Future looks bright for Bishop Gorman football

Jim Snelling was asked what the rest of the prep football teams in Nevada need to do to catch up to Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas).

But the McQueen (Reno) coach could only respond with a shrug of the shoulders and a shake of the head.

"I don't have an answer for that," he said. "Hopefully, I'll have an answer by this time next year."

Snelling isn't alone. For the last two seasons no football team in the state has had an answer for Gorman, which captured its second straight Class 4A state championship, and third in four years, with a dominant 40-0 win over McQueen on Saturday at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas.

And there doesn't appear to be an end in sight to the Gaels' dominance of the Silver State.

Gorman is expected to have 10 starters back on offense and six on defense, meaning the Gaels should start 2011 in the national rankings once again. Gorman opened this season at No. 23 in the Xcellent 25 Football Rankings presented by the Army National Guard before falling to Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.) in the season-opening Sollenberger Classic in Flagstaff, Ariz.

"We're going to go out and we're going to find some teams," said Gorman second-year coach Tony Sanchez, who already booked a two-year deal to play Southern California powerhouse Servite (Anaheim, Calif.). "Hopefully we'll get the Sollenberger Classic and play an Arizona school. But we will play anybody any time, anywhere, and not because we think we're great, but because I just believe that makes you a better football team. I did it when I was at California (San Ramon, Calif.) and there's no reason I wouldn't do it here.

"We're looking for a late August date if anybody's interested."

Added standout junior running back Shaquille Powell: "Hopefully we can win a national championship. That would mean a lot. But overall, we are just trying to improve as players and people."

The Gaels have not lost to an in-state opponent since a 50-14 thrashing at the hands of Palo Verde (Las Vegas) in the Sunset Region final in 2008. Since 2007, Gorman is an impressive 54-4, and three of the losses were to out-of-state teams. The Gaels' only setbacks this season came to undefeated Hamilton, which is currently ranked No. 25 in the Xcellent 25 poll, and at No. 10 De La Salle (Concord, Calif.).

Last season, Gorman outscored its 14 Nevada opponents 750-121 - its closest game was a 38-28 win over Palo Verde in the Sunset Region semifinals - and the Gaels were even more overwhelming this season, outscoring 12 in-state teams 623-36 with eight shutouts.

Against McQueen, which entered the title game No. 3 in the MaxPreps state rankings, Gorman (13-2) allowed just four first downs and 101 yards of total offense. The only time the Lancers had the ball in Gorman territory was after an interception in the second quarter and McQueen failed to advance past its own 37-yard line in the second half.

"I really think it just comes down to making sure you're solid on defense, you stay humble and you keep grinding," Sanchez said. "There's no mystery to football. You're never going to win as many games as we have without having good players, so I'm no dummy. We've got good players. But when you can convince those players to come six days a week, to give up their entire summer with the exception of two weeks, to pound the weight room every day five days a week starting in January, that's a pretty special ingredient."

Gorman had six players sign with Football Bowl Subdivision schools from its 2009 team and two more inked with Football Championship Subdivision programs. Three seniors off this year's team have already made verbal commitments to FBS schools - defensive end Jalen Grimble (USC), safety Evan Zeger (Washington) and offensive lineman Ac Patterson (UTEP), who didn't even start in the state title game.

But this edition of the Gaels was heavy on talented underclassmen, including Powell, junior offensive linemen Ronnie Stanley, Ron Scoggins and Nick Strehlow, sophomore quarterback Jarrett Solomon and sophomore wide receivers Ryan Smith and Jamir Tilman, among others.

Powell rushed for 1,292 yards and 17 touchdowns despite missing five games with a hamstring injury and is expected to be one of the state's top recruits for the Class of 2012. The 6-foot-6, 284-pound Stanley will be one of the nation's top offensive tackle recruits.

In all, the Gaels could have more than a dozen players on their current roster who will eventually sign letters of intent to play in college. That talent level will keep Gorman among the nation's best teams and make it the favorite to win the state championship for the forseeable future.

"The thing about it is, yeah, we've got good players and there's no doubt about it and there's no mystery in that, but there's teams all over the place that have good players," Sanchez said. "Our kids work unbelieveably hard. ... Our kids grind and grind and grind. And I'm surrounded by several very smart football coaches. So when you've got a bunch of good, hard-working guys around you and you've got talented kids that are completely committed, you put those two together, that's pretty good. But at the end of the day, nothing we've done this year is going to help us in the future."

BUCK EARNS GATORADE HONOR
Foothill (Henderson) outside linebacker Keegan Buck was named the Gatorade Nevada Player of the Year.
Buck led southern Nevada with 21.5 sacks and had 125 tackles overall while helping lead the Falcons (10-2) to the Sunrise Region semifinals.

Buck, who was the Southeast League Defensive MVP, owns a 3.64 GPA.

The Gatorade award recognizes high academic standards and exemplary character as well as athletic achievement.

SIMS COMMITS TO SOUTHERN UTAH
Agassi Prep (Las Vegas) senior cornerback Leshaun Sims gave a verbal commitment to Southern Utah, according to Nevadapreps.com, becoming the first player in program history to earn a scholarship.

Sims was also being recruited by New Mexico State and Northern Arizona, but Southern Utah was the first school to make an official offer.

"I can't describe it," Sims told Nevadapreps.com. "It feels good. I look forward to going there and working hard to get better."

The 6-foot, 160-pound Sims recorded 52 tackles and four interceptions as the Stars (7-3) had their first winning season since moving to 11-man football in 2008 and advanced to the Class 2A state semifinals. Sims also caught 26 passes for 406 yards and five touchdowns as a wide receiver.

"LeShaun has skills, and he's a coachable kid," Agassi Prep coach Colt Goodman said to Nevadapreps.com. "He's a ball-hawk who loves to hit. After looking at film, SUU said, 'This is our guy.'"

David Schoen works at the Las Vegas Review-Journal, and is a former Associate Sports Editor and Turn2 columnist for the Oakland (Calif.) Tribune. You can reach him at ByDavid1@aol.com.