Q&A: Is St. John Bosco ready for Las Vegas and Bishop Gorman?

LAS VEGAS — At 6 a.m., 100 strong from St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) — players, coaches and support staff — hopped on a luxury bus for a four-hour drive to Las Vegas.

This was no ‘Vegas fun hopper. This was all business.

Well, if you consider playing in a high school football game "business."

The Braves, ranked the top team in last year's MaxPreps Computer Rankings, and No. 3 this season, were on their way to the deep desert to face the MaxPreps' Computer's No. 1 team this season, the Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) Gaels.

The Friday game will be televised live at 6 p.m. local time on ESPN and viewed by at least 6,000 fans who will jam in Gorman's state-of-the-art stadium.

"It's a massive stage," senior quarterback Josh Rosen said.

The Braves, the defending CIF Open Division Bowl champions, spent 90 minutes at a Gorman practice field getting used to the heat, though it wasn't that hot. "Only" in the high 90s, with a steady breeze, cool by Las Vegas standards.

And, cooler than the heat wave Southern Californians faced two weeks ago, when temperatures soared into the 100s and the humidity ran high. 

Still, this matchup between No. 1 versus No. 2, according to USA Today/ESPN, is a searing, and four Braves were willing to discuss the match-up, their feelings and impressions of Friday's opponent. .

Leading rusher, junior Sean McGrew

Mitch Stephens: You've been in a lot of big games the last two years. How big is this one?

SM: This is definitely the biggest game this season. But it's not a league game. We're approaching it like we're 0-0 and trying to go 1-0. Every game just gets bigger and bigger. Still, this is No. 1 versus No. 2 in the country, so that makes it big. Hopefully we don't get upset here.

MS: What are your impressions of Gorman, especially on defense.

SM: They're a great team. They're very physical. But I don't think they can keep up with our speed.

MS: Last year, you emerged onto the scene as a sophomore. How hard was that being the young guy on the team and can you appreciate that Gorman has several sophomores starting, including their quarterback Tate Martell?

SM: At the beginning of last year was tough on me. I wasn't getting a lot of respect. Everyone thought I was the underdog. No one knew who I was. Those (sophomores for Gorman) are doing great for them. Good for them. I know what it's like and it's pretty tough.

Starting quarterback and 5-star recruit Josh Rosen

MS: This isn't for a state championship like last year against De La Salle. But a lot of people are talking about it. Just how big a game is this?

JR: It's a massive stage. It's obviously a big game. But you can't treat it any different than any other game. We've had a lot of success over the last three years. There's no reason to change anything now."

MS: What are your impression of Gorman's defense?

JR: Incredibly aggressive. They love takeaways. They feed off that energy. We have to keep the ball moving, minimize big mistakes and try to keep their energy level as low as we possibly can.

MS: And your impressions of their sophomore quarterback Tate Martell?

JR: He's awesome. He's an incredibly talented player. He plays like a chicken with his head cut off — in a positive way. He's going to develop a lot through the years. He has an obvious large skill set to work with and mold.

Starting senior offensive tackle Matthew Katnik

MS: What have you seen on Gorman's defensive front?

MK: They really try to out-physical you. They'll bring 6-7 guys every play and try to get you freaked out. And obviously they try to get to the quarterback.

MS: Do they remind you of any team you've played?

MK: They kind of remind me of De La Salle in the sense they try to be the most physical team on the field. They come straight at you and try to beat you. They do run some elaborate stunts that we've been trying to prepare for all week. In that sense, they're more like the Central Catholic (Portland, Ore.) team we just played.

MS: How do you keep your head in such a big game?

MK: Like my teammates have said, we really will try to treat it like any other game. We've played games on a big stage just like this. So it's nothing new to a lot of us, but it will be new to some of the guys. To those younger guys, we'll just try to help them through it, and let them know it's another game.

Starting junior cornerback Mykal Tolliver

MS: What are your impressions of Gorman quarterback Tate Martell?

MT: Oh man, Tate is an extremely good player. I mean, if they're already calling him little Manziel, it's pretty self-explanatory. He's tremendously talented. He likes to run. He's a good scrambler and a very good passer.

MS: Have you ever played against Gorman receiver Cordell Broadus before. If so, what was that like?

MT: Never. I've seen him at a NFTC camp we both attended. Of course I've heard all about him. That he's a 4-star receiver, that he's Snoop Dogg's son and that he's received a ton of offers. I'm excited to play against him.

MS: So when you got on that bus, and driving through the desert we're you getting pretty excited for the game?

MT: I'll be honest. I slept most of the way. That was early. But when I woke up and started looking around, I realized the moment is here. We've been talking about it ever since the game was scheduled. It's a really big deal. My teammates and I are definitely ready.