Gorman’s defense, offense shine in rout of Mustangs
Bishop Gorman’s football team knows it has a good offense, having scored 519 points during the regular season.
The Gaels also showed off their defense in their Sunset Region playoff opener against Shadow Ridge on Thursday.
Top-ranked Gorman forced five interceptions, and quarterback Jarrett Solomon threw three touchdown passes in the first half to lead the host Gaels past the Mustangs 56-0 for their seventh shutout of the year in a Sunset quarterfinal.
“The guys have just done a fantastic job (on defense),” Gorman coach Tony Sanchez said. “It doesn’t sound difficult — you’ve got to get lined up right, and you’ve got to run at the football and tackle. If you do those three things, you’ve got a chance to be pretty good.
“And our guys are getting better at it. We’re really starting to do a good job in our preparation. That’s a good football team. To shut them out — it wasn’t the goal coming in, but the shutout sure helps when you’re calling the offensive plays.”
Solomon completed 9 of 13 passes for 135 yards, including touchdown strikes of 14 yards to Trey Perry, 19 yards to Ryan Smith and 43 yards to Justin Sweet.
But the real story was the defense.
The Gaels (10-2) held Shadow Ridge to 104 yards of offense while totaling five interceptions (including two returned for touchdowns), two sacks and five tackles for loss.
Linebacker Ronald Lyles had a 37-yard interception return for a touchdown, and safety Mark Philippi scored on a 20-yard interception return. Defensive end Jalen Grimble and defensive tackle Zack Singer notched the sacks.
“That’s amazing,” Sanchez said of the Gaels’ secondary. “They’ve done a great job with my brother Kenny (Sanchez) and coach (Todd) Lyght in the secondary. We had a great pass rush.
“They just made plays, and that’s what playoff football is about. You’ve got to reallly be focused when you have your opportunities and take advantage of them.”
Smith led Gorman’s receivers with 61 yards on five receptions, and Shaquille Powell fueled Gorman’s ground game with 59 yards on seven carries, including a 13-yard touchdown scamper in the second quarter in his first action since Oct. 1.
Gorman scored on its first three offensive possessions — touchdown passes to Perry and Smith, followed by a 31-yard run by Sweet.
Nathen Starks had a 1-yard touchdown plunge to put the Gaels up 49-0 at halftime.
Nathen Starks had a 1-yard touchdown plunge to put the Gaels up 49-0 at halftime.
The Gaels ran only 36 plays from scrimmage and had their only two drives of the second half end in a punt and a fumble. But Gorman also took advantage of costly Shadow Ridge miscues.
Ricardo Nordquist completed 7 of 17 passes for 62 yards with three interceptions for Shadow Ridge (6-5). Michael Tootle had 11 yards on two carries, and Marcus Williams caught a pass for 37 yards.
The Mustangs appeared poised to score on the game’s final drive, after linebacker Jordan Kurth recovered a fumble at Gorman’s 20-yard line. But Nordquist managed only passes of 4 and 3 yards to Jordan Brown, and the final grab fell just out of Williams’ hands in the end zone.
Gorman will host Arbor View on Nov. 19 in a Sunset semifinal.
