Bishop Gorman slays one dragon, moves on to the next

SANTA ANA, Calif. — It would appear on the surface the Bishop Gorman football team finally solved the final boss when it handled Mater Dei 25-8 at Santa Ana Stadium on Friday night.

But that’s not how coach Brett Browner operates his program.

“If we were satisfied with getting this, there’d be nothing else to do,” he said after his Gaels, ranked No. 8 in the nation by MaxPreps, finally conquered their Southern California rivals after starting the series 0-5 against the No. 13 Monarchs.

Bishop Gorman has now accomplished just about everything that could have possibly been on their checklist when the school decided to invest in building a power.

Annual state titles, several national championships, pro and college players all over the country and now wins over most of the other regional juggernauts, including the one that had been a thorn in its side in recent years.

But Bishop Gorman already took a loss this season (to Christopher Columbus in Miami) and even though the Gaels have bounced back nicely, they have long memories.

Browner says the team’s next mission is to avenge that defeat. He says he began lobbying the Columbus coaches for a return game in Las Vegas next season during the handshake line last month.

He thinks it will happen.

The fact famed Columbus alum Fernando Mendoza now lives in Las Vegas can only help Browner’s efforts to get a deal done.

“We have to play them,” Browner said. “That’s how we live it. You beat us, we’ll keep trying until we figure it out. A lot of teams wouldn’t want to play (Mater Dei every year). This is not a game everybody wants to sign up for. But I think it’s very big for our program. For me myself, it’s find the best dudes and play them. Now Columbus has our number so we have to go get them.”

Senior cornerback Kamil Loud won’t get a chance, but he exemplifies the attitude of Browner’s Gaels.

“We had never beaten them before,” he said after being part of a dominant defensive effort against Mater Dei on Friday. “To come into their house and do it feels really good, especially in my senior year. Our seniors wanted to go out with a bang. Last year, they came in our house and beat us, and we felt it ever since that day. We had to get this one.

“It’s been talked about ever since they beat us last year. It goes back to that loss and the previous years. And they were the favorites tonight. But to come out with a win and be the first team to do it, feels really good.”

Loud was a big factor in why they did. He was in perfect position on a third-down pass in the first quarter to tip the ball in the air for Darian Abella to come up with an interception and set up a score.

The Gaels allowed Mater Dei to convert one of their first nine attempts on third down, giving up just 40 yards of offense in the first half.

“All the effort and time and preparation we put in, we knew we’d be able to play like this,” Abella said. “(The previous losses) were definitely motivation. It adds fuel to the fire. We want to make history, and we want to set a new standard every single day.”

That started in the film room. The Gaels had two weeks to prepare for Mater Dei and felt they had all three quarterbacks as well-scouted as possible going into the game.

It sure looked to be the case. The Monarchs couldn’t get anything going in the first three quarters and were stuck in neutral.

Linebacker Tamatoa Gaoteote, who finished with 12 tackles, said they were recognizing so much of what Mater Dei wanted to do out of certain looks that it made the job of defending them easy at times. He particularly cited well-timed zone blitz packages for the success on third down.

That was the result of players not wanting to experience another loss on the big stage.

“We had an unfortunate loss,” Gaoteote said. “But it’s just about how you come back, and we came back strong. We all just went out there and did our jobs 100 percent.

“Mater Dei is a great team year after year. But today, we just trusted our plan and balled out.”

Loud agreed.

“We played with no regrets or remorse,” he said. “That was the mentality all week. Watching film, we knew everything they did. Tendencies, everything. So it was just trust your thought and play ball.”

It’s the kind of focus Columbus can expect if the Gaels get the rematch they want next season.