Martell guides Gaels to blowout win over Bulldogs

The way Tate Martell explains it, any visitor to a Bishop Gorman football team’s practice might get the impression he and coach Tony Sanchez don’t care for one another.

But, the sophomore quarterback says, it’s been Sanchez and the Gaels coaching staff’s diligence that has helped him during a banner season, which continued Friday night with a 52-7 win over visiting Centennial.

“Coach Sanchez gets on me every practice, but it’s actually a good thing,” said Martell, who completed nine of 12 passes for 191 yards while throwing three touchdowns. “Sometimes it gets to me, but most times I know to take from it and just learn. It’s worked out well for me, and I know I’ve improved because of how much he’s done for me.”

Using a balanced effort on both sides of the ball, Gorman tallied 443 yards of offense — 309 in the first half — while their defense stymied Centennial every time it seemed to have something going in its favor. The Gaels (12-0) needed only 30 plays against a defense that was missing standout defensive lineman Greg Rogers.

“It’s one of those deals where it takes a bunch of reps for a sophomore (quarterback),” Sanchez said of Martell. “What he’s done this year is unbelievable for a sophomore. It’s been one of those deals where you have to teach him to throw on time, don’t look people open but throw people open, and you really saw that tonight”

Like early in the second quarter, when the Gaels were ahead 14-7. Martell dropped back and never hesitated to fire a laser downfield, connecting with Tyjon Lindsey for a 59-yard touchdown. Martell’s offensive line kept him untouched all night, as only two of his nine completions were for single-digit yards.

Lindsey caught three passes — two for touchdowns — for 76 yards, while Brandon Gahagan had four catches for 92 yards and a touchdown as the Gaels inched closer to winning their sixth straight state championship.

Russell Booze ran for 136 yards on nine carries and had two touchdowns, while Jonathan Shumaker added 43 yards and a score on four carries as Gorman’s rushing game gained 254 yards.

Booze said a successful onside kick by Centennial in the first quarter reminded him and the Gaels they were in the postseason, and the Bulldogs (9-2) weren’t going away without a fight.

“It helped us refocus. … We knew they were a tough team and we knew they were going to come to play,” said Booze, who scored on runs of 10 and 63 yards.

Centennial, which got its lone score on an 81-yard run by Rhamondre Stevenson at the 9:45 mark of the first quarter, showed heart in gaining 278 yards in the game but couldn’t seem to finish any of its drives. Stevenson finished with 143 yards on 19 carries to lead the Bulldogs.

“Our defense played well, but we didn’t tackle well,” Sanchez said. “My frustration always stems from I want to be perfect, and it wasn’t perfect. At the end of the day we’re always pursuing perfection.”

The Gaels travel to Arbor View (11-0) next week for the Sunset Region title.

“Arbor View is going to try to line up and run it right at us, and nobody’s really been able to do that (against us),” Sanchez said. “They’re going to try, and we’ve always been good against the double-wing. They’re going to line up and do what they do.”