Gaels tackle Arizona power

Bishop Gorman will open the football season Saturday in an unfamiliar role: underdog.

The defending Class 4A state champion Gaels play Hamilton (Ariz.) in the Sollenberger Classic at 7:10 p.m. in Flagstaff, Ariz.

Hamilton is ranked No. 9 nationally by Rivals.com and No. 11 according to PrepNation.com. Gorman is ranked 51st by Rivals and No. 32 by PrepNation. Gorman is ranked ahead of the Huskies by USA Today, which has the Gaels No. 11 and Hamilton No. 16.

"The test that we take on right off the bat is huge," Gorman coach Tony Sanchez said. "(Hamilton) is a very proud football team, and it's one of those things for us where we're going into a game that nobody's picking us to win.

"It's kind of nice. All right, we're the underdog, and let's find out who we are."

The underdog role is unfamiliar for the Gaels, who have won eight of the last 10 Southwest League championships and two of the last three state titles.

Being a favorite is nothing new for Hamilton, which has posted a 143-14 record since the school opened in 1998. The Huskies have won five of the last seven Arizona state titles and finished second in 2005. Hamilton has never lost more than two games in a season and is coming off its first undefeated campaign, having finished 14-0 last year.

"They're the No. 9 team in the nation according to Rivals, so they're really high up there," senior center A.C. Patterson said. "If we beat them, we move up and get a chance to be the national team and bring attention not only to Gorman but to Las Vegas in general."

It should be an interesting test for a Gorman team that had eight players sign with Division I schools after last season. Though the Gaels went 15-0 last year, linebacker Ronald Lyles said the team wasn't on top of its game early in the season.

"Last year we didn't start off how we wanted to," Lyles said. "We started off a little slow. But this year we don't have time to be messing around like that. We have to start off strong and be ready to go from the get-go."

Among the eight Division I recruits were tight end Xavier Grimble, who is at Southern California, and tackle Geoffrey Gibson, who is at California.

But Gorman returns four starting linemen to anchor the offense. Along with the 6-foot, 293-pound Patterson, who has committed to Texas El-Paso, Gorman returns juniors Nick Strehlow (6-1, 283), Ron Scoggins (6-4, 321) and Ronnie Stanley (6-6, 284). Sophomore Lott Haia-Kahalewai (6-2, 295) will start opposite Strehlow at guard.

That group should help the team's returning skill players shine. Junior running back Shaquille Powell rushed for 1,555 yards and 29 touchdowns last season, and Jarrett Solomon led area Class 4A quarterbacks with 2,108 passing yards as a freshman.

"When the strength of your football team is your offensive line, then you've always got a chance because you can kind of dictate the pace of the game," Sanchez said. "When things aren't going well for your defense or you feel like you've got somebody on the ropes, you can always slow it down and turn it into a fistfight. When that happens, that's when that big offensive line comes in."

The Gaels' defense lost three Division I defensive linemen, one linebacker and a safety.

But defensive end Bryson Mook transferred in from Hawaii, and brothers Evan Zeger (safety) and Quinn Zeger (linebacker) returned to Gorman after spending a year at Skyline (Wash.). Evan Zeger has committed to Washington.

Defensive end Jalen Grimble, who has committed to USC, returns to anchor the defensive line.

Win or lose, the game should help prepare the Gaels for another postseason run.

"It's one of the top teams in the nation," Patterson said. "No matter what the outcome is, that's a big privilege and it's an advantage to us to get ready for the rest of the season."

Contact Prep Sports Editor Damon Seiters at
dseiters@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4587.