Blog: Gorman holds on for 34-31 win over St. John Bosco

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Published Friday, Sept. 26, 2014 | 5 p.m.

Updated Friday, Sept. 26, 2014 | 10 p.m.

Bishop Gorman High held on for a 34-31 win against visiting St. John Bosco, finishing its tough nonleague slate undefeated in six games.

Quarterback Tate Martell accounted for three touchdowns, and Russell Booze and Tyjon Lindsey showed off their speed on long scores.

St. John Bosco closed with 21 unanswered points, but Gorman recovered a late onside kick to hang on in the battle of No. 1 vs No. 2.

Check back later for more.

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Bishop Gorman leads visiting St. John Bosco 34-17 midway through the fourth quarter, continuing to apply pressure in the second half.

On Gorman's first possession of the half, Tyjon Lindsey took a screen pass for a long touchdown. On its next possession, Tate Martell scrambled to find room to pass, then hooked up with Alize Jones for a nifty touchdown.

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It was supposed to be a battle of the nation's top-ranked teams.

Instead, No. 2 Bishop Gorman is making No. 1 St. John Bosco of California look ordinary.

Gorman is dominating in all facets of the game for a 20-3 halftime lead in the highly anticipated game.

Quarterback Tate Martell, and running backs Russell Booze and Jonathan Shumaker have touchdown runs for the Gaels. Booze was the most impressive, racing 80 yards untouched for a score at the start of the second quarter.

The game started 56 minutes late because of lightning and heavy rain. The delay clearly hasn't slowed Gorman.

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Bishop Gorman extended its lead to 14-3 against visiting St John Bosco on an 80-yard touchdown run from Russell Booze.

On the first play after a St. John Bosco field goal, Booze burst through the line virtually untouched and outraced the defense for an impressive touchdown.

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After a 56-minute weather delay for lightning and rain, the Bishop Gorman football team struck first against visiting St. John Bosco of California.

Tate Martell's 5-yard touchdown run for Gorman capped an 11-play drive to open the ESPN game for a 7-0 lead.

Martell completed two passes on the drive, including a 13-yard completion to Tyjon Lindsey on a fourth down play to extend the drive.

Keep you posted on the next score.

•••

The much-anticipated showdown between Bishop Gorman High football team and St. John Bosco of Southern California is underway after an hourlong lightning delay.

Part of the capacity crowd at the 5,000-capacity Fertitta Field left after officials delayed the kickoff. A downpour had chased spectators from the area.

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It’s the only game in town. Literally.

The Bishop Gorman High football team hosts St. John Bosco of the Los Angeles area today in a highly publicized battle of the nation’s No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams, attracting a sellout crowd to Gorman in Summerlin for the ESPN-televised game. The winner will be in the driver’s seat for the mythical national championship.

Las Vegas public schools play on Saturday this week because of Rosh Hashanah, meaning Gorman — the face of Nevada football — will have the stage to themselves in what quickly became a can’t-miss affair.

Tickets for the 5,000-capacity Fertitta Field were all sold by Thursday, including an allotment of 1,500 to St. John Bosco supporters. Some plan to arrive hours before kickoff to tailgate; others won’t get a spot in the parking lot and will park in the nearby neighborhood.

The game is so anticipated that local band Imagine Dragons reportedly requested tickets Friday. Rapper Snoop Dogg, whose son Cordell Broadus is a Gorman standout wide receiver, will also be front-and-center. So will Flavor Flav, who frequently finds his way onto the field after games to mingle with players and mentioned Gorman football on a recent Jimmy Kimmel show appearance.

Not only is this the game of the week locally, it’s the marquee game nationally. Programming officials moved it from ESPNU to ESPN and have been previewing the game Friday during SportsCenter, including a live interview with Snoop Dogg.

Media from national sites such as Maxpreps.com, Rivals.com and others have flocked all week to Gorman to document the week, including a reporter from the Los Angeles Times classifying the game as the most significant on the West Coast in the past 15 years.

Both teams are as good as advertised. And both have double-digit bluechip college prospects, including a pair of UCLA commits in Gorman’s Alize Jones, the nation’s No. 1 ranked tight end, and St. John Bosco’s Josh Rosen, the nation’s No. 1 ranked quarterback.

St. John Bosco enters on a 19-game winning streak and has been virtually unbeatable since Jason Negro took over the program five years ago. Negro and Gorman coach Tony Sanchez are close friends, and their programs mirror each other in terms of success and preparation.

St. John Bosco (3-0) had a week off to prepare for the road trip to Las Vegas, which resembles a college-football bowl game experience. They’ve had multiple practices in Las Vegas to get acclimated to the heat and Thursday went to the Blue Man Group at Monte Carlo.

This is the sixth straight week Gorman has played a respected out-of-state opponent. They’ve won a variety of ways — in overtime, on a 2-point conversion and three blowouts — in setting up the showdown of undefeated teams.

I’ll keep everyone posted all night. Send fan photos and other comments on Twitter using #sunstandout or #702hsfb.

Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21