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twitterGorman captures Southwest title with another blowout victory
Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009 | 11:56 p.m.
Prep Sports Now
A sad week for local football
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Las Vegas Sun reporters Ray Brewer and Steve Silver remember former Palo Verde coach David Castro while looking ahead to this week's games.
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The Bishop Gorman High football team had a comfortable seven-touchdown lead Thursday night with less than six minutes to play against host Spring Valley when players from the Gaels’ second string were finally inserted into the game.
No, Gorman wasn’t trying to run-up the score.
Rather, the Gaels coach Tony Sanchez was trying to get his starters more action later in the game.
Gorman (9-0) remained undefeated with a 56-6 victory against the Grizzlies to capture the Southwest Division title and secure the No. 1 seed for the upcoming Sunset Regional playoffs.
Gorman, playing in arguably the state’s weakest division, has outscored league opponents 382-29. While winning six of eight league games by more than 50 points is an impressive statistic, it does nothing for building the stamina of Gorman’s top performers for what they expect to be a long playoff run.
“We hadn’t played our first string in the fourth quarter until tonight,” Sanchez said. “You can’t get better when your offense only has six snaps in the second half.”
So, Gorman’s starting tailback, Victor Belen, scored the Gaels first and last touchdown of the night — a 23-yard run in the first quarter and 7-yard run with 5:14 to play.
The Gaels expected to win the Southwest crown — just like they except to win the Sunset Region and state championship.
“This is a small stepping stone in our journey to winning state,” said senior defensive lineman Ian Bobak, who had an interception against Spring Valley and is a big reason why Gorman has given up 12 points in the last four weeks.
“We are filling up our gas tank and getting ready for the long haul,” he said.
Gorman’s Johnathan Loyd had two punt returns for a touchdown while Division I prospects Taylor Spencer (uncommitted) Alex Turner (Stanford) and Xavier Grimble (Southern Californa) added touchdowns. Also, sophomore running back Shaquille Powell scored on a 44-yard run for his 17th touchdown of the year.
“We did a great job of making them look good tonight,” Spring Valley coach Kelly Murphy said. “We were just terrible.”
Spring Valley scored its lone points with 3:25 to play on a 54-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jordan Cox to Anton Stallworth.
Gorman closes its regular season schedule at home Oct. 29 against Clark.
Ray Brewer can be reached at 990-2662 or ray.brewer@lasvegassun.com.
Discussion: 10 comments so far…
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It doesn't look like the north has any dominant teams this season so Gorman's biggest enemy will be its soft schedule going into the playoffs...will they be able to respond when faced with a challenge or will they tighten up and their nerves will get the best of them? A freshman quarterback at the helm in a close game might just come back to bite them.
Here's a few thoughts on a few of the schools.
Palo Verde: Let's face it, Gorman is thirsty for some revenge. Last year's loss wasn't due to a lack of talent or effort, just poor coaching and preparation. Gorman had the better team last season, and should Palo make it to a rematch, it is going to be a painful game for the Panthers.
Legacy: These guys have nothing to lose and are a threat to everyone in the playoffs. I'd be extremely worried about playing them no matter who you are.
Cheyenne: The "chey-town" will end up more like "chey-down". They had a good run last season but won't be able to get past any of the marquee teams who've really stepped it up.
Del Sol: I think they're finally being taken seriously. Del Sol and Legacy are probably the two biggest threats to knock off Gorman. But much like Gorman, they haven't seen a tough schedule (with the exception of Las Vegas).
Cimarron: In week one I would've said they had a solid chance.. now, I think the field is just too strong and they don't have what it'll take.
VegasVegas,
Good points and analysis. However:
1) Gorman did NOT have better talent last year. They did have a lot of D-1 talent as usual but the strain was already showing with the former coach's conservative style clashing with these kids and their parents needing the ability to put up big numbers for the scouts. Overall, though, I don't think they had the same talent level as Palo's who they got trounced by.
2) I like the Gorman coach but I'm dying to see him go head to head in a close game situation with talented coaches like Palo's and LV's. Only then will we really know much about how good their coach is.
3) I don't know as much about the North this year but having to travel by bus to the North to play a semi-final over Thanksgiving weekend and then turn around to play in State the following weekend is a tough path for Gorman.
I don't know if the travel really would impact Gorman. Have you seen the luxury bus they get to take? They have it much better than many colleges. They're well fed (often catered food from Red Rock Station) and will be well-rested for this trip.
Gorman's real test will be against a winning program. If they go out and beat a Palo/Legacy type school 56 to 0 THEN I think we'll know this team was THAT good we just didn't see the proof.
If they get clobbered, then that REALLY says something about how dreadful their competition was.
My gut feeling is that Gorman is simply that good. I disagree about the talent from last season however, I think coaching killed that team last year. With this coaching staff and that team, Palo loses about 30-14. I was at the game, and Palo had no business representing the south for the state title.
OK, VegasVegas, you had me nodding my head in agreement with most what you were saying UNTIL you started talking about Gorman's luxury bus and the catered food from Red Rock Station. Since we do not have the convenience of a school bus at our disposal, how on earth do you expect the team of 47 players, their equipment and coaches get to the games all over the valley? Hmmmmm.......Since a lot of the team doesn't even have a driver's license would you have them walk??? And let me assure you, the only people feeding the varsity team are the team moms who volunteer their time and energy to support whatever needs to be done. And how do I know this? Because I am one of those people!!!!
VegasVegas is correct that Gorman must beat Palo Vede in a lopsided win to entitle them to the status/ranking nationwide that they thirst for....I also agree that Gorman is woefully lacking at QB position, the freshman QB is too short (5'11) and too small (175 lbs) to be taken as a serious national level QB. Any QB in Las Vegas could throw for 55% behind a line that averages over 300 lbs...because the running game for Gorman is Divison I college level and the tight end and receivers are Divison I level any QB will do well, until a close game exposes this weakness....Palo verde will need to safety blitz the Gorman QB in a close game and play defense quicker than the Gorman offensive line with their LBs closing down the runnning game to have a chance. If the Gorman QB gets hit hard by a LB or DL from Palo Verde, Gorman will second guess their decision not to go with size at QB position.
All the divisions are good this year and Desert Oasis and Spring Valley will lay a hat on Legacy and Palo first round no doubt. Cheyenne will do the same to Gorman as well as Durango to Cimmaron. The main 4 should win, but it will be a battle no matter the score. Dgump you are correct the line at Gorman has been exposed all season, and again by SV on Thursday Night Lights this past week. Yet the coach has not made the necessary changes by moving LBs there like Palo last year. Also they only have 2 maybe 3 receivers who can catch and none of them block down field, why he continues to throw to kids who can't catch is beyond me. Lastly, the special teams play will determine the playoffs this year, the coach changed the kickoff team (bout time) but needs to put seniors on them at all times...Its playoffs, Best players play, Win or go home, not time to please parents. Lloyd & Spencer should be deep on kickoff return with Belen and Powell at next level, this takes care of deep and short kicks as well. Punt coverage has to do the same. Lastly, I'm not sure why Gorman runs man to man defensively, third and long maybe, but no one throws the ball that well in the Valley and the long runs against them this year, their corners always have their back to the ball. I suggest this along with the changes to the offensive line should be put in this week for next 2 games till Palo. It will be difficult for some parents to swallow but in order to beat Palo they must coach like Palo who utilize, their best athletes on the field at all times.
Coach Sanchez (Gorman)took an undersized, pitful team in San Francisco Bay Area a few years ago (California HS)and turned them in one year into a nationally ranked contender when they nearly beat the #1 ranked team in the country (De La Salle) two years in a row. Sanchez can out coach anyone in Nevada, and with the current Gorman team the question is not if they win the state title, but will it be a lopsided blowout. Expect Gorman to be nationally ranked in the top five in the country next year 2010/2011.
Rocknroll I'm not sure what part of my comments you are disputing. I'm pointing out that having to travel won't hurt Gorman because they get to travel in first-class settings which is to their benefit. It's a good thing for the kids and will make a long trip to Reno much less painful than riding on a standard school bus.
Someone was stating that the travel to Reno over Thanksgiving weekend would hurt them. My point was that travel to these kids really isn't a bad thing.
wep, watched the SV game and saw a sophomore make a big hit on the kickoff team. Heard from a friend he's done it multiple times this year. Don't know much about the Gorman coach, but any coach should weigh what is working vs. seniority.
Vegasvegas, you state "luxury bus and catered food by the Red Rock Station" in the same paragraph. I appreciate your explanation of what your point was and maybe I jumped the gun on the bus (it really is just a chartered bus to go from point A to point B)but travel is travel and the team has to be tranported somehow. Traveling to Reno is always tiring no matter how you go. But better than many colleges? No. LOL. And catered food by Red Rock Station? Come on...that's utter gossip. Red Rock Station is a fine establishment, don't get me wrong, but Gorman's varsity football players eat food cooked by team moms - You know, like pasta, sandwiches, etc. That's a fact. They are no better fed than any other team. I just get tired of reading all of the nonsense written by people that is so based on non-facts.