St. John Bosco vs. Bishop Gorman titanic matchup comes down to quarterbacks

LAS VEGAS — Tate Martell looked like a kid in a candy store. Or, just a very excited quarterback about to play the biggest game of his young life.

The 5-foot-11, 170-pound Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) sophomore just got off the practice field Thursday. While the rest of his team headed upstairs for a pasta feed, Martell stayed back, paced, smiled, paced some more and generally just glowed.

All was in anticipation of Gorman (5-0), the five-time defending Nevada state champion and perennial national power, hosting St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) (3-0), the reigning California State Open Division champ and quickly emerging national juggernaut, on Friday.

"This is unbelievable," he said. "We're No. 2 in the country and they're No. 1. It's pretty much a national title game. I can't wait. I'm literally ready to play right now. But I guess I've got to wait 24 hours. I'm ready."

Said Bishop Gorman coach Tony Sanchez: "That's Tate. High energy. Big smile. Loves life. Loves football."

For those who love high school football, who wouldn't love this? It appears to have it all: Top-ranked teams, high-scoring offenses, fast, hard-hitting defenses, a couple dozen future college players, animated coaches and a packed, pristine state-of-the-art Gorman stadium filled largely with home fans dressed in bright orange and blue.

Adding to this visual will be a host of celebrities who are regulars at Gorman games, including Snoop Dogg, the father of 4-star Gorman receiver Cordell Broadus, his pal Flavor Flav, along with Randall Cunningham, whose son used to quarterback the Gaels, and Dana White, the president of UFC.

On Thursday, Sanchez also got six ticket requests from alternative rock band Imagine Dragons. Imagine that?

"It's gonna be rockin' tomorrow," Sanchez said. "It's gonna be a heavyweight fight."

Four key St. John Bosco players discuss keys to game

So rockin' that the game, originally scheduled to be televised on ESPNU, has elevated to air live on ESPN, the network's most-watched network.

How can the game possibly match all the hype? And what or who will be the key?

There appears no distinct advantage on either side. What likely it will come down to, like most big games, is the play of the quarterbacks, in this case two diametrically different but dynamic signal-callers in Martell, who has been tabbed "Mini Manziel" for his highlight reel playmaking skills, against Bosco's Josh Rosen, who has been compared to a prep version of Aaron Rodgers.

Poise in the pocket

A poised and polished 6-4, 209-pound senior, Rosen has already signed a scholarship contract (something new for early enrollees) to UCLA.

Ranked the top pro-style senior quarterback in the country by 247Sports, Rosen has thrown for 5,900 yards in his three-year career with 67 touchdowns (16 interceptions) while completing 63 percent of his passes.

As a starter, he's lost just one game in his varsity career and last season he led the Braves to a 16-0 record and 20-14 win over four-time defending Open Bowl champion De La Salle (Concord).

"He does everything great and can make every pass, but what sets him apart is his poise in the pocket," Sanchez said. "He just checks down, goes through progressions and makes great reads. We need to find a way to make him uncomfortable."

Martell, who grew up in Southern California and attended Poway (Calif.) — near San Diego — as a freshman, doesn't hide his respect for the opposing quarterback.

"I think he's the best quarterback in the country," he said. "He's really accurate. He has great feet. He obviously knows how to read defenses really well. I think that's pretty much the game tomorrow. We have to find a way to stop him or at least slow him down."

Slowing down Martell is like trying to shut off Niagara Falls.

A youth football phenom, often compared to Doug Flutie and later Manziel, Martell made national headlines when he accepted a college offer from then-Washington coach Steve Sarkisian.

Martell was entering the eighth grade.

A pupil of quarterback guru coach Steve Clarkson, Martell told reporters back then that Sarkisian had a strong history developing quarterbacks and that the pressure of committing so early would only make him better.

On Thursday, he reaffirmed his commitment to Washington, but that he and Gorman teammate Tyjon Lindsey, another dynamic sophomore from Poway, were each offered scholarships this week by USC, where Sarkisian is now the head coach.

Lindsey lives with Martell and his family in Las Vegas, and Martell considers him "my brother." The Martells are Lindsey's legal guardians.

Impressive and explosive

Martell, who didn't arrive at Gorman until the summer, played sparingly behind starter Danny Hong in the team's opener, a 44-0 win over Brophy College Prep (Phoenix).

The following week, however, he came off the bench to spark a 48-27 win over then-nationally ranked Servite, throwing for 133 yards and three scores and rushing for 114 yards.

"Mini Manziel," also tabbed "Money Martell," has been the starter ever since. He's completed 42 of 70 throws for 790 yards and 11 touchdowns (one interception). He's rushed for 222 yards.

"I was just grateful for my opportunity to get out there and just tried to play as hard as I could. It was fun," he said. "I had a good time. I just love playing football at this school. There's nothing better."

The St. John Bosco staff have known about and seen tape on Martell for years. "He's a California kid," Bosco coach Jason Negro said. "We got to see him live (last week in a 41-10 win over Santa Margarita) in their system and wow, he's very impressive. Very explosive."

Rosen was equally impressed. He and the Braves bussed from Southern California to Las Vegas – a four-hour trip – early Thursday morning and practiced at Gorman early Thursday afternoon.

"He's awesome," Rosen said of Martell. "He's an incredibly talented player. He plays like a chicken with his head cut off — in a positive way. He's going to develop a lot through the years. He has an obvious large skill set to work with and mold."

Bosco junior cornerback Mykal Tolliver said Martell's nickname says it all.

"Oh man, he's an extremely good player," Tolliver said. "I mean, if they're already calling him little Manziel, it's pretty self-explanatory. He's tremendously talented. He likes to run. He's a good scrambler and a very good passer."

Martell showed that in one memorable play last week against Santa Margarita, scrambling to his right, backtracking toward his own end zone before stepping up to heave the ball more than 50 yards to Lindsey, who caught the ball in stride and finished off a 74-yard touchdown play. The duo later connected on a 48-yard touchdown.

"He's a Grade A playmaker, that's for sure," Sanchez said of Martell.

Tolliver has seen plenty of tape on Martell. That, in part, is why he, like Martell, couldn't wait for Friday's game.

"I mean, the moment is already here," Tolliver said. "We've been talking about it ever since the game was scheduled. It's a really big deal. My teammates and I are definitely ready."

Especially so is Rosen, who zipped one fast, tight spiral after another at Thursday's practice. But, much like his poise in the pocket, Rosen kept his enthusiasm measured.

"It's a massive stage," Rosen said. "It's obviously a big game. But you can't treat it any different than any other game. We've had a lot of success over the last three years. There's no reason to change anything now."