Bishop Gorman takes over at No. 1 with gutsy win over St. John Bosco

LAS VEGAS – To be the No. 1, you have to beat the No. 1. Friday night at Fertitta Field, No. 2 Bishop Gorman did just that.

The Gaels (2-0) welcomed the top-ranked team in the nation — St. John Bosco (CA) — into their home for the Braves’ season opener and wasted no time taking it to them.

Gorman’s defense set the tone early, helping the hosts climb out to a dominant 21-0 lead at the break. However, befitting a battle of two high school football titans, Bosco did not go down without swinging. 

The visitors fought all the way back to tie the game up at 28-28 with 9:52 remaining in the fourth quarter. But they were unable to stop the Gaels from gutting out a meaningful early-season 38-28 victory to take over the top spot. 

“This was a heavyweight fight,” Gorman head coach Brent Browner said. “We had them on the ropes early and couldn’t put them down. But it’s the No. 1 team in the nation; of course, they’re going to score some points. There’s no way you’re going to stop them the whole time. I think we did what we had to do.

“We executed at the end. The kids stayed focused. They believed in themselves when they could’ve [gotten] down on themselves.” 

After the Gaels’ defense set the table, Gorman rode the hot hand of junior quarterback Ace Amina, who went 15-for-22 for 216 air yards and four passing touchdowns. He was named the MaxPreps Player of the Game.

But to win a game of this magnitude, it’s never going to be just one guy contributing levels above everybody else. The Gaels needed the majority of their elite prospects to be just that if they wanted to get one over the Braves. And luckily for the hosts, they were.

Senior corner Kamil Loud was the closer. With Gorman holding a 35-28 lead with 4:39 remaining in the contest, Loud came up with a monstrous tackle that stopped Bosco from marching downfield on fourth down.

Kicker Max Fuentes then all but sealed the game with a no-doubt 49-yard field goal with 2:09 left on the clock. On Bosco’s last-ditch attempt to get back into the game, Loud put the exclamation point on the win with an interception.

It was a familiar face who came up with what proved to be the game-winning touchdown. After the Braves drew level behind a punt return touchdown from DJ Tubbs two minutes into the fourth quarter, former Bosco Corey Hinton Jr. took it upon himself to deliver the fatal blow to the team he suited up for last season.

Hinton Jr. pulled in a short completion from Amina over the middle before jetting off down the left sideline for a 54-yard score. In so many ways, that was as poetic as a decisive moment could ever be.

Gorman receiver Zyren Menor also proved a tough cover for the Bosco secondary. His first of two receiving touchdowns — a 27-yard grab — put the hosts up 21-0 in the second quarter. The second — a 53-yard catch-and-run — gave the Gaels some breathing room, at 28-14, in the third frame.

“We take every game like it’s a normal Friday night,” Menor said when asked about whether the raucous atmosphere created by the 5,000-deep sellout crowd ever got to him.

“No platform is bigger or smaller than any other game. That’s one big thing that [Browner] preached on this week; do not let the game get bigger than it is.” 

That approach is what helps make good teams great. Never get too high or too low. It is likely a large chunk of the reason why Gorman wobbled but never fell, despite losing all the momentum early in the second half.

The Gaels’ defense — anchored by sophomore linebacker Braylon Ivory — was all over Bosco from the off. And after going through some adversity midway through the game, they bounced back to put the finishing touches on the win.

Noah Cole started the scoring for Gorman, capping off an 80-yard opening drive with an 8-yard walk-in touchdown reception.

The hosts piled the misery on Bosco moments later, on the visitors’ first drive. The Gorman defense suffocated the Braves inside their own 10 before a strip sack from Ivory was recovered by Caleb Lea’Ea in the end zone, making it 14-0 in under six first-quarter minutes.

Another emphatic sack from Ivory, followed by a Brayley Manning interception and a tackle for a loss by Azavier McDaniels, helped the Gaels maintain the 21-0 shutout at the half.

The response from Bosco was impressive. Two outstanding touchdown passes from Koa Malau’ulu to Kuika Moaalii and Tubbs — with a solid defensive stop sandwiched in between — made this a close game out of absolutely nowhere.

However, once Gorman got firing on all cylinders again, there was only going to be one winner. With their sights firmly set on a fifth national title, there was no other option for the Gaels but to leave the field with sole possession of the throne.

“I love it,” Ivory said of the significance of the win. “I’m happy that some of our seniors got to beat Bosco. We are No. 1 in the country, and I want it to stay like that so we can win another national [championship]. That’s the goal.”