No. 1 Bishop Gorman grounds, pounds No. 2 Arbor View — PHOTOS
Football has changed dramatically over the years, with even high school teams focusing on fancy, up-tempo passing attacks.
Bishop Gorman proved Thursday that dominating the line of scrimmage never goes out of style.
The Gaels, No. 1 in the Review-Journal’s Class 5A rankings, racked up 225 rushing yards, and five players ran for a touchdown on the way to a 49-14 road win over No. 2 Arbor View.
“The O-line works so hard. We want to come out and pretty much show off what we’ve worked hard for, and that would be our run game,” said senior center Stewart Taufa, who has committed to play at Boise State. “ So that’s what we did.”
The Gaels (6-1, 3-0 5A Division I) averaged 8.3 yards per carry against the Aggies (6-1, 3-1),. The only two rushing losses came on a pair of sacks.
The running game was especially important early. The Gaels had five carries for 63 yards on their opening drive, capped by a 9-yard TD run by Jonathan Coar. They added five carries for 50 yards on their second scoring drive, and Champ Kapanui’s 3-yard TD plunge gave Gorman a 14-0 lead with 22 seconds left in the first quarter.
“The offensive line does a great job every single week, day in and day out, and when they’re practicing, too,” Gorman coach Brent Browner said. “I thought they were able to establish the line. We kind of figured that watching the other games they’ve played. So we knew we could run the ball.”
It helps when you have an offensive line like Gorman’s. The average starter on the line stands 6 feet, 3 inches, and weighs 292 pounds. All five starters have committed to play at Division I schools. So has 6-7, 310-pound senior Alema Iosua, who didn’t see any action in the first half but has committed to Arizona State.
“You know, it’s awesome,” Browner said of having such a dominant line. “Those guys have developed here, they’ve done everything they needed to do here, and I’m just super excited for those guys. And when they are able to go on to college, it’s going to be awesome to watch them keep playing, too.”
Gorman led 21-0 after a 2-yard scoring run by fullback Sione Motuapuaka with 9:03 to go in the half, but Arbor View threatened to retake the momentum.
The Aggies marched 81 yards on 10 plays, capped by a 1-yard quarterback sneak by Thaddeus Thatcher that cut the lead to 21-7 with 4:27 to go in the half.
But the momentum shift didn’t last long. Arbor View went for an onside kick, and the Gaels recovered at their own 49. On the next play, Maika Eugenio hit Brandon Gaea with a 51-yard touchdown pass to make it 28-7.
On the second play of Arbor View’s ensuing possession, Thatcher faced heavy pressure and heaved a ball up for grabs. Jett Washington picked it off at the Aggies 44, and Terrance Grant capped a four-play drive with a 5-yard TD run that made it 35-7 with 2:55 to go in the half.
Eugenio completed 11 of 20 passes for 216 yards and two scores. Coar rushed for 113 yards on 11 carries, and Myles Norman had 71 yards and a TD on seven carries. Gaea had five catches for 97 yards, all in the first half.
“I thought the offense did exactly what they needed to do the whole game,” Browner said. “I know that was the No. 1 offense in the state, so hopefully we kind of flipped it today.”
Thatcher added a 6-yard TD run with just over seven minutes to play, but by then the game was being played with a running clock and the score was out of reach. Brian Townsend added two sacks for the Aggies.