Bishop Gorman wins on forfeit over Lone Peak after altercation — PHOTOS

The Gaels led Lone Peak 35-14 with 9:25 left in the third quarter and were driving. An altercation broke out on the Lone Peak sideline after a long Gorman completion, and more than three Knights players came off the sideline and onto the field.

After a lengthy discussion with the officials, the game was over with Bishop Gorman being declared the winner by forfeit. The record will show a 2-0 win by the Gaels, who are ranked No. 2 nationally by USA Today and No. 3 by MaxPreps.

According to Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association rules, if more than three players leave the sidelines during an incident, the game is ruled a forfeit. The officials ruled that Lone Peak violated that and no one on the Gorman sideline went onto the field.

“You cannot have more than three players come off your sideline in the case of a fight. Once you do that, you automatically forfeit the game,” Bishop Gorman coach Brent Browner said. “We technically practice that. That sounds crazy but we have practiced that many times. I was kind of proud of the guys that when it was happening, coaches are taught to turn around and make sure kids don’t move off the sideline, which they didn’t.”

Attempts to speak with Lone Peak (3-1) coach Bart Brockbank after the game on the incident and ruling were unsuccessful. Browner said he shook hands with Brockbank and said, ‘Hey, sorry about that.’ ”

“The kids know you can lose a game too if you get throwing punches and things like that, you can lose the game,” Browner said. “Nobody wants to do that. (Brockbank) said it best, they’re teenage kids and emotions run high. It’s just super unfortunate because this turned into a great game.”

Browner said he thought the altercation would result in offsetting penalties and Gorman would keep driving, but the officials determined that Lone Peak broke the rule. He said Gorman will submit its film to the NIAA on the incident.

“Once you come past the numbers, almost the whole team, it’s going to happen,” Browner said. “Our officials, we have a meeting about it. They talk about it. They’re very specific about what it is, the number of people. They’re going to review the tape on us to make sure we don’t forfeit. When I looked, we didn’t have a kid leave our sideline.”

Gorman (3-0) next hosts East St. Louis, ranked by MaxPreps as the top team in Illinois, at 7 p.m. Friday before a showdown with No. 1 and defending national champion Mater Dei (California) the following week.

Offensive output

Gaels quarterback Maika Eugenio threw for 270 yards and four touchdowns against Lone Peak. He connected with three different receivers for touchdowns. His 15-yard TD pass to Massiah Mingo with five seconds left in the second half gave the Gaels a 35-14 lead at the break.

“(Our offense) is lighting it up, they’re very potent,” Browner said. “It was going to be a good game there at the end. (Lone Peak)’s offense averages 42 points a game, so holding them to 14 in a half was good. They weren’t going to give up and our offense did a really good job. Maika’s been doing a heck of a job managing and moving the ball.”

Gorman started fast and had a 14-0 lead before the crown on its home opener could get settled in. The Gaels forced Lone Peak into a three-and-out on the game’s first drive, and Eugenio needed just six plays to get on the board when he found sophomore Zyren Menor for a 12-yard TD.

Gorman’s defense got on the board on the first play of the next drive when Pesi Silva Jr. intercepted Lone Peak quarterback Kepa Niumeitolu and raced more than 20 yards for a touchdown to put the Gaels up by two scores less than five minutes into the game.

The Gaels kept going and took a 21-0 lead in the first quarter when Eugeion hit on a deep ball to Isaiah Nickels down the sideline for a 46-yard score.

Lone Peak got on the board as Niumeitolu found Utah commit Jaron Pula for a 49-yard touchdown.

It appeared the Knights were going to make Gorman settle for a field goal midway through the second quarter, but a roughing the kicker penalty gave the Gaels a first down. Eugenio capitalized on the second chance, connecting with Nickels, a Hawaii commit, for a 16-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 28-7.

Lone Peak answered with another touchdown catch from Pula for 15 yards to trail 28-14 with 42 seconds before halftime. But an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Knights helped Gorman get good field position with under a minute left to help Eugenio connect with Mingo to give the Gaels a 35-14 halftime lead.

“(That drive was) amazing,” Browner said. “It’s a team effort from the coaches upstairs, (offensive coordinator Craig) Canfield, the guys making plays like Isaiah Nickels, making a great catch and goes out of bounds. Some kids are trying to get too much and cost us a timeout. Being smart, doing good football, doing those little things is what we do as a team the best.”

Arizona commit Prince Williams recorded a sack and a tackle for loss for the Gaels. Nickels finished with 86 receiving yards on three catches with two touchdowns. Mingo had 90 receiving yards and a touchdown on seven catches.

Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.