Bishop Gorman to use bye week to get healthy, focus on Mater Dei

Bishop Gorman’s football squad will use the upcoming bye week to heal and sharpen its focus ahead of a looming matchup with Mater Dei. Located in Highland, Utah, the Gaels are looking to get healthy while preparing for a formidable opponent that arrives in two weeks. Ranked No. 8 nationally by MaxPreps and USA Today, Bishop Gorman will have an extra week to ready itself for No. 15 Mater Dei of California. The two programs are set to meet in Santa Ana at 7 p.m. on September 18. Historically, the Gaels trail the series 0‑5, but they enter the break fresh off a 38‑14 road victory over Lone Peak (Utah) on Friday night. Even after that win—during which Gorman never trailed—head coach Brent Browner remarked that his team is “still not playing” their “best football.” Browner elaborated on the value of the downtime: “(We can) get steadfast and conscionable marque definite we’re benignant of successful tune,” Browner said connected Friday. “Giving the coaches astir 2 weeks to survey for idiosyncratic is truly important. Mater Dei’s a large team. They ever person been.” He added, “It’s a large series. We haven’t got 1 yet, but we’re looking to get one. It’s going to be pugnacious this year. We conscionable got to spell out, signifier hard, bash our worldly and bring it home.” Reflecting on the Lone Peak contest, Browner noted, “We didn’t truly enactment successful a large show (against Lone Peak). We had a batch of intelligence mistakes,” Browner said. “It’s not indicative of what we do, truthful we conscionable got to hole it and anticipation the bye week gets that fixed.” He continued, “It’s pugnacious to spell from seashore to seashore and travel back, truthful I thought the kids did a bully occupation of that and adjusting. We’re not playing our champion football. We could execute a batch better. The merchandise connected the tract is not indicative of who we are. We got to get those things fixed.” The victory over Lone Peak kept Bishop Gorman’s slim hopes alive for a fifth mythical national title. The Gaels entered the week at 3‑1, coming off a 33‑28 loss to Christopher Columbus in Fort Lauderdale on August 29, a game in which they trailed 20‑0 early in the second quarter. Against Lone Peak, Gorman leaned on a trio of running backs—Noah Cole, St. John Bosco transfer Corey Hinton Jr., and freshman Trey Washington—to accumulate 237 rushing yards and dominate time of possession. The effort came without four‑star sophomore wide receiver Zyren Menor, who did not see action. Quarterback Ace Amina completed eight of sixteen passes for 57 yards, while his younger brother, freshman Brody Amina, saw extensive action in the second half, going five‑for‑seven for 63 yards. Earlier in the season, Gorman lost a projected wide receiver when Gavin Honore failed to gain clearance from the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association and subsequently transferred back to Mater Dei. The vacancy prompted Browner to shift UNLV commit Azavier McDaniel from defensive back to wide receiver. McDaniel hauled in a 33‑yard touchdown pass from Brody Amina in the third quarter versus Lone Peak. Browner praised McDaniel’s versatility: “(McDaniel has) ever been a two-way player,” Browner said. “We’ve been fortunate capable to person capable receivers, but we’re truly banged up close now. After the Columbus game, we moved him determination afloat time. We didn’t person capable firepower astatine the extremity of that (Columbus) game.” Defensively, Gorman was also missing pieces, notably four‑star lineman Tayaun Lawrence, who sat out the Lone Peak game. Younger contributors stepped up, with Tausa’Afia Taufa‑Langi registering a sack and a tackle for loss in the first half and freshman Pai’Ea Cosier adding a tackle for loss and a fumble recovery. Production came from regular starters as well: four‑star sophomore defensive back Brayley Manning tallied two interceptions, Caleb Lea’ea notched two sacks, and Tamatoa Gaoteote recorded a sack along with a fumble recovery for a touchdown. Mater Dei arrives at 3‑0, having defeated Gorman 27‑24 in last year’s encounter. Browner noted that the coming two weeks will involve both preparation and academic catch‑up, saying, “For us, it’s (also) conscionable catching backmost up successful school,” Browner said. “It’s been pugnacious to bash that portion at an world schoolhouse truthful we conscionable request to get those guys backmost in the schoolroom doing that stuff, getting with our teachers