Nev. power had model
Bishop Gorman’s reign harkens back to De La Salle’s
De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) was the archetype of a high school football powerhouse when Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) coach Kenny Sanchez grew up in the Bay Area.
When he was in middle school, he went to a football camp at De La Salle, then coached by legendary Bob Ladouceur, who is now an assistant for the Spartans. When Sanchez got his first high school coaching job in 2004, as an assistant at California High (San Ramon, Calif.) to his brother Tony Sanchez, now head coach at UNLV, it was just after De La Salle’s national-record 151-game winning streak ended.
“I’m a defensive guy, so I was always impressed with what they did defensively,” Sanchez said. “They didn’t look complicated, but they did a really good job of lining up and playing their scheme to whatever offense they would see. They always tackled really well and ran to the ball really fast. I took something out of that as a young coach.
“Just from a program standpoint, growing up in the Bay Area, you were always impressed by the program they ran.”
Sanchez was Gorman’s defensive coordinator when the Gaels lost 28-14 in 2010 at De La Salle, which went on to win a state championship. While his teams have never beaten the Spartans, Sanchez’s Gaels have a chance this season to become the only team besides De La Salle to win four consecutive Super 25 titles. De La Salle won the Super 25 title from 2000 to 2003.
It won’t be easy. Bishop Gorman, No. 4 in the Super 25 preseason rankings, opens its season against four elite teams, the last of which is preseason No. 10 De La Salle. On top of that, the Gaels, who have won 54 consecutive games, have few returnees. Quarterback Tate Martell, defensive tackle Haskell Garrett and wide receiver Tyjon Lindsey are at Ohio State. Defensive back Bubba Bolden is at Southern California, and running back Biaggio AliWalsh is at California.
“I’m excited this year,” Sanchez said. “We’ve almost had the same teams for the last three years. This is a brand-new team. There’s a huge challenge for them. I really like this group, but I don’t know how this is going to turn out. I told the kids, ‘I’m not sure how good we are. ... The fun part is finding out who you are.’ ”
While De La Salle and Bishop Gorman run different schemes offensively and defensively, both play tough early-season schedules that prepare them to be dominant in their regions. De La Salle has not lost to a Northern California opponent since 1991, a streak of 266 games. Bishop Gorman has won 86 games in a row against Nevada teams.
“Whenever you can challenge your kids, it makes you rise in your preparation, it makes your team better overall,” De La Salle coach Justin Alumbaugh said. “That makes your team more dominant. It will be more physical, more battle-tested.”
Alumbaugh says Bishop Gorman, like De La Salle, has an intense offseason workout program.
“They have a great offseason program,” Alumbaugh said. “Those guys work hard. I’ve seen some of their offseason workouts. Those guys are intense.
“They have a great coaching staff, and they have a lot of great players, obviously, but their offseason program is how they build continuity and get buy-in for their program.”
Sanchez says that’s the biggest similarity between his team and De La Salle’s, and that’s not by accident.
“When they were racking up all those wins and championships, people took a hard look at what they were doing in the offseason as to why they were successful, and we’re no different,” Sanchez said. “Our offseason is key and pays big dividends throughout the fall.
“If we’re not ready for fall, we won’t be successful, and (De La Salle) has done a tremendous job with their offseason program. The kids have to be behind your culture 100%.”