Fielder’s Choices: Long-awaited Liberty-Gorman rematch will pack in fans

It’s the game of the year in local high school football, and so many people want to see Liberty vs. Bishop Gorman that I predict the parking lot at Gorman’s stadium will fill up early. Then people will wind up parking in driveways at those houses across the street.

The people who live there might get upset when they arrive home from work Friday, and it’s dark outside, and there’s a strange car parked in their driveway.

But that’s what they get for living close to Bishop Gorman when Liberty plays football there.

Class 5A Southern

Region championship

Liberty at Bishop Gorman

The way the leagues and playoffs are set up now, these teams could wind up playing at this time every year. Then this game could become a great rivalry, like Army vs. Navy — except that one side doesn’t steal the other’s goat, or whatever.

The last time these teams played, Liberty won 30-24 in overtime ending Bishop Gorman’s run of 10 consecutive state championships. It was way more exciting than Army-Navy, if you ask me.

Nobody expected Liberty to win that game. Few expect Liberty to win this one, though Liberty’s only loss was to Mater Dei of California, the No. 1 team in the entire nation. Bishop Gorman’s only loss was 25-24 to this team in Arizona called Hamilton that somehow scored 18 points in the final 1:05 of the game.

My high school science teacher said it’s a myth that lightning can’t strike in the same place twice. But it almost never strikes a team that has allowed only one touchdown over the past seven weeks. Bishop Gorman by 20.

Class 4A semifinals

Shadow Ridge at Las Vegas

It seems like yesterday when Las Vegas was a powerhouse and won the state championship. But that was 2006 — the same year I flunked fifth grade. Last week, Las Vegas beat Sierra Vista for its first playoff victory in seven years. Shadow Ridge beat Durango for its first playoff victory in 15 years.

Does this mean Shadow Ridge is hungrier to play in the 4A state championship game than Las Vegas? Not really. But I’ll still take Shadow Ridge by 14.

Coronado at Silverado

The first time these two played, Silverado won 32-14 in September. Coronado has a pretty good defense. But undefeated Silverado has an offense that put up 50, 65, 56, 58, 60, 76 and 51 points in games this year. That’s more points than my grandma put up on my grandpa in this dice game they call “Yahtzee.” Silverado by 13.

Season predictions: 38-11

Against the spread: 30-17-2

Fielder is a Review-Journal correspondent during the high school sports season when he isn’t slacking off. He currently cannot be reached because his cell phone fell out of his pocket while he was skateboarding and the screen broke.