No. 5 Bishop Gorman strikes No. 4 St. John Bosco early, rides out victory

LAS VEGAS – The coin was tossed into the air, it landed in the favor of Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) and the Gaels elected to receive.

Then it began to sprinkle, then came thunder and lightning. Then the much-anticipated showdown between the MaxPreps Computer Rankings No. 1 and 3 teams was sent to a screeching halt.

A bad omen for the home team? An ominous beginning?

Not a chance.

Gorman had come too far to let a little weather bother them.

The Gaels finished off a rather remarkable six-week run by starting fast behind the legs and arm of sophomore Tate Martell, the rushing of Russell Booze and big play prowess of Martell's sophomore adopted brother Tyjon Lindsey to hold off hard-charging St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif) 34-31 before 7,000 fans jammed into Fertitta Field and a national television audience.

Tate threw for 230 yards and two second-half touchdowns and ran for another, Booze rushed for 152 yards and busted loose on a key 80-yard TD run and Lindsey turned a short pass into a 67-yard touchdown, and then clinched the win by recovering an onside kick that seemed destined to go to Bosco.

"I had too many friends and family here to let them get the ball," said Lindsey of his recovery that bounced off a Gorman player then the helmet of a Bosco player. "We'd come too far to let this slip away. I'm just glad I had the opportunity to make the play."

It was the fifth victory for Gorman against a Top 50 opponent and third versus a Top 25 team. It was the fourth Southern California power the Gaels (6-0) have slayed, joining Centennial (Corona), Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita) and Servite (Anaheim). Gorman came in ranked No. 5 in the Xcellent 25 and St. John Bosco was No. 4.

"It was probably closer than it needed to be, but I couldn't be prouder of our guys," Gorman coach Tony Sanchez said. "To beat that group of teams in a six-week span is a remarkable feat. Our kids really stepped up."

Said Booze: "It's definitely been a grind. We've been sweating and working hard every day since January to get to this point. There's a lot of season to go, but it feels awfully good right now."

When Lindsey scored early in the third on his electrifying touchdown catch and run, Gorman had a 27-3 lead and it didn't seem possible the game would come down to an onside kick.

But UCLA-bound quarterback Josh Rosen, with his future college coach Jim Mora roaming the sidelines, rallied the third-ranked Braves (3-1) with both his arm and legs. He threw for 245 yards and three scores and he kept two drives alive with fourth-down runs.

The Braves closed to 34-24 with 5:59 left in the game on another clutch and determined fourth-down play, a 25-yard pass from Rosen to Jarett Balter, who broke two tackles before diving into the end zone. Rosen then completed an 8-yard TD to Kaylin Franklin with 1:12 left to close it to 34-31.

But Lindsay pulled out the ball and Gorman pulled out the win in a game it controlled for 3.5 quarters.

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"We learned we can't start slow," said a very subdued Rosen walking off the field. "A lot of that's on me. ... We were upset how we won our last game because we didn't really didn't play that well. I guess we didn't take it to heart."

Said Bosco coach Jason Negro: "We just couldn't get (their offense) off the field the first half. They converted a lot of third- and fourth-down plays. That (Martell) kid made a lot of big plays. But if you don't get them off the field against a good team like that, it's hard to come back.

"But I give our guys a lot of credit for coming back."

Both teams had to come back from the weather delay.

But the Gaels grabbed the momentum by taking the opening kickoff and marching 71 on 11 plays capped by a 5-yard touchdown from Martell, tabbed "Mini Manziel," for his big-play prowess. Martell had three completions on the drive, including a fourth-down, 13-yard strike to Lindsey.

On second down, he tried to find a receiver, but scrambled left into the end zone and Gorman had a 7-0 lead.

"It was really important to score on that first drive," Martell said. "When we start fast, we're great."

After Eric Daniels connected from 40 yards out to make it 7-3, Booze broke off an 80-yard touchdown run straight up the middle on the next play from scrimmage. Like Booze himself, the Gaels seemed to be gone.

"We practice that play all week," Booze said. "I just followed my fullback, the line opened a huge hole and I saw nothing but the end zone."

Gorman used its size and strength up front on the offensive line to gash big holes for Booze and Jonathan Shumaker, who capped another long drive, 13 plays and 75 yards, with a 1-yard dive making it 20-3 with 4:23 left in the first half.

That touchdown drive was set up by a roughing the punter call against the defending California State Open Division champions, who also had a 45-yard punt return called back by a clip in the first half.

The Gorman defense was particularly stout in the first half, holding down speedy McGrew to just seven carries for 12 yards in the first half. Twice he was stopped for losses on third down, twice by Gorman safety Nicco Fertitta.

McGrew finished with 85 yards rushing on 21 carries and one touchdown.

"Our D-line and linebackers played great games and our coaches had a great game plan," Fertitta said.

Rosen completed a 12-yard touchdown to Anselem Umeh to make it 27-10, but Martell countered with a 24-yard scoring pass to UCLA-bound right end Alize Jones, to make it 34-10.

Rosen, the top-ranked Pro-Style quarterback in the country, ran for 9 yards on a fourth down to set up a McGrew 6-yard score on the next play. That made it 34-17 Gorman entering the fourth.

Bosco scored twice in the fourth, but it wasn't quite enough.

"I can't describe how great it feels to be 6-0," Fertitta said. "I think a lot of people thought it was impossible. But we all believed and took it one game at a time."