Gaels open up big lead early, drop Trailblazers

Durango’s crowd erupted when Julio Mora broke through for a 2-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.

Unfortunately, the Trailblazers’ first scored came after the top-ranked Gaels had a 35-0 lead. Gorman finished the regular season with a 56-6 home win over Durango.

Both teams had already locked up playoff spots, so Gorman’s blowout victory was mostly for pride and statistics. Southwest top seed Gorman (9-2, 8-0) will host Northwest fourth seed Shadow Ridge (6-4, 4-4) in the Sunset Region playoffs Thursday. Southwest third seed Durango (7-3, 6-2) will travel to Northwest second-seed Arbor View (9-1, 7-1).

On Friday, Gorman allowed points for the first time since Oct. 1 — only the opponents’ second touchdown in league play — but that didn’t faze the Gaels, who gained 335 yards rushing and 243 passing.

“Teams have been trying to stop the run against us and we’ve seen some pretty unorthodox things,” Gorman coach Tony Sanchez said.
“That’s opened up the pass and (Jarrett) Solomon has just been fantastic (with) 28 touchdowns and two interceptions.

“There’s no doubt in my mind who the best quarterback in the state is. As we move forward, teams will start playing us more honest.”

Solomon passed for 243 yards, including TD passes of 25, 25 and 10 yards in the first quarter. Sophomore Justin Sweet rushed for 115 yards on nine carries, including a 67-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

Evan Zeger had a 20-yard interception return for a touchdown and 77 yards receiving for Bishop Gorman.

Mora compiled 133 yards on 36 carries for Durango.

“As a team we played well, psychologically,” Trailblazers coach Gary Maki said. “It might be one of our better games of the year in that sense — especially considering we had three days off school this week. If we had played with this intensity against Desert Oasis, things might have been different.”