Bishop Gorman football ranked No. 23 in preseason poll

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Wednesday, June 9, 2010 | 2:05 a.m.

Nevada's best high school football team also is one of the nation's top squads.

Defending large-school state champion Bishop Gorman is ranked No. 23 nationally by Maxpreps.com in the prep sports website's preseason poll released last week.

The ranking partially can be credited to Gorman's dominating 2009 season. The Gaels outscored opponents, 798-137, in finishing 15-0 and ranked in several polls — they were No. 25 by National Prep Football Poll, No. 46 by Rivals.com and No. 106 by Maxpreps.

Gorman opens the 2010 campaign Aug. 21 against perennial Arizona power Hamilton High in the Barry Sollenberger Classic at Northern Arizona University. The event annually pits the Arizona and Nevada large-school champions from the past year.

Hamilton of Chandler, Ariz., is ranked No. 19 in the Maxpreps preseason poll and is led by three offensive linemen with Division I scholarship offers.

That's only the beginning of a schedule that will give Gorman plenty of opportunities to improve on the ranking.

The Gaels travel to Concord, Calif., on Sept. 25 to face De La Salle, one of the nation's most respected programs.

De La Salle won a national-record 151 games from 1993 to 2001, finishing No. 1 in the USA Today rankings in 1998 and from 2000 to 2003.

"The kids are going to have a chance to go out and see if they deserve (the ranking)," Gorman coach Tony Sanchez said. "We want to go out and compete at the highest level to prepare us to win a state championship."

Beating quality out-of-state opponents will be easier said than done, especially considering Gorman will have to replace eight players from last year's team who received Division I scholarships. That core group of players combined to go 41-2 with two state titles over the last three years.

The cupboard, however, is far from empty.

Gorman has five players with scholarship offers, including defensive end Jalen Grimble, who picked USC in early May. Also, defensive lineman Jaylon Jackson was one of the team's leaders in tackles last year, and safety/wide receiver Evan Zeger is an early commit to Washington.

Offensively, junior Shaquille Powell will be one of the most dynamic playmakers in Nevada. Splitting carries last year, he rushed for 1,500 yards and 29 touchdowns. Also, sophomore quarterback Anu Solomon widely is considered the city's top passer.

"The ranking will put a bigger target on our backs," Zeger said. "We are going to have to step up because people will be gunning for us."

Sanchez realizes it's the ranking at the end of the year that is most important. Still, he said, being mentioned as one of the top teams out of 16,000 schools nationwide is an achievement.

"It's nice to be included in that conversation," he said.