Gorman defense puts own stamp on state playoff run

While Bishop Gorman’s offense flooded the field with points in last week’s Sunset Region football final, the Gaels’ defense held like a dam, determined to silence any doubters.

Gorman forced four first-half turnovers and held Centennial to 198 yards en route to a 59-7 victory.

“We saw early predictions of 40-something to 26, and the defensive guys took that as a big challenge,” said coach Tony Sanchez, who is 54-4 in four seasons at Gorman. “One thing that we weren’t doing coming into the playoffs was creating a lot of turnovers. In this playoff run, it’s just been amazing. Anytime the defense creates turnovers, you’re giving your offense a great opportunity on a short field.”

The Gaels (11-1) have every intention of continuing that trend Saturday when they travel to Sparks to play Reed (10-3) in a Division I state semifinal at 1 p.m. The game marks the third straight state playoff meeting between the teams.

Gorman defeated the Raiders 72-28 in last year’s state final, led by Jarrett Solomon’s five touchdown passes. This season, the senior has thrown for 2,439 yards and 30 touchdowns to power an offense that averages 495.3 yards per game. The Gaels’ many weapons include running back Nathan Starks (1,436 yards, 22 TDs) and wide receiver Jamir Tillman (818 yards, 11 TDs).

“We’ve spread the ball out all year,” Sanchez said. “We use a lot of different personal packages and a lot of motions and shifts. A lot of the stuff we do on offense is to create a matchup in certain situations.”

Sanchez said Gorman, which has outscored opponents 208-48 in the playoffs, needs to be methodical in its drives and manage the clock against Reed’s defense.

“They’re well disciplined, well coached, and they play a very schematic defense,” Solomon said. “They bring a blitz off the edge. They’re really aggressive in every position. It’s going to be tough going up there and playing at their house and competing in their climate.”

Reed won the Division I North title last week with a 50-9 victory over Damonte Ranch. Led by Mark Nowaczweski, who threw for 337 yards and four touchdowns, the Raiders compiled 620 yards.

Running back Ty Shepard (1532 yards, 17 TDs) has led an offense averages 475 yards per game.
Sanchez said defensively the Gaels must control the tempo of the game against Reed’s no-huddle offense.

“They’ve thrown for 3,000 yards, and they’ve rushed for quite a few yards,” he said. “We just got to do a good job of getting lined up right. I think that’s the key when you play a no-huddle team. As long as you get your calls in and you get yourself lined up, you’ll be all right.”

Sanchez said playing a familiar opponent has positives and negatives.

“When you’ve played somebody, you have the tendency to want do the same things you’ve done,” he said. “However, if you get too carried away with running the same game plan, then you might find yourself in a tough situation.”

If all goes according to Sanchez’s plan, Gorman will be in position to play for its fourth straight state title. The winner meets Coronado or Liberty on Dec. 1 at Sam Boyd Stadium.

“We’re just concentrating on this team and this week,” Solomon said. “We’re not looking at the future. We just got to do what we do this week and advance to the next week.”