High school football: Bishop Gorman, Hamilton rematch headlines 2022 Polynesian Football Classic in Las Vegas

Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.) and Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) gave high school football fans one of the most memorable games of 2021 and they'll officially run it back Sept. 9 in Las Vegas.

The two will meet as the first of a three-game event in the 2022 Polynesian Football Classic that spans over eight days. The first two games will be played at Bishop Gorman with the finale at Liberty.

The other two games feature Mountain Pointe (Phoenix) vs. Arbor View (Las Vegas) on Sept. 10 and Kamehameha (Honolulu, Hawaii) makes the 2,700-plus mile trip to face Liberty (Henderson, Nev.) on Sept. 16.

In last year's matchup, Hamilton stunned the Gaels with a 25-24 comeback win after erasing a 24-7 deficit with just over a minute remaining. The Huskies connected on a 46-yard field goal to cut the lead to 24-10 with 1:05 left, then recovered an onside kick and Nicco Marchiol found Michael Masunas for a one-yard touchdown to make it 24-17 with 29 seconds remaining.

Hamilton recovered another onside kick and Marchiol drove the Huskies down the field and connected with Nick Switzer for a 22-yard score with eight seconds remaining. Head coach Michael Zdebski elected to go for two and Marchiol ran it in to complete the comeback victory.

That was the only loss of the season for the Gaels who went on to win their 12th state title since 2007 and finished No. 15 in the final MaxPreps Top 25. The Huskies would suffer their only loss in the Arizona Open Division semifinals against Saguaro (Scottsdale) and finished ranked at No. 23.

Bishop Gorman begins the 2022 campaign ranked at No. 6 in the MaxPreps Top 25 and returns a host of key players led by five-star wide receiver Zachariah Branch and starting quarterback Micah Alejado. They are two of 20 players on the Gaels roster rated as a three-star or higher by 247Sports.

Hamilton has to replace a lot of key players led by Nicco Marchiol and Russell Davis II. Marchiol was named the 2021 MaxPreps Arizona Player of the Year and Davis was a second-team selection on the MaxPreps All-America squad. Some key returners include Tre Spivey, Genesis Smith, Alex McLaughlin and Nick Switzer.

The Las Vegas power begins the 2022 campaign with five out-of-state games with this matchup being the fourth. They open up against Utah power Corner Canyon (Draper) on Aug. 19, followed by one of the biggest games of the year vs. No. 2 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) on Aug. 26. They also face Hawaii power St. Louis (Honolulu) on Sept. 2 and Brookwood (Snellville, Ga.) on Sept. 16.

Some other marquee games for Hamilton include a season-opening matchup against Centennial (Peoria) on Sept. 2, at Highland (Gilbert) on Sept. 30, at Basha (Chandler) on Oct. 21. They end the regular season against five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola and No. 8 Chandler. Hamilton snapped the Wolves' 45-game win streak with a 21-14 victory last season.