Gorman to play nationally respected Servite High of California next fall

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2010 | 2:05 a.m.

Bishop Gorman football coach Tony Sanchez didn't take long to start thinking about the upcoming season following Saturday's state-championship victory.

When Sanchez arrived at work Monday his to-do list included finalizing the game schedule for next year, coordinating with college coaches interested in recruiting his players and planning a weekend trip to Southern California to scout an opponent he's lined up for next fall.

The Gaels, which played nationally ranked Hamilton High of Arizona and De La Salle of Northern California this fall, will face Servite High of Anaheim, Calif., next year. The schools entered into a two-game contract earlier this month, with all three levels of Servite's program playing at Gorman the first Saturday in October. Gorman's three levels of teams will play at Servite in 2012.

Servite is ranked No. 23 by USA Today and is one of Southern California's perennial powers. Last year it won the CIF State Division II bowl championship and finished ranked No. 3 nationally by Maxpreps.com

Sanchez and a few assistants will scout Servite's game this weekend against Mission Viejo in the CIF Championship.

"Servite is a heck of a football team," Sanchez said. "Any time you can go out and play a great team, you have a chance to grow. It's a great challenge, and at the end of the day, you want to challenge yourself."

Gorman went 1-2 against out-of-state competition this fall, but the experienced gained was vital in the Gaels capturing their second straight state title. They beat Del Oro of the Northern California, which last week won a seventh straight CIF sectional title, and lost to Hamilton and De La Salle. They led by seven points at halftime against De La Salle and arguably should have won the game in a 28-14 defeat.

"We lost to the No. 5 and No. 7 teams and both of those games could have went the other way," Sanchez said. "But you can't say, 'would have, could have, should have.' In the end, the way it turned out (with another state title) was fine."

Sanchez still is looking for one game to fill out the schedule.

The open date was reserved for a rematch with De La Salle, but Sanchez said he received an e-mail from De La Salle officials shortly after this year's game saying they were no longer interested. Sanchez assumed the second part of the home-and-home series was a formality.

Sanchez doesn't expect many problems finding someone to play. After all, everyone wants a crack at a nationally known program.

That's something Gorman, which has won three of the last four Nevada titles, can call itself.

"We were ranked in the top 50 of every poll (at the beginning of the year)," Sanchez said. "That had never happened before and I'm real proud of."

Gorman will open the season in the Sollenberger Classic, which pits the Nevada and Arizona state champions of the previous year, in the third week of August. Hamilton is playing Desert Ridge of Mesa, Ariz., this weekend in the title game.