By Kevin Askeland
MaxPreps.com
Bishop Gorman’s tour of the Western United States is nearly complete following a 13-0 victory over host Riordan of San Francisco on Saturday, however coach Bob Altshuler knows that the Gaels still have a lot of work to do.
“We’re just trying to get better every week,” said Altshuler, whose team is 2-1 with two straight shutouts. “We had some miscues on offense which we need to correct. But defensively we are playing really well.”
The defending Nevada 4A state champions have yet to play a Nevada opponent this year. Instead, Bishop Gorman opened with a 16-6 road loss to Brophy College Prep at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Arizona before knocking off Service of Alaska last week in Las Vegas, 24-0. Now that the trip to California is complete, the Gaels host Dixie of St. George, Utah in their final non-league contest this week.
While Bishop Gorman was able to rack up 306 yards of total offense, turnovers plagued the Gaels throughout as they handed the ball back to the Crusaders four times on three fumbles and an interception.
The Riordan offense, however, was uncharacteristically quiet all afternoon. Part of the reason for the silence was the lack of a Bell or a Cannon on the team. Last year quarterback Darius Bell threw for 2,737 yards and 25 touchdowns and Daniel Cannon caught 72 of those passes for 1,410 yards and 16 scores in leading the Crusaders to the Central Coast Section championship. The duo helped Riordan average 27 points per game, including 48 per game in the playoffs.
However both Bell and Cannon graduated, leaving head coach Mike Langridge with the job of finding a new quarterback from a pair of newcomers. Junior Andrew Espinoza, up from last year’s JV team, started the game and had an interception in his only pass attempt. Jeff Dillon, a junior who hadn’t played since his freshman year at Sacred Heart, went the rest of the way, completing 8 of 22 passes for 43 yards and an interception on the final play of the game.
While the offense sputtered with only 125 yards of total offense, the defense kept Riordan in the game until the very end. Kent Washington was particularly effective, racking up 12 tackles and 11 assists with an interception. Defensive end Ryan Jones was also a disruptive force, picking up eight tackles and an assist to go with two sacks and five tackles for loss.
The Bishop Gorman defense was also equal to the task, especially Raphel Finley and All-American defensive end candidate Justin Chaisson. Finley finished with 14 tackles and six assists while Chaisson had seven tackles, five assists, one sack and 2.5 tackles for loss.
The Gael defense also provided the first score of the game. After a punt pinned Riordan on its own 3-yard line, a high snap to Espinoza allowed Alex Turner to get in for the tackle in the end zone for the safety.
Following the free kick, Bishop Gorman went 51 yards on six plays with Colin Ditsworth kicking a 32-yard field goal on the first play of the second quarter for a 5-0 lead.
The Gaels had the only sustained drive of the entire game for either team near the end of the first half. After taking over on downs at its own 13, Bishop Gorman went 87 yards on nine plays for the game’s only score.
Chase Cresto, one of three Gael quarterbacks Altshuler used during the day, three completions during the drive, including a 24-yard gain to Rober Hassler and an 8-yard pass to Joe Huber. Cresto and Huber also connected on a 14-yard touchdown pass in which Cresto rolled out to the right and then passed back to the left to a wide open Huber in the end zone.
Cresto and Huber also connected for the 2-point conversion to give Bishop Gorman the 13-0 lead with 4 minutes, 26 seconds left in the half.
Riordan threatened to score once in the second half, with Dillon driving the Crusaders to the Bishop Gorman 9-yard line before turning it over on downs.
Johnny Greene of Riordan led all ballcarriers with 90 yards on 24 carries. Christyn Gray led the Gaels with 46 yards on seven carries. The three Bishop Gorman QBs were a combined 8 for 23 for 143 yards and one interception. Taylor Spencer caught four of those passes for 79 yards.
Riordan hosts Healdsburg on Saturday in a non-league game.
(Note: statistics provided by Patrick Segurson).
