Bishop Gorman, St. Thomas Aquinas to collide in ESPN game

There are just a few high school football programs that can match Bishop Gorman’s success of the past few seasons.

The Gaels, ranked No. 2 nationally by MaxPreps, will face one of those teams Saturday.

Gorman (1-0) continues its challenging out-of-state schedule in pursuit of its fifth mythical national championship when it faces No. 11 St. Thomas Aquinas (Florida) at 1 p.m. at Brian Piccolo Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.

“These are among the gold standard of high school programs in the nation. These are programs that have had success and sustained success,” ESPN analyst Craig Haubert said. “These are two programs that rarely lose, play at a high level and win state titles. This is like two heavyweights in terms of high school football that are getting together.”

Haubert will call the game alongside play-by-play man Noah Reed. The game is part of the Broward County National Football Showcase, featuring several prominent programs.

St. Thomas Aquinas’ resume in the past three seasons is just as impressive as Gorman’s. The Raiders are 42-2 and have won five straight Florida state titles. Saturday will be the season opener for the Raiders, who went 14-1 last season and won the Florida 3M state title.

Gorman, 38-2 the past three seasons, last played St. Thomas Aquinas in 2016. The Gaels won 25-24 in triple overtime during a 15-0 season that culminated with their third national title.

The Gaels opened this season with a 33-7 win over three-time Hawaii Open Division champion Kahuku on Aug. 16. They intercepted four passes.

Haubert said he was impressed with defensive back Jett Washington, who had two interceptions. He also praised defensive linemen Prince Williams and James Carrington, calling the Gaels’ defensive line “outstanding.”

Carrington, a four-star recruit, transferred to Gorman from Georgia and is a highly touted 2026 prospect. Paired with one of the best offensive lines in the country, Gorman might have the best trench players in the country, Haubert said.

“If you’re really good in the trenches, it’s going to be really good for you,” Haubert said. “That’s a big reason why Gorman has won a lot of games with fielding arguably one of the best offensive lines in high school football the last three years, and now they’re countering with as good of a defensive line.”

The question on Gorman’s offense starts at quarterback. The Gaels played two quarterbacks against Kahuku — senior Melvin Spicer IV and junior Maika Eugenio. Both probably will see action Saturday.

Spicer completed 10 of 13 passes for 180 yards and threw two touchdown passes, but he was intercepted and sacked in the red zone. Eugenio completed 3 of 11 passes for 62 yards and had two rushing touchdowns on two quarterback sneaks.

Haubert compared Gorman’s offense to St. Thomas Aquinas’ defense, with both having new players. The Gaels also feature a few new running backs. He said the matchup could be the difference.

“Those are two sides of the ball that are trying to mature here earlier in the season,” Haubert said. “You have strength on strength with an Aquinas offense and Gorman defense, and two sides of the ball in a Gorman offense and Aquinas defense that have a lot of young pieces that are still coming together.”

Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.