High school football: No. 9 Bishop Gorman holds off No. 24 Miami Central with 21-20 win

Back in July, No. 9 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) and No. 24 Central (Miami) was pegged as one of the biggest games of the high school football season. Saturday night at the Battle at the Beach event in Naples, Fla., the contest lived up to the hype as Gorman held on for a 21-20 victory.

Central had a shot to win as time expired. Senior kicker Jayden John attempted a 35-yard field goal that ricocheted off the crossbar for a miss.

Gorman's sophomore quarterback Micah Alejado had a breakout performance. With the Gaels trailing 20-14 with 5:28 left in the fourth quarter he led the Las Vegas power on a 4-play, 80-yard drive and threw a dime for a 37-yard touchdown to junior wide receiver Zachariah Branch to take a 21-20 lead with 3:48 left.

That ended up being the final score.

Bishop Gorman started the game going 72 yards on five plays capped by a 21-yard touchdown run from Alejado on the opening drive of the night. .After both teams traded punts, the Rockets tied things up on the first play of the second quarter as senior running back Ghana Oboh punched it in for a 1-yard touchdown run. Junior Dylan Tulloch got the start at quarterback and made some big throws on the 95-yard drive, finishing the night with over 200 yards passing and two touchdowns.

Central's defense got a fourth-down stop and took over at the Gaels' 45-yard line early in the second quarter. A few plays later Tulloch found Cataurus Hicks for a 30-yard touchdown pass to take a 13-7 lead with 6:56 left. Gorman's special teams were the difference in the win and made their first big play of the night blocking the extra-point attempt.

After Bishop Gorman's defense got a stop on the opening possession of the second half, junior linebacker Palaie Faoa blocked the punt and the Gaels took over at Miami Central's 23-yard line. On the next play Alejado found Branch for a 23-yard score to take a 14-13 lead with 8:33 left in the third quarter.

The Gaels began the fourth quarter with all the momentum but an errant snap on third down forced Gorman to punt. Central converted a third and long when Tulloch escaped pressure and found Corey Washington for a gain of 43 yards to Gorman's 18-yard line. Two plays later Tulloch connected with Zaylan Reese for a 17-yard touchdown to take a 20-14 lead with 5:28 left.

After that, Alejado took over and showed why he is one of the best quarterbacks from the Class of 2024. He started the drive with a 32-yard completion to Elijah Lofton and followed it with a 13-yard run two plays later to set the Gaels up at the Rockets' 37-yard line. The next play is when he found Branch for what turned out to be the game-winning score.

The Rockets had one last chance and took over at their own 20-yard line with 3:48 left. On fourth down, Tulloch found Reese for a 10-yard pickup to give the Rockets a first down at midfield with just over a minute left. He got the Rockets to the Gaels 17-yard line and set up John for a game-winning field goal attempt from 35 yards out but it wasn't meant to be.

Bishop Gorman improves to 2-0 on the season with two quality wins against Central and St. Louis (Honolulu, Hawaii). Central beat the Gaels the last time the teams met in 2017.

Up next for Gorman is Lone Peak (Highland, Utah) on Sept. 11 at the Polynesian Football Classic.

Central falls to 0-2 and will look to get its first win of the season against rival Booker T. Washington (Miami) on Sept. 10.