Clash of the nation's top two teams.....I have to admit, when I tuned in, I was unaware that St. Brown was injured and not playing.
That having been said, this MD team might be one of the best high school squads I have ever seen....Speed and size along, they could rival a lot of DI college programs.
The host Monarchs prevail, 35-21, to hand Gorman their first loss in the last three years, ending a 55-game win streak and pretty much guaranteeing that for the first time since 2013, the Gaels will not be crowned USA Today National Champions at the end of 2017.
USC bound JT Daniels (2019) threw for well over 300 yards and two scores (both caught by future Cal Bear, Nikko Remigio; #282 over from the class of '18)....Junior tailback, Shakobe Harper, who only has an offer from Howard per 247 Sports, did a nice job to raise his stock, finding the end zone on a pair of touchdown runs.
The offensive line (all of whom are future DI players), featuring Alabama commit, Tommy Brown (#175 overall from senior class) and Notre Dame target, Chris Murray (#337 overall, #18 OG), gave Daniels time to throw the ball all night and when called upon to run block at the end of the game, helped to kill nearly four minutes off the clock.
Defensively, Mase Funa (#170 overall, #11 OLB) made a fan out of me with his ability to always be in on tackles....This is a kid who I'd love to see Notre Dame make a play for....In terms of impact and getting his name called, he seemed to outperform his older teammate, Solomon Tuliaupupu (#61 from class of 2017, #3 ILB).
Another guy who shined "D" and hopefully cashes in with a few offers was senior DT, Nathan Logoleo....Only regarded as a 2-star prospect (#176 DT), Logoleo had two recorded sacks, as well as a QB pressure that ultimately resulted in a late-game INT to salt away the "w".
Standing out in a losing effort for Gorman was WR, Cedric Tillman....The two-star recruit, whose older brother played at the U.S. Naval Academy, has only one offer from in-state program, UNLV....All night, the commentators were talking about his brother was severely under-recruited. That seems to be a pattern that plagues the entire family. At 6'2, 190, he has decent enough size and appeared to be sure-handed. I don't want his final stat numbers, but I am guessing he finished with around 7 catches for just under 200 yards, including an 82-yard snatch that got Gorman on the board late in the 1st half...If nothing else, the kid demonstrated that when the spotlight turns on, he rises to the occasion.
By virtue of tonight's victory and the fact that I cannot fathom them losing to another HS team, I think the smart money is pointing at MD claiming their first national crown since winning two of three in 1994 and 1996.
That having been said, this MD team might be one of the best high school squads I have ever seen....Speed and size along, they could rival a lot of DI college programs.
The host Monarchs prevail, 35-21, to hand Gorman their first loss in the last three years, ending a 55-game win streak and pretty much guaranteeing that for the first time since 2013, the Gaels will not be crowned USA Today National Champions at the end of 2017.
USC bound JT Daniels (2019) threw for well over 300 yards and two scores (both caught by future Cal Bear, Nikko Remigio; #282 over from the class of '18)....Junior tailback, Shakobe Harper, who only has an offer from Howard per 247 Sports, did a nice job to raise his stock, finding the end zone on a pair of touchdown runs.
The offensive line (all of whom are future DI players), featuring Alabama commit, Tommy Brown (#175 overall from senior class) and Notre Dame target, Chris Murray (#337 overall, #18 OG), gave Daniels time to throw the ball all night and when called upon to run block at the end of the game, helped to kill nearly four minutes off the clock.
Defensively, Mase Funa (#170 overall, #11 OLB) made a fan out of me with his ability to always be in on tackles....This is a kid who I'd love to see Notre Dame make a play for....In terms of impact and getting his name called, he seemed to outperform his older teammate, Solomon Tuliaupupu (#61 from class of 2017, #3 ILB).
Another guy who shined "D" and hopefully cashes in with a few offers was senior DT, Nathan Logoleo....Only regarded as a 2-star prospect (#176 DT), Logoleo had two recorded sacks, as well as a QB pressure that ultimately resulted in a late-game INT to salt away the "w".
Standing out in a losing effort for Gorman was WR, Cedric Tillman....The two-star recruit, whose older brother played at the U.S. Naval Academy, has only one offer from in-state program, UNLV....All night, the commentators were talking about his brother was severely under-recruited. That seems to be a pattern that plagues the entire family. At 6'2, 190, he has decent enough size and appeared to be sure-handed. I don't want his final stat numbers, but I am guessing he finished with around 7 catches for just under 200 yards, including an 82-yard snatch that got Gorman on the board late in the 1st half...If nothing else, the kid demonstrated that when the spotlight turns on, he rises to the occasion.
By virtue of tonight's victory and the fact that I cannot fathom them losing to another HS team, I think the smart money is pointing at MD claiming their first national crown since winning two of three in 1994 and 1996.
