Poe leads No. 19 Hamilton over No. 23 Bishop Gorman

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – From a quality standpoint, this rated about a three. Especially considering the quality of teams.

Then again, it’s not even September.

From a competitive point of view, it lived up to its rather large early-season billing. A 10 even.

In the end, both the coolest and perhaps most competitive kid came up the biggest, Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.) senior quarterback Kyren Poe, who led his 19th-ranked team to a 24-17 victory over No. 23 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) in the fifth annual Sollenberger Classic at Northern Arizona University’s Lawrence Walkup Skydome Saturday night.

Before about 7,000 fans in a game that pitted defending large-school state champions, Poe snuck home from the 1 with 1 minute, 33 seconds remaining to break a 17-17 tie.

He set up the touchdown with a 58-yard bomb to Tanner Clay one play after Gorman had tied the contest on a 7-yard touchdown run by super junior back Shaquille Powell and ensuing determined two-point conversion from quarterback Jarrett Solomon with 3:25 left.

Poe, a first-year starter after sitting behind standout Travis Dean, led his team in rushing (14 carries, 57 yards) and was 8-of-13 for 169 yards as the Huskies won their 26th straight contest.

His numbers weren’t startling, but other than Powell’s 199-yard rushing effort on 29 carries, there was nothing particularly flashy about this one.

And that suited Hamilton coach Steve Belles just fine. He likes the no-nonsense, team guys best.

“The great thing about Kyren is nothing rattles him,” Belles said. “He made some mistakes tonight and he’s more disappointed about that than anyone. But he’s a competitor and that’s what you want in a quarterback. I don’t want a hangdog. I want someone in there who says, I want the ball again because I’m not going to let you or the team down.”

Said Poe: “It wasn’t our best game but I’m just glad we came out victorious. We showed a lot of character.”

Both teams did.

Gorman sputtered offensively early and mustered only 223 yards, but the Gaels kept battling back.

They committed five penalties on their first drive, but on their next possession, Powell ripped off a 60-yard run to set up one of three Colin Ditsworth field goals.

When they fell behind 17-9 early in the fourth quarter, they put together the most impressive drive of the game, a 12-play, 70-yarder that led to the game-tying scores.

“It was kind of sloppy on both sides,” Gorman coach Tony Sanchez said. “There were too many penalties, too many balls on the ground. But you know what? You got to love it. It’s Aug. 22nd and you got 16- and 17-year old kids competing their hearts out. You can’t ask for more than that.

“Am I disappointed though? Absolutely. But at the end of the day you got to cowboy up and go back to work.”

Belles shared the same sentiments – even in victory.

“It was a great game for the national scenes with two great teams going at it,” he said. “We’re happy with the win, now we have to find a way to be a better football team. We have a long way to go.”

The Huskies started quite well on its first possession as Poe hit a streaking Kendyl Taylor with a 47-yard bomb on their team’s first play. That led to a Taylor 8-yard touchdown and Hamilton led 7-0 with 7:25 left in the first.

“We have great receivers and I just put the ball out there,” Poe said.

A facemask penalty by USC-bound defensive end Jalen Grimble kept the drive alive. It was one of six penalties Gorman made in the first quarter.

“The little things hurt us all night long,” said Grimble, who otherwise had a strong game with eight tackles and a fumble recovery.

Gorman fought back from the rough spot and got three straight field goals from Ditsworth, who looks like another Division I prospect from this contest.

Ditsworth drilled kicks from 21, 44 and 42 yards, the latter coming on the final play of the first half, giving the Gaels a 9-7 lead.

“We’re always going to show heart,” said Powell, a 5-10, 181-pound junior. “Too bad we couldn’t have shown more balance. You can’t beat a great team like that being one dimensional.”

Hamilton showed off another strong dimension – its special teams – while taking the lead in the third quarter.

The Huskies took back the lead with the play of the game, a scintillating, weaving 82-yard punt return by Malcolm Holland with 8:54 left in the third quarter to go up 14-9.

Holland took advantage of three huge blocks, broke to his left, cut back to the right near midfield and went virtually untouched. He called it by far the biggest touchdown of his career.

“I saw the ball in the air and about four guys coming at me,” he said. “I knew I had enough space to get around the wall. I caught the ball, made a move around the wall, and then cut back. After that, it just felt amazing.”

Said Poe: “That was awesome. Malcolm is great. He’s worked so hard (in the off-season). He’s always first in the sprints. He’s just a great athlete.”

Though the blow was big, Gorman came right back and drove 40 yards but had some trickery backfire. On 3^rd-and-3 from the Hamilton 33, Powell broke around right end, pulled up and tried to fire a pass back to quarterback Soloman.

The ball was tipped and defensive lineman Alex Burgoyne made the interception.

Poe then led the Huskies on a 54-yard march, setting up a 22-yard field goal by Clay with 10:19 left in the fourth quarter to make it 17-9.

“We made a lot of mistakes all night but found a way to battle back,” Belles said.

As did Gorman on its next drive, going 70 yards to tie the score at 17 on Powell’s TD run and Soloman’s determined 2-point conversion with 3:25 left.

The poised sophomore quarterback rolled right but when no one was open, he made a fast dash and just barreled in at the right pylon.

“I got there for the team,” he said.

With all the momentum and a loud Gorman contingent cheering loudly, Poe didn’t flinch after a quick pep talk from Belles.

“I just said, ‘hey, that’s what the game is all about,’ “ Belles said.

On the first play from his own 20, with loads of time thanks largely to bookend Division I tackles Christian Westerman (Texas) and Tyler Johnstone (Oregon), Poe fired a streak to Clay, an athletic 6-4, 180-pound senior.

Clay hauled it home at the Gorman 22.

“I just looked at him the whole time,” Poe said. “The line protected me great, I saw the cornerback on (Clay’s) butt and I just put it out there. He’s a great receiver and went up and got it. It was a great catch.”

After a 21-yard rumble to the 1 by Jai Johnson, Gorman made two big pushes and stopped Johnson for no gain. On third down, Poe found a small crease between his center and right guard to score the game-winner.

“I just put my head right in the ally,” Poe said. “The credit goes to the lineman. It feels great. Winning this game is just a great feeling.”  

Hamilton 24, Bishop Gorman 17

Gorman   3  6  0  8  -  17

Hamilton 7 0  7  10 – 24

First quarter

H – Taylor 8 run (Clay kick), 7:25

G – FG, Ditsworth 21, 4:40

Second quarter

G – FG, Ditsworth 44, 7:36

G – FG, Ditsworth 42, 0:00

Third quarter

H – Holland 82 punt return (Clay kick), 8:54

Fourth quarter

H – FG, Clay 22, 10:19

G – Powell 7 run (Soloman run), 3:25

H – Poe 1 run (Clay kick), 1:33

STATISTICS

Team  totals

First downs: Gorman 13, Hamilton 14

Rushes-yards: Gorman 42-165, Hamilton 29-124

Passing: Gorman 7-17-2-58, Hamilton 8-13-0-169

Plays-total offense: Gorman 59-223, Hamilton 42-293

Punt return yards: Gorman 0-0, Hamilton 1-82

Fumbles/lost: Gorman 2-0, Hamilton 3-2

Penalties-yards: Gorman 6-37, Hamilton 4-37

Possession time: Gorman 29:46, Hamilton 17:34

Individuals

RUSHING

Gorman: Powell 29-199, Williams 1-(-1), Soloman 12-(-33). Hamilton: Poe 14-57, Jai Johnson 5-42, Jones 1-11, Holland 1-9.

PASSING

Gorman: Soloman 5-16-1-58, Powell 0-1-1-0. Hamilton: Poe 8-13-0-169.

RECEIVING

Gorman: Zeger 1-20, Powell 1-13, Smith 1-13, Tillman 1-9. Hamilton: Clay 3-89, Taylor 3-63, Holland 1-10, Henson 1-7.

See Live Blog of the game.