Bishop Gorman rallies and holds off St. Thomas Aquinas

Gaels overcome 11-point deficit in National Showcase

Brayton Correa seals the win for Bishop Gorman with an interception / Joe Frisaro

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA – Traveling across the country to face one of the most prestigious high school football programs in the nation is par for the course for Bishop Gorman.

The Gaels, ranked No. 1 in the nation in many polls, are accustomed to playing against the best, no matter the location.

On Saturday, they traveled to St. Thomas Aquinas to participate in the Broward County National Football Showcase.

In what turned into a classic played before a national ESPN audience, Bishop Gorman rallied from 11-points down in the second half, and held off St. Thomas Aquinas, 29-21, in a meeting of prep powerhouses.

“That’s why we do it,” Gaels coach Brent Browner said. “That’s why you come to Bishop Gorman. You come here for these kinds of environments. This is an opportunity to put yourself on the line against some of the best talent in the country.”

The Gaels clearly were tested in adverse conditions. Heavy rains and lightning delayed the start time 56 minutes.

A passionate and packed stadium awaited Gorman when kickoff came minutes before 5 p.m. ET.

“In these types of environments, I like to control my emotions,” Gorman senior offensive lineman Mason Turner said. “Their student section, they’re crazy, man. I was hearing them all game. They’ve got some pride here, and I love that.”

Both teams played with plenty of pride, and put on a show, showing they projected to be ranked among the tops in the nation.

Behind 198 yards passing and two touchdowns by St. Thomas quarterback Andrew Indorf, the Raiders took a 21-10 lead on a 52-yard touchdown pass to Julius Jones, who finished the night with 11 catches for 110 yards.

“We showed we’re one of the best teams in the nation,” Indorf said. “That’s the No. 1 team. We put our name on the map. We were underdogs. Throughout [most of the game], they were looking like the underdogs.”

But after falling behind by 11 points, Gorman began to assert itself, and finished with 246 rushing yards.

Melvin Spice connected with Kaina Watson for a 30-yard touchdown pass play, and pulled within 21-17 heading into the fourth quarter.

A 28-yard field goal by Hudson Borsari trimmed Gorman’s deficit to 21-20.

Gorman claimed the lead with 6:44 left on Terrance Grant’s 4-yard touchdown run. But after missing a 2-point conversion attempt, the Gaels’ lead was 26-21.

The Gaels had a chance to put the game away late, after Indorf was intercepted. Borsari added another field goal, from 35-yard, making it an eight-point game with 2:32 left.

Indorf moved the Raiders down the field, hooking up with Jones three times. But after St. Thomas was on the Gaels’ 14 yard line, Indorf’s pass to Jones in the corner of the end zone was broken up.

After a sack moved the Raiders back to the 25, Brayton Correa picked off Indorf to ice the win.

“We showed we’re one of the best teams in the nation,” Indorf said. “That’s the No. 1 team. We put our name on the map. We were underdogs. Throughout [most of the game], they were looking like the underdogs.”

The two perennial powers met for the first time since 2016, when Bishop Gorman prevailed, 25-24, in triple overtime.

St. Thomas headed into halftime, clinging to a 14-10, lead.

Indorf guided the Raiders on a 31-yard drive with 5:24 left in the first quarter. Jerry Derosier powered in on a 2-yard run, and St. Thomas grabbed a 7-0 lead.

“At the end of the day, we’re St. Thomas Aquinas, the best high school program in the history of high school football,” Jones said. “To come into this game, an underdog, at home, and being the home team, it definitely [was motivating.”

Bishop Gorman immediately countered, taking the ensuing drive 83 yards. The Gails pulled even on Melvin Spice’s 41-yard scoring strike to Derek Meadows, who used his 6-foot-6 frame to haul in the pass in the end zone, making it 7-7 late in the first quarter.

St. Thomas regained the advantage, 14-7, on Indorf’s 14-yard touchdown pass to Richard Compton.

The Raiders made a key defensive stop in the second quarter on Jaden Carey’s interception. St. Thomas was driving for another potential touchdown, but a penalty inside the Gails’ 10 yard backed them up. And St. Thomas missed a long field goal.

Bishop Gorman closed out the first half with a 28-yard field goal by Borsari.

“I feel like there were opportunities for us,” Browner said. “We knew they were there, and we just missed them. We weren’t getting manhandled. We just missed our opportunities.”