Fielden, No. 11 Bishop Gorman make amends, beat No. 23 Servite in thriller

LAS VEGAS - When the No. 11 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) High football team began moving the ball down the field Friday against No. 23 Servite (Anaheim, Calif.) late in the fourth quarter with the game tied at 28, Gorman kicker Kline Fielden sensed he would get a rare chance at redemption.
 
Earlier in the season, the junior missed a 40-yard attempt that would have forced overtime in a 20-17 loss to No. 2 Armwood. That kick missed badly. He booted the top half of the ball and it duck-hooked wildly left. It wasn't even close.

This time the ball sailed majestically through the air. It split the uprights. Fielden seized the moment.

His 39-yarder with 1 minute, 3 seconds remaining was Gorman’s lone points of the second half, lifting the Gaels to a wild 31-28 victory against the Southern California power.
 
“The great thing about life is sometimes we have these opportunities and they don’t work out the way we want them to,” Gorman coach Tony Sanchez said. “Kline, three or four weeks ago on national TV, a chance to tie the game, no time left, he misses it. Well, he didn’t put his head down, He just goes back to work, gets another chance on national TV and drills it.”
 
Instead of losing confidence after missing against Armwood, Fielden went back to work on his craft and was determined to be ready if he received another opportunity. The result was a kick that Fielden and Gorman fans will remember forever. Against Armwood, he was overwhelmed by the moment, missing low and to the left.
 
“I tried to stay calm and just remember what I had to do,” Fielden said. “This time, I stayed in my little corner over there and was secluded to myself. I went out there and did it. I knew it went through right when it went off my foot. (The emotion) takes your breath away.”
 
Servite couldn’t move the ball on its ensuing possession and quarterback Cody Pittman's desperation pass was intercepted by Nathan Starks around midfield with 19 seconds remaining to seal the win for Gorman.
 
"I thought it was a great game first off. I thought our guys battled back,” Servite coach Troy Thomas said. “Their guys battled back. What else can you say? It was a great football game. Two good programs. We were battling right with them and it was an awesome game. I don't think you can say much more than that."
 
Gorman opened with 14 points in the first seven minutes, including Justin Sweet returning the opening kickoff 89-yards for a touchdown. Following a Servite punt, Gorman easily moved the ball down the field, capped by a 6-yard touchdown run from Shaquille Powell.
 
But Servite, which had success in the ground game with 185 rushing yards, responded with 20 unanswered points for a 20-14 lead. Domain Mora scored on runs of 2 and 7 yards, while kicker Connor Beavans booted a pair of field goals.
 
"We haven't faced this kind of adversity as far as being down,” Thomas said. “We were down 14-0. We battled back and got 20 points. They come back and go up at the half and we battle back. I think we have a really good team. I think were going to learn what we need to learn from this game and move on. We'll learn a lot from this one and move forward.”
 
Gorman, however, was phased and closed the first half with two touchdowns in the half’s final 1:35 for a 28-20 halftime lead. Quarterback Jarrett Solomon (10 of 17, 167 yards) had touchdown passes of 29 yards to Ryan Smith and 34 yards to Powell, who also led all rushers with 135 yards on 20 carries. Powell also intercepted a pass.

“The one thing about our team is you never see our kids quit, they have heart,” Sanchez said. “That is the No. 1 team in Southern California, that might be the No. 1 team in all of California right now. That is the heck of a win.”

The game slowed considerably in the second half and the defenses took over before a poor punt snap set up a short touchdown drive for Servite.

Mana Pauu, who led Servite with 85 rushing yards, capped an 18-yard drive with a 12-yard TD run and added the two-point conversion to tie the game at 28-28 early in the fourth quarter.

The score remained that way until Fielden's heroics and a kick he will never forgot.
 
“My coaches and teammates never let me get down. They had confidence in my and that gave me confidence in myself,” he said.

Ray Brewer is the sports reporter for the Las Vegas Sun.