Bishop Gorman football crushes Corona Centennial, makes case for No. 1 ranking

LAS VEGAS - The national high school football game of the week Friday was decided long before halftime, and shortened due to being played on a running clock for much of the second half.

Bishop Gorman, making its national championship case live before a packed home crowd and national ESPN audience, led 21-7 nine minutes in and 35-7 at halftime en route to a 56-28 victory. 

Hawaii-bound running back Devon Rice scored three touchdowns and totaled more than 200 all-purpose yards for Bishop Gorman's offense, which might be the best in the nation so far in 2023.

"As you can see by the scoreboard, I think we left our mark pretty clear and put the country on notice," said Rice after the game. 

"We really got something cooking up over here. We're number one in the country, we believe it and I'll stand by that."

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Rice's two touchdowns were the first of the game, putting Bishop Gorman up 14-0 with 6:26 left in the first quarter. In fact, the first was the Gaels' first offensive snap of the game. He ran it in from 29 yards after Gorman turned Centennial over on downs.

Centennial got on the board two minutes later when running back Cornell Hatcher II recorded the first of his four rushing touchdowns. But Bishop Gorman's offense was just getting started. The Gaels would score again on two Elija Lofton touchdown catches and one from Eli Yamauchi by halftime while holding the opposition scoreless. Centennial fumbled three times, gave up an interception, and was turned over on downs twice in the first half.

Rice scored his third touchdown of the night, a 42-yard reception, two minutes and 25 seconds into the second half. That put Bishop Gorman up 42-7, which prompted a running clock. The Gaels would score two more touchdowns before the night was over, breezing to a 56-28 victory despite the fact that Centennial's offense got going in the second half. Bishop Gorman's final touchdowns came on a short run from Lofton and highlight pass from Micah Alejado, who totaled five touchdown passes, to Audric Harris.

The Huskies' three second-half touchdowns were all rushing scores from Hatcher, a lone bright spot for Centennial with four touchdowns and over 200 rushing yards.

With the win, the Gaels finished the non-league portion of their schedule unbeaten, cementing a spot in the national title conversation as long as they win out for the rest of the season.

Stay tuned as SBLive releases complete game coverage throughout the night and morning.