The Bishop Gorman football team has accomplished just about everything a high school program can accomplish.

The Gaels have sent a stream of players to Division I college programs, and several have gone on to the NFL. Last season, the Gaels were named national champions for the fourth time in program history, along with their 20th Nevada state title.

But if Bishop Gorman wants to win a fifth mythical national title, it will have to do something it has never done before: defeat California powerhouse Mater Dei.

The Gaels, ranked No. 2 in the country by MaxPreps and USA Today, get their shot at No. 1 Mater Dei on Friday at 7 p.m. ET at Santa Ana Stadium in Santa Ana, Calif. The Gaels are 0-3 all-time against the Monarchs.

“We’re ready for this moment,” junior defensive back Jett Washington said. “We’ve worked hard to get here. They’re a really good team, but we’re pretty good, too. We’re just going to go out there and play hard.”

Although the season is still more than two months away, Friday’s game is being considered the de facto national championship game for high school football.

A win for Gorman (2-0) would all but assure its fifth national title, with one more out-of-state game (Sept. 13 at home against Orange Lutheran of California, No. 19 nationally) and only teams from Southern Nevada remaining in the final six regular-season games before the Class 5A Division I playoffs.

“Every game is a national championship game,” Gorman coach Brent Browner said. “(Mater Dei) has been No. 1 for so many years in a row, so you get into a mode where every game is like that. It’s a national championship game every time you play when you’re at that high a level.”

‘Biggest game’

The Gaels wouldn’t be eliminated entirely with a narrow loss if Mater Dei (1-0) stumbles in the Trinity League, but they can control their own destiny on Friday night. A win would be their 28th in a row. Their last loss was 24-21 to Mater Dei on Aug. 26, 2022, at Gorman.

“It’s going to be good. This is kind of our national (championship) game,” said senior offensive lineman Doug Utu, who played in the 2022 game. “This is going to be a yes or no for a national championship. This is probably the biggest game I’ve played in so far.”

There’s a lot of history between the two powerhouses. Mater Dei snapped Gorman’s 55-game winning streak in 2017 with a 35-21 victory and shut out the Gaels 42-0 in 2018.

In 2022, the Monarchs scored 10 unanswered points to clinch the win. It was the only loss during a 14-1 campaign for the Gaels, who finished fourth in the latest MaxPreps rankings.

The teams were set to play in 2023 before Nevada’s high school realignment process dragged on for months. Gorman ultimately lost an out-of-state game under the new alignment, and the Gaels and Mater Dei were unable to find another date to play last season.

“It would be pretty big (to beat Mater Dei),” Washington said. “There’s a lot of people that (Gorman) came through. By playing this game, we’re not just representing ourselves, we’re representing everyone that came before us.”

“They are No. 1”

Gorman is coming off a bye. It posted an impressive 29-21 win over No. 8 St. Thomas Aquinas (Florida) on Aug. 24 in its last game. The Gaels scored 19 unanswered points to rally from a two-way deficit in the second half.

The win was another impressive performance for a Gorman group that has played in many big games. The Gaels have lost just twice since 2021. Browner said the players’ accustomed to the big stage has helped them not “get too caught up in the hype.”

“They’ve been tested for years,” Browner said. “These are guys who’ve lost to Mater Dei, played Miami Central (Florida), played all these other big games. They’ve done all that stuff. They’re a real veteran group. They know how to prepare.”

The Gaels have relied heavily on returners on defense. They have collected six interceptions in the first two games, with Washington recording two in their 33-7 season-opening win over Kahuku (Hawaii).

On offense, quarterback Melvin Spicer IV had two touchdown passes and made several key throws to help the Gaels mount a comeback against St. Thomas Aquinas. They have averaged 223.5 rushing yards through the first two games.

Mater Dei defeated then-No. 8 Centennial (Corona, Calif.) 42-25 on Aug. 22. The Monarchs’ resume over the past decade is as impressive as Gorman’s, with four of their six national titles since 2017.

Gorman is looking to become the first team other than St. John Bosco (California) to defeat Mater Dei since 2015.

“(Mater Dei is) the best team in the country. They’re No. 1,” Browner said. “They’ve got everything from top to bottom on the roster. That’s why we chose to play them, to challenge ourselves. The kids are really excited about the opportunity to play the pre-season No. 1 team in the country and see how good we really are.”

Contact Alex Wright at [email protected]. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.

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WHO: No. 2 Bishop Gorman at No. 1 Mater Dei (California)

When: Friday 7:00 PM

Where: Santa Ana Stadium, Santa Ana, California.

TV: Bally Sport Southern California