Elija Lofton scores five touchdowns as Gaels win 13th straight game to close out the season.
Four-star junior
Elija Lofton scored three of his five touchdowns in the first half as Bishop Gorman – playing on its home field – jumped out to a 28-0 lead late in the second quarter.
The Gaels (14-1) won their 13th straight game since losing to No. 2 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) 24-21 in the second game of the season. Bishop Gorman came into the game averaging 57 points per game and in the third quarter broke the school record for points in a season.
Gorman beat Bishop Manogue (Reno) 70-6 in November for its 12th state championship in the last 13 years. That win helped set the stage for the showdown against Chaminade-Madonna, which arrived in Las Vegas with a 13-0 record and winners of its last 24 contests.
The Lions grabbed the Florida 1M title Dec. 7 with a 48-14 win over Clearwater Central Catholic, their fifth state crown in the past seven years.
Despite trailing by four touchdowns at halftime, Chaminade-Madonna had chances to score. The Lions started the game by moving to midfield before a fourth down attempt was unsuccessful.
The Gaels immediately pounced and the drive concluded with a 16-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback
Micah Alejado to Lofton.
Once again the Lions drove down the field to the Bishop Gorman 22 before turning the ball over on downs again.
The Gaels capitalized, taking a 14-0 lead after junior
Micah Kaapana ran 12 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the second quarter.
The high-powered Chaminade-Madonna offense, which came into the game averaging 50 points per game, nearly scored to cut the lead in half. Instead, the Gorman defense forced a fumble at the 1-yard line that was recovered by senior
Jamih Otis.
Shown here scoring one of his five touchdowns Saturday, junior tight end Elijah Lofton of Bishop Gorman already holds four FBS offers. (Photo: Dion Rosenberry)
Bishop Gorman drove 50 yards before facing a fourth down from the Chaminade-Madonna 32-yard line.
Alejado took the snap and handed the ball to his tight end Lofton, who burst through the middle and ended up in the end zone.
Up 21-0, the Gaels forced a fumble that was recovered by senior
Quincy Davis. With 2:48 to play in the first half, Lofton scored his second rushing touchdown of the day from 11 yards out to extend the lead to 28-0.
Chaminade-Madonna got on the scoreboard with six seconds left in the first half when junior
Cedrick Bailey found senior
Duane Thomas Jr. for a touchdown.
The Lions briefly cut the lead to 28-14 in the third quarter after Bailey hit five-star junior
Joshisa Trader for 25 yards on fourth down.
That was as close as Chaminade-Madonna would get. Lofton scored his fourth and fifth touchdowns of the game on the ground to give the Gaels a 42-14 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Senior tackle
Zak Yamauchi got in on the scoring fun, rushing from two yards out for the final score of the game to make it 49-14 midway through the fourth.
