying a simple message: "4."

They stand for the winning streak that the Gaels hope to be on after Friday night's home game against Bonanza. After losing their first two games without scoring a point, the Gaels have won three in a row to not only restore their confidence, but also to gain the inside track in the Southwest Division.

Gorman coach David White could not be happier about his team's position.

"As a team, they're overachieving in my expectations," White said. "They're doing more than I expected."

That is easier for White to say now. Gorman opened with a surprising loss at Green Valley and followed that with a blowout defeat to Foothill. In both games, quarterback Steve Harris and the Gaels offense appeared unsure and unsteady.

White did not want his team to panic and he gave them this advice: "In the game of life, rebounds make the biggest difference."

"It was pretty tough trying to come back from two losses," Gorman junior cornerback Greg Williams said.

White responded by making major personnel changes on offense and defense. Sophomore tailback DeMarco Murray became the full-time starter, allowing D.J. Senter to concentrate on his linebacker responsibilities. Ryan Reynolds also moved to a hybrid outside linebacker position to take advantage of his speed.

The Gaels found the right elixir in facing first-year Liberty, against whom Gorman posted 70 points. Harris, in just his third varsity start, began to settle into his leadership role. And the Gaels carried the whole package forward into a road upset of Cheyenne and a whipping of rival Durango, the latter of which included Murray compiling 152 total yards and three touchdowns.

"All we needed was to score a couple of times and get our confidence," White said.

Gorman will find an equally confident Bonanza team across the field. The Bengals have won consecutive games after starting the season with three losses. Bonanza put up 90 combined points in its two victories, as offense has not been a problem for the Bengals in its past two years.

Yet wins have not followed the scoring. Bonanza missed the playoffs in 2002 and looked to be on a dark path again this season. But after an upset of Rancho and a decisive win over Clark, the Bengals are seeing some reward for their effort.

"There's a lot to be said about being confident," Bonanza coach Johnny Macon said. "You've got to win to get confidence, but if you don't have confidence, you won't win."

Macon said the key to Bonanza's turnaround is a mental one. He feels his team is learning to handle the little challenges inherent to each game, something that comes only with experience.

"Football is like a roller coaster," Macon said. "You're going to be up one minute and down the next."

The Bengals are climbing the next leg of the coaster, but Macon cautions his team to stay on a level plane.

"Teams in this situation feel like they've made it," Macon said. "And they haven't."

There is the same concern of letdown at Gorman, where the Gaels have defeated a strong opponent and a bitter rival in consecutive weeks. Gorman sophomore wideout David Fry feels that his team will be thinking only about Bonanza.

"All we've got to do is put that game behind us," Fry said. "The win was key, but we've got to stay focused."