Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) will have eight players sign letters of intent to Football Bowl Subdivision or Football Championship Subdivision schools on National Signing Day. Johnathan Loyd is not expected to be one of them.
Loyd, who is also a standout point guard for the Gaels' nationally-ranked boys basketball team, has started to draw interest from several high-major schools and will concentrate on that sport in college.
File photo by Louis Lopez
John Loyd, Bishop Gorman
"He's got some pretty quality basketball offers," Gaels football coach Tony Sanchez said on Tuesday. "That's his passion."
Loyd became one of the fastest-rising prospects in the state after a break-out season on the football field. The 5-foot-9, 165-pound defensive back joined the team after the first week of the season and made an immediate impact for the Gaels on special teams. Loyd scored six kick-return touchdowns and was a first-team all-state selection as a kick returner after helping the Gaels (15-0) to their second Class 4A state title in three years. He had an offer from UNLV and was drawing interest from several other FBS schools.
"I'm excited for him because he's going to do what he loves," Sanchez said. "But I think he would've not just been a big-time player, but he could have made a major impact on the football field at the collegiate level. He could go anywhere and contribute to a winning program."
On the basketball court, Loyd was the MVP at the Beach Ball Classic in South Carolina last month and has started to hear from schools such as Virginia, UCLA and Arizona State, along with the likes of BYU, Charlotte, Santa Clara, Southern Methodist and Wichita State.
Signing for the Gaels will be: running back Victor Belen (Samford), defensive lineman Ian Bobak (UNLV), offensive lineman Geoffrey Gibson (Cal), tight end Xavier Grimble (Southern California), linebacker Evan Palelei (Navy), defensive back Taylor Spencer (UNLV) and defensive linemen Alex Turner (Stanford) and Tim Wilkinson (Northern Arizona).
Grimble is the rated as the No. 3 tight end and the No. 36 player overall in Tom Lemming's most recent Top 100.
Grimble said he would weigh his options following coach Pete Carroll's departure to the Seattle Seahawks, but will sign with the Trojans after the school hired Lane Kiffin.
In all, close to 30 players from the state are expected to sign with FBS or FCS schools, including five from the Northern Region: Garrett Corbett (San Diego State) and Kyle Roberts (Nevada) of Reed (Sparks), Bishop Manogue's (Reno) Connor Talbott (Nevada), Luke Arciniega (Nevada) of Spanish Springs (Sparks) and David Knowles (Weber State) of Hug (Reno).
GORMAN TO MEET MATER DEI
Bishop Gorman will meet host Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Nike Extravaganza in a battle of two nationally-ranked boys basketball teams. Gorman (21-1) is ranked No. 14 in the latest MaxPreps Xcellent 25 rankings and riding a 21-game winning streak since a season-opening loss to Findlay Prep (Henderson). The Monarchs (19-1) are ranked sixth and led by Pac-10-bound seniors Keala King (Arizona State), Gary Franklin (Cal) and Tyler Lamb (UCLA).
ROQUEMORE, GLANZ PUT ON SHOW
Seniors Evan Roquemore of Foothill (Henderson) and Brandon Glanz of Coronado (Henderson) filled the stat sheet on Monday night in a memorable Southeast League boys basketball game.
Roquemore poured in 37 points to go along with six rebounds and seven assists as the host Falcons beat Coronado 93-86. But he wasn't even the game's high scorer, as the 6-foot-5, 235-pound Glanz finished with 52 points, 36 of those coming after halftime, in addition to 10 rebounds. Glanz went 27-of-34 from the free-throw line, as well.
The win gave Foothill (17-5, 9-0) a one-and-a-half-game lead over the Cougars (18-6, 8-2) in the Southeast with five games left.
SNEAK PREVIEW
* Cheyenne (North Las Vegas) at Palo Verde (Las Vegas), boys basketball: The Panthers (15-2, 11-0), who are No. 3 in the MaxPreps state rankings, meet No. 4 Cheyenne (17-6, 10-2) Wednesday in a battle between the top two teams in the Northwest League.
* Galena (Reno) at Carson (Carson City), girls basketball: This Friday contest represents the last significant road game in the regular season for the No. 5 Grizzlies (20-2), who are undefeated in the Sierra League. No. 19 Carson (14-8, 7-3) is in third place.
* Liberty (Henderson) at Green Valley (Henderson), girls basketball: The No. 7 Patriots won the last meeting, 86-60, to halt Green Valley's 33-game Southeast League winning streak. But Liberty (18-4, 9-1) was upset by Basic (Henderson) last week and the third-ranked Gators (20-2, 9-1) can reclaim first place with a victory.
David Schoen works at the Las Vegas Review-Journal, and is a former Associate Sports Editor and Turn2 columnist for the Oakland (Calif.) Tribune. You can reach him at ByDavid1@aol.com.