Coach Tony Sanchez goes for two-point conversion and combination of Tate Martell to Alize Jones delivers in stunning 43-42 victory at Southern California power Centennial (Corona).
Bishop Gorman Tate Martell (18) sophomore quarterback saved the day Friday for the Gaels with his arm and feet in a thrilling 43-42 win over Centennial.
File photo by Ted Aguirre
With the game and their national title hopes growing dim, the
Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) football team did the only thing they could against one of the nation's most successful programs.
Dig a little deeper.
Down 14 in the fourth quarter at offensive juggernaut
Centennial (Corona, Calif.), the Gaels rallied for 15 straight points in the final 5 minutes, 8 seconds, capped with a two-point conversion from super sophomore and quick-footed
Tate Martell to the nation's top-rated tight end, UCLA-bound
Alize Jones with just over two-minutes remaining for a wild 43-42 win on Friday.
Alize Jones, Bishop Gorman
File photo by Jann Hendry
According to Eric-Paul Johnson,
of the Press-Enterprise, Martell, a transfer from Poway (Calif.), had converted a fourth-and-14 play on the game-winning drive with a 29-yard scramble. He then found
Brandon Gahagan on a 45-yard touchdown pass, setting up the two-point conversion.
Any hesitation to go for it coach?
"On the road, we had a play we liked and felt we could end it there," coach Tony Sanchez texted us. "This was a great win for us."
Of course, it was anything but over.
Centennial is an offensive juggernaut and has been for more than a decade since Matt Logan took over.
The Huskies lost eight starters on offense and it was very shaky in a 38-18 opening night defeat to 14th-ranked
Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.).
But last week at the Honor Bowl, Centennial rolled up 631 yards against a tough Orange Lutheran team in a 52-49 win.
On Friday, they had little trouble going up and down the field against the nation's No. 7 squad. They looked in utter command when
JJ Taylor scored on a touchdown run with 10 minutes left to put Centennial up 42-28.
Gorman (4-0), however, ran off 12 plays finished off with a 3-yard touchdown run by Jonathan Shumaker, to close to 42-35 with 5:08 left. Twice Martell connected with Jones on fourth down, otherwise the game would have been decided.
Still, the way Centennial had moved the ball all night, Gorman was still hanging by a thread. The Huskies ripped off a couple first downs on their next possession, but near midfield was faced with fourth down.
Logan elected to send out Nate Ketteringham for Centennial's first punt of the game. He did his job by pinning Gorman all the way to the Gaels' 4.
"I thought about going for it on fourth down," Logan told Johnson. "But the percentages were in our favor to punt. And we made them have to go 96 yards."
Again, the Gaels dug deep.
After scoring the go-ahead touchdown and two-point conversion, Gorman's defense had to do the job.
Near midfield, middle linebacker
Nela Otukolo forced a fumble and
Noah Tialavea recovered for Gorman. Ball game.
"Definitely one of the tougher speeches I've ever ad to give following a game," Logan told Johnson.
Said Sanchez: "Great win for us."
Gorman is ranked No. 1 by USA Today. With Cedar Hill, MaxPreps' No. 1 squad losing Friday to Skyline, the door is open for Gorman to win a consensus national crown.
The Gaels' six-week run facing elite competition has two more weeks. Gorman was coming off a 23-20 overtime win over No. 24
Bingham (South Jordan, Utah). Next week, they host
Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) (3-0), ranked 11th in the state and 55th in the country.
If the Gaels get by the Eagles, they then host
St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) (3-0), which is ranked No. 6 nationally by MaxPreps. Bosco defeated Oregon power Central Catholic 42-14 on Friday.
