Perennial high school football powerhouse Bishop Gorman (NV) traveled south to face last years Arizona 5A state champion, Centennial High School in Peoria, AZ on Friday.
The Gaels from Bishop Gorman were coming off a shocking week 1 blowout where they failed to score and gave up 42 points to Mater Dei (CA). The Centennial Coyotes are no stranger to playing high profile, nationally ranked teams. They beat the then #3 ranked St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders (FL) in Peoria last season.
Defensive stops was the story early. Both quarterbacks were flushed out of the pocket, running lanes were hard to come by and each team failed to convert on 4th downs.
The Gaels threatened to score in the final seconds of the first half after a 50-yard pass and catch from Micah Bowens to Rome Odunze that resulted in the ball on the 2 yard line. A Bishop Gorman false start penalty and dropped pass in the end zone set up a short field goal attempt that bounced off the upright as time expired.
The Gaels and Coyotes entered halftime scoreless. At the half, Bishop Head Coach, Kenny Sanchez praised his defense and stressed the importance of his offensive being able to finish drives and limit the turnovers.
Bishop received the 2nd half kickoff and was able to string together several first downs. With a a little over 8 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, Junior defensive back Jaydin Young intercepted Bowens and returned it to Bishops 33 yard line.
The Coyotes offense wasted little time capitalizing on the turnover. Senior transfer from Mojave (North Las Vegas) Tawee Walker took a handoff up the middle, spun out of 3 Bishop defenders and scored a 24-yard touchdown. The Coyotes failed to convert the extra point attempt but their special teams was successful with a sneak onside kick on the next play, keeping The Bishop offense on sidelines.
The Centennial defense stayed strong throughout the 3rd and 4th quarters. The Coyotes were successful in a goal line stand in the final seconds of the 3rd quarter where the Coyotes were able to deflect passes on 3rd and 4th down.
Bishop threatened again mid-way through the 4th quarter but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty moved a 4th and Goal on the 1 yard line back to the 16 yard line. The ensuing play resulted in an interception by Centennial Linebacker Dylan Wampler.
Centennial committed to running the ball in the final minutes with Tawee Walker and Marc Jacob doing the heavy lifting. Walker ended up finding pay dirt once again with 1:36 left in the 4th quarter on a 9 yard run to put the game out of reach.
Bishop scored in the final minute to give us a final score of 13 to 7. The Coyotes had 195 rushing yards led by Walker. Bishop Gorman did throw for 276 yards with Rome Odunze leading the way for the Gaels.
The Coyotes will host Cienega next week and Bishop Gorman will try and get their season back on track when they host Orem.
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