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Bishop Gorman tackle Ron Scoggins, center, and running back Shaquille Powell celebrate after their game against Chaparral High of Scottsdale at the Sollenberger Classic Saturday, August 20, 2011 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Gorman won the game 42-22.
Sunday, Aug. 21, 2011 | 12:15 a.m.
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Shaquille Powell
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Bishop Gorman High running back Shaquille Powell talks about the upcoming high school football season.
GLENDALE, Ariz. — With games against a pair of nationally ranked opponents to open the season six days apart, the Bishop Gorman High football team took care of business Saturday night in its first challenge.
The Gaels received six touchdowns and 300 rushing yards from senior running back Shaquille Powell, opening the second half with 28 unanswered points to erase a seven-point halftime deficit for a 42-22 victory against No. 24 Chaparral High of Scottsdale, Ariz., at the Sollenberger Classic in Glendale, Ariz.
What’s next for the nation’s seventh ranked team? Quarters No. 5 to 8.
Gorman has six days to recover from the exhausting trip to Arizona for Friday’s home game against No. 2 ranked Armwood High of the Tampa, Fla., area. Gorman has never lost in the four-year history of Fertitta Field, but then again, they have never hosted a team with the dynamic players of respected Armwood.
“Thank God we were able to take care of the first part. We knew it would be a six-day grind,” Gorman coach Tony Sanchez said. “It is an eight-quarter game, not a four-quarter game. We are going to see a defense next week that is extremely physical and extremely fast. But that is OK. We’ll be fine.”
Gorman lost in last year's Classic to Hamilton High of Arizona but didn't flinch this year faced with adversity in the first half of Saturday's game.
Powell carried the ball 30 times for 304 yards, scoring three touchdowns in the initial eight minutes of the second half to give Gorman the lead for good. He was simply unstoppable, scoring on runs of 45, 7, 5, 1, and 36 yards and catching a 30-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter.
Powell, however, took little of the credit. His offensive line dominated the second half, clearly wearing down the Chaparral defensive front and giving the 5-foot-11, 205-pound Powell plenty of openings.
“It didn’t matter what side we went to with these lineman,” Powell said. “They are good. They opened the holes. Best linemen in the nation.”
With the Gaels trailing 14-7 at halftime, Powell scored on a 45-yard run at the 7:39 mark of the second half to even the game at 14.
Then, with one kick, the game changed in Gorman’s favor for the rest of the night. The Gaels’ Nathen Starks recovered an onside kick on a perfectly executed play, and Powell scored a few plays later on a 7-yard run.
The touchdowns were 1 minute, 38 seconds apart. The game, for all intents and purposes, was over.
“We were down at half and I wanted to set the tone and get my offense back on the field,” Starks said.
Gorman’s defense limited Chaparral to six plays in the third quarter and held Chaparral’s star players Davonte Neal and Texas-commit Connor Brewer in check all night. Fittingly, Powell also had a second-half interception.
Brewer passed for three touchdowns and 198 yards but only completed 11 of 26 passes.
Neal, who has more than 20 scholarship offers and was considered one of the best players on the field, was overshadowed by Powell all night. Neal scored on an 82-yard catch-and-run screen pass with 2:12 to play in the game, but Powell responded with a 36-yard touchdown run for his fifth touchdown of the half.
It was the best half of football for one of the Las Vegas Valley’s top players. A three-year varsity player, Powell has rushed for 2,782 yards and 46 touchdowns the past two years — but nothing compares to Saturday's game of a lifetime.
“The third quarter we just knew we had to pound the ball,” Powell said. "We weren’t pounding it like we wanted to. We went together and we went like we need to run this the rock, we need to open up this pass game, we need to hit those holes. We need to score. We need to get those yards. We had to wear them out. We had to get that advantage.”
Way to rep southen Nevada, whatever happens next week will be a good barometer. BG can play with anybody & LV athletes can compete with the best, its all about attitude & mentality. Once you are already athletically gifted just cross that mental hurdle and you can become great.
Dear Fan,
Shut up! The kids at Gorman...yeah, the KIDS at Gorman do represent Southern Nevada! When these kids go out of state and participate in such a great event, they absolutely represent Nevada, their team, their families and of course themselves! Any claim that they don't only makes your ignorance more apparent! So just continue to cry behind your "Fan" screen name and make sure you get my burger order correct!
Congrats to MV! Had me worried the first half! Ditto on both counts to BG!
Congratulations to Anu Solomon, Kiki Hunkin & their team. I am so proud of you guys! Great win!
Not a fan of Gorman. But whether we like it or not, they represent Southern Nevada on the national scene for high school football. Same as Unlv representing Southern Nevada in college football. So i congratulate Gorman on a great win last night. Shaq Powell was incredible. One of the most amazinng individual performances i have seen in football at any level. 6 tds, 300 yards, 1 int. Gorman has a real chance to win tne national title.
Can someone explain to me what the difference is between Gorman and Findley Prep, from an athletic standpoint? Both recruit and play nationally, but Gorman is allowed to compete for league and state titles, but Findley does not. Is this a choice Findley has made or is there a reason Findley is not eligible to compete for these titles? Just curious.
Gorman is not a barometer of how good Nevada high school football is. They blow out every Nevada team.
By the way, congrats on your win Gorman.
I think the reason Findlay Prep isn't in the NAIA is 1) they want to play a complete national schedule and not be tied to having to play in a division in Southern Nevada and 2) they openly recruit, which is against NAIA rules. I know the perception is that Gorman recruits, and this may have been the case a few years ago, but i don't believe they have to recruit anymore because of their status. Its no secret that they are the best at many sports so if parents want to have their kids play for the best, they will send them to Gorman without having to be recruited there. Weather they get a scholarship or not depends on the kid I assume.
I'm very curious as to how authorities, be they private or public, can justify the expense of hauling whole teams to far off placess to play any sport. We must not be as poor in the schools as the administrators who are laying off hundreds would have us believe. Really, kind of disgusting.
bartnrod....public pays 0% for travel for Gorman, actually Gorman has to pay like $7,000 a year if i'm not mistaken to NIAA ato be participant.
The tournament sponsors paid for the teams to go to Arizona. So for Moapa (public school) that answers your question.
Next week Gorman plays a public school from Florida (#2 in the country Armwood) at Gorman. ESPN2 is televising the game... ESPN (through a company they hire to put on their high school games about 11-14 a year) paid for Armwood's trip, therefore no cost to tax payer.
As a public employee i've said before that i'd (and most of us should) take a pay cut before anymore of our underfunded, underpaid and understaffed public school teachers do.
Did I offend the Sun, since they took down my 1st post? Gorman power runs deep, doesn't it? Gorman does not represent my Southern Nevada. My Southern Nevada believes in a level playing field for all kids, not constant jock riding of a select few.
While reading the Arizona coverage of this game, I noticed that there were a large number of Arizona people happy to see Gorman win. Seems that Chaparral has a little bit of problem following the rules when it comes to recruiting players. Something about having an unfair advantage over the other schools because they take everyone else's best players. How ironic.