Bishop Gorman football hosts Kahuku to begin national title defense

Bishop Gorman’s national championship wall at its athletic training complex has already been updated.

The Gaels were crowned high school football national champions last year by MaxPreps and USA Today for the fourth time in program history. They took some time to celebrate the accomplishment this offseason. But not a lot.

“We did the ring ceremony and then we basically said, ‘Alright, that’s it. That was the celebration time,’” Bishop Gorman coach Brent Browner said. “Now it’s time to go back to work. That’s what we’ve been talking about since January.”

The Gaels begin their national title defense at 7 p.m. Friday when they host three-time defending Hawaii Open Division champion Kahuku in their season opener.

Bishop Gorman begins the year ranked second nationally in MaxPreps’ preseason poll. The Gaels should earn a fifth mythical national championship if they go undefeated during a challenging out-of-state schedule that includes high-profile road games against No. 11 St. Thomas Aquinas (Florida) and No. 1 Mater Dei (California).

“We’re chasing greatness,” quarterback Melvin Spicer IV said. “We want to make a statement and try to make history. We’re taking one game at a time and our ultimate goal is to repeat.”

Kahuku (1-0) survived a 14-13 thriller against fellow Hawaii power Saint Louis on Aug. 10. The Red Raiders went 12-2 last season and allowed just 14.2 points per game.

“They’ve already proven they can beat anybody in the country,” Browner said. “Last year they beat St. John Bosco (California). You know that the coaching staff has them prepared. … They can pretty much do everything.”

Bishop Gorman brings back some key pieces from an offense that averaged more than 431 yards per game last season.

Louisiana State commit Derek Meadows returns at wide receiver. Standout offensive linemen SJ Alofaituli, Doug Utu and Alai Kalaniuvalu are also back.

One significant change comes at quarterback. Spicer is taking the reigns after Micah Alejado, the 5A Division I offensive MVP last season, graduated.

“Expect some fireworks. I feel like we have a very special unit,” said Spicer, a senior. “A lot of people feel like there’s going to be a falloff on the quarterback change, but I know otherwise. Our team knows otherwise. It’s going to be exciting to see.”

Spicer got a fair amount of reps last season despite sitting behind Alejado. The Gaels played Spicer in the third series of every game to get him prepared. Browner said Spicer is “fully ready” for the task at hand.

“We did it on purpose so that he would be battle-tested and game-ready now, not when the game is out of control and it’s 35-0,” Browner said.

On defense, Bishop Gorman returns several players from what was a young unit last season. Two standouts coming back are defensive linemen Sione Motuapuaka and Prince Williams.

A new face on defense is linebacker and Stanford commit Landon McComber. The senior sat out last season after transferring from Desert Pines.

McComber said he expects “big things” from the defense. The group has been working since January to make sure 2024 soon joins 2023 on the Gaels’ national championship wall.

“It gives us that mental drive to not settle for less and keep going every day,” McComber said. “We have to give it our all every day, because it takes one point to lose. We need to have that winner mindset and play like the best team in the nation.”

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