The Gaels scored 19 unanswered points for their 27th straight victory. Next up for Bishop Gorman is No. 1
Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) on Sept. 6 in the 14th 1 vs. 2 matchup since 2000.
The Gaels turned the ball over twice on downs in the first three quarters as the Raiders cashed in on both to take the two-score lead late in the third quarter.
But senior Hawaii commit
Melvin Spicer IV remained calm at quarterback for Bishop Gorman and completed all four of his passes, including a touchdown to three-star wide receiver
Kaina Watson, as the Aquinas lead shrunk to 21-17.
The Gorman defense forced a Raiders' punt and then drove to the 10-yard line before a field goal cut the Aquinas lead to 21-20 with 10:05 left. But the Gorman defense wasn't done, forcing another punt with 9:13 left as
Jett Washington, a four-star junior and the nephew of Kobe Bryant, knocked down a third-down pass.
No. 2 Bishop Gorman defeated No. 11 St. Thomas Aquinas 29-21 in the Broward County Football Showcase. (Photo: Jeff Klein)
Big plays by senior
Eli Yamauchi and sophomore
Terrance Grant set the Gaels up inside the 10. Two plays later, Grant got the ball again and rushed in for a 3-yard touchdown to give the Gaels a 26-21 lead with 6:44 to play in the contest.
With the Raiders trailing for the first time in the game, the Gaels defense again came up big when senior defensive back
Alexander Perez intercepted Aquinas with 3:46 to play.
St. Thomas Aquinas used its timeouts and got the ball back down 29-21 after holding the Gaels to a field goal. The Raiders moved the ball quickly and four-star sophomore
Julius Jones Jr. hauled in multiple receptions to go over 150 receiving yards on the day.
The Raiders drove into the red zone looking for a chance to tie before
Andrew Indorf was sacked on third down. Facing fourth-and-long, Indorf heaved the ball toward the end zone but was intercepted by senior defensive back
Brayton Correa.
The Raiders got on the board first when junior
Jerry Derosier scored from 2 yards out in the first quarter.
Bishop Gorman answered right back after five-star senior LSU commit
Derek Meadows hauled in a 41-yard reception from Spicer.
The Gaels drove down the field again on their next possession before
Mark Matthews entered the picture. The sophomore defensive lineman, who has 14 offers including Auburn, Miami and Penn State, drove through the line on fourth down and pulled down the Gorman quarterback to set up St. Thomas Aquinas with the ball near midfield.
Indorf found Jones Jr. to advance 40 yards. Moments later Indorf hit sophomore wide receiver
Ah’mari Stevens for a touchdown to give St. Thomas Aquinas a 14-7 lead with 8:47 to play in the first half.
With a minute to play in the first half, Meadows caught a 23-yard pass thrown by Spicer that put Bishop Gorman near the 10-yard line. St. Thomas Aquinas got stops on three straight plays and took a 14-10 lead into halftime after junior
Hudson Borsari hit a 26-yard field goal.
Matthews and Jones Jr. came up big again midway through the third quarter. Bishop Gorman again faced a fourth down and again Matthews got the Raiders the ball back by batting down a pass with 6:28 left in the third.
After a few running plays, Indorf tossed the ball from his own 47-yard line deep to Jones Jr. who caught the ball near the 20, made a defender miss and ran into the end zone for a 53-yard score to give St. Thomas Aquinas a 21-10 lead with 4:48 to play in the third.
