Speed, defense help lift Gorman to shutout win

Senior running back Keola Antolin has speed to burn, and he used his extra gear to get Bishop Gorman's football season off to a fast start Friday night.

Antolin's 80-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter helped propel the Gaels to a 30-0 victory over Kennedy (Wash.) at Sam Boyd Stadium.

"We are very explosive," Antolin said. "We come off the ball firing."

Gorman's offensive performance was impressive. But its defense was even more dominant in holding Kennedy, which finished 13-1 last year, to 62 total yards.

Junior defensive end Justin Chaisson had two sacks and recovered a fumble in the first half as the Gaels took a 14-0 lead.

"It's a team that is used to scoring 50 points," first-year Gaels coach Bob Altshuler said. "We were pretty prepared. The thing that was nice, bottom line, is our kids bought into the game plan. We really kind of got the idea defensively."

The offensive spark came from the 5-foot-9-inch Antolin, who scored on a wide receiver screen with 8:42 left in the first quarter.

He lined up on the right side, caught a short pass across the middle, and no Lancers defender had a chance to catch him.

"I felt good on that," said Antolin, an Arizona recruit who also carried the ball 12 times for 80 yards.

Gorman senior wideout Kamana Kaimikaua found the end zone on an identical pass, out of a different formation, 25 seconds into the second quarter. Kaimikaua cut across the middle and caught a strike from Gaels quarterback Dylan Barrera for a 68-yard touchdown.

Barrera, a senior, completed 4 of 6 passes for 187 yards and two touchdowns. He attempted only two throws in the second half as Gorman stuck to the ground to run out the clock.

Senior fullback Bo Orth scored on a 32-yard run up the middle with six minutes left in the third quarter.

Orth, who finished with 78 yards on 12 carries, added a 2-yard touchdown run early in the fourth.

"The potential is there," Altshuler said. "We're really young on the offensive line with three sophomores and one experienced center. It's a difficult offense for the kids to get, but they're getting it."

The Gaels appear to be much improved from last year, when they finished 6-5.

"It doesn't matter about the past," Antolin said. "On film, they looked like a good team. I was surprised we handled them like that."