Delighted dozen: Twelve players factor in scoring as Bishop Gorman crushes Western
Friday was one of those nights that everything clicked for co-No. 1 Bishop Gorman.
The Gaels recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff at Western’s 20 and steamrolled from there. Gorman scored 43 first-half points on their way to a 57-8 win over Western, their 12th straight Southwest Division victory.
With the win, Bishop Gorman (8-1, 5-0) continues to share first place in the league with Bonanza, a 56-33 winner over Clark.
Bonanza will host Bishop Gorman on Oct. 30.
Every aspect of the game heavily favored Gorman; the Gaels held the Warriors without a first down for the first 32 minutes. Western (1-6, 1-4) gained just three yards on the ground and 51 yards total.
Meanwhile, 12 players landed their names in the scoring column for Gorman, highlighted by a 58-yard punt return by John Therrell and a 2-yard run by 230-pound senior offensive lineman Evan Palelei. In addition, Geoffrey Gibson, who weighs 330 pounds, scored on a 2-point conversion.
“It’s great to give those offensive lineman some love,” said Gorman quarterback Chase Cresto, who threw three touchdown passes.
“They work so hard during the year for us, they deserve a chance to get into the end zone. The guys up front do such as great job and they are certainly a major key to our success.”
Cresto threw touchdown passes of 2 yards to Jordan Welte, 34 yards to Xavier Grimble and 30 yards to Bud Reschke.
“I didn’t even know I didn’t have an incompletion,” said Cresto after his five-for-five performance. “I’ve never threw those many touchdowns without an incompletion. It was really fun out there tonight.”
Western’s only highlight came on Anthony Garrett’s 85-yard kickoff return for a score with just more than two minutes left before halftime.
Nine players rushed the ball for Gorman, led by Matt Malone with 51 yards on six carries. Joe Huber, who started the game at quarterback for the Gaels, completed eight-of-13 passes for 94 yards.