No. 1 Bishop Gorman faces No. 7 St. Thomas Aquinas in battle of national high school football heavyweights

Video: No. 1 Bishop Gorman vs. No. 7 St. Thomas Aquinas
MaxPreps breaks down last big national showdown of 2016.

An inch. A spot. A lunge.

That is how close Friday's high school football Titanic between St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) at Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) is from being a matchup between the top two ranked teams in the country.

Instead of a mythical national championship being at stake, the game is simply the last cross-state showdown with huge national appeal of 2016. One team (Aquinas) can prove to be a spoiler. The other (Gorman) is riding a 44-game win streak.

The 7 p.m. PDT kickoff at Fertitta Field in Las Vegas will be televised live on ESPN. Gorman (5-0) finishes off a gauntlet of a non-league schedule as the nation's No. 1 team in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 presented by the Army National Guard. St. Thomas Aquinas (3-1) is No. 7.

"There's going to be a ton of talent on that field," Gorman coach Kenny Sanchez said. "It should be a lot of fun."

St. Thomas Aquinas coach Roger Harriott said his team is taking a more professional approach. The Raiders made the 2,200-mile flight Wednesday afternoon and have about 48 hours to acclimate to the hot, dry temperatures.

Both Fort Lauderdale and Las Vegas are forecast for 90 degrees on Friday, so without the humidity, the Raiders should be fresh, but perhaps a bit parched.

"We're always grateful for the opportunity to represent our school, Broward county and the great state of Florida," Harriott said. "We follow a strategic plan that's conducive to minimizing distractions. It's a business trip for us."

It was a heartache trip to open the season for Aquinas with a 27-23 loss at Booker T. Washington (Miami, Fla.). The Raiders, ranked No. 1 at the time, almost overcame six turnovers when Ohio State-bound receiver Trevon Grimes was tackled inches short of the end zone on a last-second completion from Florida commit Jake Allen.

Replays indicated he and the ball crossed the line. A play later, Allen threw his second interception and the Raiders' hopes for a mythical national title were essentially thwarted.

"That just looked like a typical sloppy first game," Sanchez said. "They obviously have it rolling pretty good now."

Indeed. Aquinas has outscored its last three opponents 133-6 including two straight shutouts.

In their first three games, the Raiders recorded 19 sacks by 12 different players, including four from Coleman Crozier. The secondary, led by one of the nation's top juniors overall in Asante Samuel, had four interceptions.

Offensively, four different players have rushed for more than 100 yards. Allen has passed for 799 yards and four scores. Grimes is one of three FBS-bound receivers on the squad. Mike Harley (West Virginia) and Joshua Palmer (Syracuse) are the others.

The defense is stout, led by linebackers Tyler Dunning, Nikolas Bonitto and Drew White.

"They haven't given up anything since the first game," Sanchez said. "Nothing. They have Division I cornerbacks. Division I linebackers. Division I defensive linemen. Besides having really good football players they do everything well."

They'll need to again to deal with an offense which has largely been without two of its main weapons and yet won convincingly over three teams that were inside the Xcellent 25 at one point: Cedar Hill (44-14), St. John Bosco (35-20) and Kahuku (35-7).

Cal-bound running back Biaggio Ali Walsh has missed three-plus games with a low ankle sprain and Ohio State-bound receiver Tyjon Lindsey has missed the entire year with a shoulder injury.

Both have practiced all week and are expected to start, Sanchez said.

That's all great news for Ohio State-bound five-star quarterback Tate Martell, who has 816 yards, 13 touchdowns and no interceptions.

Known for his scrambling ability — he's rushed for 406 yards and six scores — Martell has also shown great poise and decision making. In his Gorman career, 35 games (33 starts), he's completed 85 touchdown passes and just eight interceptions.

"He's a true competitor and field general," Harriott said. "His skill level and passion for football have made it difficult for opposing teams to contain him.

"Our defense is up for the challenge."

Gorman's defense has been its strength this season. Sanchez, also the team's defensive coordinator, thinks this could be Gorman's best since he got there in 2009. The Gaels are 105-5 since then. Interestingly, their last loss was to the same Booker T. Washington program Aquinas lost to open the season. BTW beat host Gorman 28-12 on Oct. 4, 2013.

Gorman is led defensively by another Ohio State-bound player in defensive lineman Haskell Garrett, one of the country's top junior linebackers Palaie Gaoteote and defensive backs Bubba Bolden and Alex Perry.

"They've done everything we've asked them until now," Sanchez said. "This will be a tall order. We've faced some talented teams but this one is right up there or the most talented we've seen. They have a real unique combination of size and speed."

Harriott has similar praise for Gorman. It's not easy to impress the Raiders, who are 146-16 since 2006, won nine state championships and have 25 alumni drafted into the NFL.

"Bishop Gorman is talented in all three phases of the game," he said. "They're well coached and disciplined and their players exude confidence and tenacity. We're looking forward to the challenge."