Unbeaten Gorman puts fitting cap on stellar year

Another week, another dominating performance by Bishop Gorman’s football team.

Only this time, it was for a state championship.

The Gaels scored four second-quarter touchdowns and led by 38 points at the half en route to a 62-21 victory over Del Sol in the Class 4A state title game at Sam Boyd Stadium. It was Gorman’s second title in three years.

“It’s always special when you win a state championship for your family,” senior defensive end Alex Turner said. “That’s what the team is, a family. When it’s your senior year and your last high school football game with your friends that you’ve been growing up with since you were in grade school, it’s really special to win a state championship with them.”

Gorman (15-0) finished its perfect season with its third 41-point win of the postseason. The Gaels won 10 games by 40 or more points, and 13 by 31 or more.

“All year long we’ve told them we’re the most talented team in the state,” first-year Gorman coach Tony Sanchez said. “If we show up and work hard and never worry about what the score is and continue to execute play after play after play, we’ll be successful more times than not. And, you know what, we happened to be 15 times in a row.”

Gorman scored on its first two possessions to take control early. Victor Belen scored on a 4-yard run less than two minutes into the game, and Jarrett Solomon hit tight end Xavier Grimble on a 9-yard fade pass for a touchdown to make it 14-0 with 7:25 to go in the first quarter.

Del Sol (12-2) got a big play late in the first quarter when Evan Weinstock beat a Gorman defender and made a shoestring catch of a Troy Miller pass near the 20. Weinstock stumbled as he caught the ball but regained his balance for the touchdown to make it 14-7.

Then Gorman’s special teams took over.

Johnathan Loyd took the ensuing kickoff back 60 yards to help set up a 36-yard field goal by Collin Ditsworth with eight seconds to go in the first quarter.

Loyd then had a 43-yard punt return to set up an 8-yard scoring run by Shaquille Powell.

Del Sol had another key special teams miscue on its next punt attempt. Punter Chris Marshall dropped the snap and was under heavy pressure as he scooped it up and kicked it away. The ball went straight up and was downed 6 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Belen scored on a 4-yard run four plays later, and the rout was on.

“Special teams kind of swung it,” Del Sol coach Preston Goroff said. “Every time we’d kick the ball off or punt it, they switched the field on us. So we were always playing on our side of the field, and against that kind of team, you just can’t do that.”

On a team of stars and in a game of big plays, no one had a better day than Loyd. In addition to his key returns, he had a 30-yard interception return for a touchdown, forced a fumble and completed a 35-yard pass to Grimble.

Not bad for a player who wasn’t on the team for the season opener.

“After I saw the first game, I saw how much fun they were having, and I was just like, 'I might as well play; it’s my last year,’ ” Loyd said.

Taylor Spencer added a 54-yard interception return for a score, and Belen and Powell combined for five TD runs. Much of the second half was played with a running clock after Gorman took a 45-point lead.

“The receivers made plays, the defense scored, special teams made some big plays,” Sanchez said. “Really, if you’re going to have any chance at having a perfect season, you’ve got to be a little bit lucky, and you’ve got to be good at all three phases. And we were good at all three phases this year.”