‘Gave it away’: Gorman misses chance to capitalize in Mater Dei defeat
Bishop Gorman football coach Brent Browner gave a blunt assessment on what went wrong in the Gaels’ 27-24 loss to Mater Dei (California) on Friday night.
“We gave it away,” Browner said, “we gave it away.”
Gorman, ranked No. 1 nationally by USA Today, had plenty of opportunities to get its first win over Mater Dei, but the Monarchs made just a few more plays and the Gaels couldn’t capitalize on their chances in front of a sold-out, standing-room-only crowd of more than 5,000 at Gorman’s Fertitta Field.
“Simple point. My fault,” Browner said. “I must have done something wrong in preparation for this week. We weren’t prepared. We didn’t take care of stuff, so it definitely falls 100 percent on me.”
Gorman is 0-5 all-time against Mater Dei. The loss put a significant dent in the Gaels’ (4-1) chances of claiming a fifth mythical national title, and they will likely lose their top ranking in USA Today.
“It’s a tough one to swallow,” Browner said. “I got to do a better job. Again, a thousand percent my fault why we lost, so I’ll figure it out and I’ll get it taken care of.”
The Gaels play at No. 19 Santa Margarita (California) at 7 p.m. Saturday in their final nonleague game before playing Southern Nevada teams the rest of the season.
Gorman was ranked No. 2 nationally by MaxPreps behind St. John Bosco (California) and Mater Dei was No. 8.
They have wins against MaxPreps top-100 teams — a 38-0 win at Kahuku, Hawaii (No. 91); a 35-14 win over Lone Peak, Utah (No. 65); and a 35-10 win last week over East St. Louis, Illinois (No. 37) — but a win over Mater Dei would have significantly boosted the Gaels’ national title resumé, especially with Mater Dei and St. John Bosco to play in the regular season and likely again in the postseason.
“I’m going to get it fixed like I always do,” Browner said. “You learn more from the losses than you do from a win. It’s a good football team that we played. We’re a really good football team. It’s razor thin, man. The margin at this level is razor thin. Two mistakes, three mistakes is the difference in the game.”
‘Razor-thin’ margin
Gorman saw the “razor-thin” margin of playing in big games.
The Gaels jumped to a 7-0 lead on the game’s first drive but fell behind when Mater Dei scored a touchdown and got a 2-point conversion early in the second quarter. The Gaels had a field goal attempt blocked later and a long Mater Dei return on the recovery set up a Monarchs field goal to take an 11-7 lead.
Gorman appeared to have a defensive touchdown before halftime on a fumble recovery, but a defensive holding penalty negated the play. Mater Dei capitalized on a 54-yard pass from quarterback Ryan Hopkins to Ohio State commit Chris Henry Jr. to set up a 23-yard field goal to tie the game at 14 at halftime.
It appeared time was going to run out on Mater Dei on a false start on first-and-goal after Henry’s catch with seconds left and the clock started on the official’s whistle, but Browner raced to call a timeout to set up the defense with two seconds remaining to set up the field goal.
In the third quarter, tied at 21, Jett Washington came up with an interception and Gorman got to Mater Dei’s 5, but the Gaels couldn’t get a touchdown and had to settle for a field goal.
After surrendering a 37-yard TD pass from Hopkins to Henry that Washington had a chance to intercept to put Mater Dei up 27-24, Gorman missed another field goal, this time from 47 yards that went just wide left. The Gaels had a final chance, but on fourth-and-3, Maika Eugenio threw it in the flat to Terrance Grant Jr. and he was tackled 2 yards short of the first down. Mater Dei got the ball back for the final possession and ran out the clock.
“It was just simple stuff, discipline, a couple different things we just messed up here and there,” Browner said. “Again, (Mater Dei) is a hell of a football team. … So, you can’t make mistakes either way. We make one less mistake, they make one more mistake, it’s a three-point game the other way and we’re talking about something different.”
Gorman was without two of its top pass catchers and kick returners in Hawaii commit Isaiah Nickels, a senior, and sophomore standout Zyren Menor. Nickels got hurt on the opening kickoff return against East St. Louis and Menor got hurt on the opening kickoff return against Mater Dei.
“Those are tough things,” Browner said. “I got to give the offense credit, they figured it out, nobody panicked, next man up. They came in and did what they had to do. I thought they were really effective. That’s an incredible defense that barely gives up any points.”
There’s still plenty to play for in Gorman’s season. The Gaels are the heavy favorite to win the new Open Division state title and roll through local play, but they’ll have to wait another year to try to get that fifth national title and another crack at Mater Dei.
“We’ve been playing these games — they’re par for the course,” Browner said. “Every game is a championship game. … That’s the reason why you’re here to be in these big games and play in this atmosphere. We got another tough opponent, so we got to travel and take care of business. I got to watch the film, figure out what we did wrong and then fix it. That’s all you can do.”
Friday football highlights
Gorman and Mater Dei dominated the national stage, but teams around the city put on a great showing in a full slate of action with nonleague play winding down. Here are are some of the top performances from Friday night:
* Gators take Henderson Bowl: It’s hard to predict who will win when Henderson rivals Basic and Green Valley play, but you can count on it to be close. That’s what happened Friday when Green Valley won a 42-40 shootout to take its second straight against Basic.
Green Valley quarterback Michael Lewis threw two touchdowns and ran for a score, and Sonny Uranich had two rushing TDs for the Gators. Basic quarterback Jayveon Rose threw for 350 yards and four touchdowns. Basic’s 19-17 win in 2023 snapped a five-game Green Valley win streak in the rivalry, but the Gators got the trophy back last year in a 25-24 win.
* Arbor View rebound: Just over a week ago, Arbor View was 0-3. Now the Aggies are 3-2 (with the aid of a forfeit win from an earlier game) and getting ready for 5A Mountain League play with an eye toward getting back to the state title game.
The Aggies rolled past Faith Lutheran 49-32 on Friday night for their second straight win on the field. Last year, the Aggies lost to Gorman in the 5A Division I state title game and were the top local team to challenge the Gaels. Liberty will likely be the only other local team that could challenge Arbor View, with the two programs on a collision course to a state semifinal in the Open Division.
* Undefeated Wildcats: Who is the only undefeated team in 5A? It’s Las Vegas High. The Wildcats (5-0) outlasted Losee 59-28 on Friday night in their final nonleague game. Freshman running back Steven Bullock rushed for four touchdowns, and dual-threat quarterback Tanner Vibabul threw for two scores.
Las Vegas will get a challenge in its 5A Mountain League opener against Green Valley next Friday, but the Wildcats have put themselves in a great spot to get into the 5A playoffs.
* Class of their own: You could make the case that Sloan Canyon could challenge and beat most 5A teams. That’s not what the Pirates’ competition in 4A wants to hear. Sloan Canyon (5-0) rolled past Del Sol 55-0 Friday night in its second 4A Lake League contest.
Quarterback Cade Hoshino completed 12 of 14 passes for 251 yards and two touchdowns, and Brandon Quaglio had six receptions for 139 yards and four touchdowns for Sloan Canyon. The Pirates are outscoring opponents 236-54 on the season and are the heavy favorites for the 4A state title.
Up next
The game of the week next Friday will be Liberty’s 5A Lake League opener at Foothill at 6 p.m. Liberty (4-1) shut out Farrington (Hawaii) 52-0 on Friday, and Foothill (4-1) edged El Toro (California) 28-25. The Patriots appear to be back to form after a 5-7 campaign last year.
Desert Oasis, coming off a 32-14 win over Coronado in its league opener, could also be a player in the Lake League. The Diamondbacks (3-2) continue league play, hosting Faith Lutheran at 6 p.m. Friday.
Other top games at 6 p.m. Friday include Arbor View hosting Canyon Springs, while Spring Valley will try to challenge Sloan Canyon. At 7 p.m. Friday, Basic plays at Coronado, Legacy hosts Desert Pines and Virgin Valley heads to Pahrump Valley for a key 3A battle.
* Note: There are no high school sports for CCSD schools and most private and charter schools on Monday through Wednesday due to the Rosh Hashanah holiday.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.