ROUNDUP: Powell runs wild as Gaels pull away from Del Oro
Bishop Gorman football coach Tony Sanchez thinks Shaquille Powell is the state’s best running back.
The junior showed why his coach thinks so highly of him on Saturday night.
Powell rushed for 241 yards and four touchdowns, and the Gaels scored 28 unanswered points en route to a 38-13 win over visiting Del Oro (Calif.).
“Shaq’s the best running back in the state, and there’s not even a question about it,” Sanchez said. “There may be guys who are faster, but there’s nobody who busts tackles like that. Tonight, some of those touchdowns where nothing was there, he’d get the pad and then the stiff arm and he was gone. When you look at that pure runner, the guy that can get the hard yards, the kid’s unbelievable.”
Del Oro led 13-10 after Kenny Andri’s 1-yard TD run with 1:34 left in the first half. It was Andri’s second TD run of the game.
But it was all Gorman from there. The Gaels (1-1) drove 78 yards on eight plays, with Evan Zeger catching a 3-yard TD from Jarrett Solomon with 16 seconds left in the half.
The Golden Eagles (0-1) had a 6-minute, 59-second drive to start the second half but didn’t score, and Powell quickly made them pay.
He scored on a 67-yard run on Gorman’s next drive, then scored on a 46-yard run on the first play of the Gaels’ next possession.
Powell, who had a 16-yard TD run in the first quarter, added a 2-yard TD run with 11:55 left to close the scoring.
Powell also caught four passes for 10 yards. On defense, he forced a fumble and recovered two from his cornerback position.
“That’s a good football team,” Sanchez said of Del Oro, which went 11-3 last season. “They’re going to win a bunch of games this year. For us to be able to come out and have a victory like that against that quality of an opponent, that’s huge for our program.”
Williams (Ariz.) 48, Needles 20 — At Flagstaff, Ariz., the Mustangs committed seven turnovers in a loss to the Vikings.
Needles also had a punt blocked and allowed a kickoff return for a touchdown and a safety.
