Bishop Gorman Travels To Dallas Christian With First Place On The Line

TAPPS DIVISION II, DISTRICT II

Tyler Bishop Gorman Crusaders (3-3, 2-0)

vs.

Dallas Christian Chargers (7-0, 3-0)

7:30 p.m. Friday

Charger Stadium, Mesquite

Coaches

• Gorman: Coby Gipson
• Dallas Christian: Mike Wheeler

Last week

• Gorman: def. Brook Hill, 63-32
• Dallas Christian: def. Carrollton Prince of Peace, 42-7

Next week

• Gorman: vs. Cedar Hill Trinity Christian, Oct. 21
• Dallas Christian: at Brook Hill, Oct. 21

Playmakers

Bishop Gorman

• WR/DB Judah Bell, Sr., 6-3, 180 (53 catches, 1,241 yards, 10 TDs; committed to Navy)
• QB Jake Smith, Soph., 6-3, 195 (5 games played, 105-of-165 passing, 2,301 yards, 22 TDs, 5 INTs)
• LB/WR Reed Navara, Sr., 6-0, 190 (88 tackles, 6 for loss, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 sack)
• WR/DB Tyler Hobbs, Soph., 6-0, 185 (29 catches, 644 yards, 8 TDs)
• RB/DB Ehtan Milton, Sr., 5-10, 168 (130 carries, 770 yards, 11 TDs)
• ATH Jeremiah Milton, Fr. (108 tackles, 8 TFL, 2 sacks, 1 fumble recovery)

Dallas Christian

• DB Kris McCune, Sr., 6-2, 195 (committed to Oklahoma State)
• RB/LB Palmer Nix, Jr., 6-0, 215
• QB Garrett Cody, Jr., 5-11, 180 (53-of-97 passing, 1,055 yards, 9 TDs, 3 INTs; 69 carries, 528 yards, 9 TDs)
• RB/LB Reggie Peck, Jr., 6-0, 220 (88 carries, 541 yards, 9 TDs)
• WR/DB Jacob George, Sr., 6-0, 170 (11 catches, 251 yards, 3 TDs)

Just the facts

• Dallas Christian and Bishop Gorman currently lead the TAPPS Division II, District II standings.
• A majority share of the first-place tie goes to Dallas Christian since it has played three league games to the Crusaders' two.
• A Gorman win would give the Crusaders sole possession of first place in the league with three regular season games left on its schedule.
• Gorman is a very decorated team.
• Sophomore quarterback Jake Smith leads all of East Texas in passing yardage, senior receiver Judah Bell leads the region in receiving yardage and freshman defender Jeremiah Milton is the current ETSN.fm + Dairy Queen Defensive Player of the Week.
• Dallas Christian, which has reached the past two Division II state championship games, has not lost a district contest since Sept. 26, 2014 versus Brook Hill.
• The Crusaders are 0-4 against Dallas Cristian the past three seasons. One loss came in the 2014 TAPPS Division II state semifinals.
• Gorman lost to Dallas Christian at Charger Stadium last season, 35-6, in a heavy rainstorm.
• The Crusaders will travel 96 miles to Dallas Christian's home stadium.

Key matchup: Bishop Gorman's offense versus Dallas Christian's defense.

The Crusaders definitely found their stride last week. They hung 43 points on a one-loss Bullard Brook Hill team in the first 17 minutes of the game toward a 63-32 win.

Sophomore quarterback Jake Smith and senior receiver Judah Bell, a Navy commitment, have video game numbers through six games. Smith has thrown for 2,301 yards and 22 touchdowns to five interceptions. Bell has 1,241 receiving yards on 53 catches and has scored 10 times.

The trailing group of offensive leaders would make cases as most valuable players on other teams. Receiver Tyler Hobbs has 664 yards on 29 catches and running back Ethan Milton is averaging more than 100 yards per game.

Gorman is a challenging task for any defense within the league. It is somewhat balanced, although it leans on its passing game, and has too many productive players for a team to game plan around just one foe.

Dallas Christian's best bet is to cover Bell with Oklahoma State defensive back commitment Kris McCune, but it has to be aware that will free up other receivers against lesser defenders. Behind Hobbs as the second-most productive receiver are four other receivers with at least 200 yards.

A heavy rain last season helped Dallas Christian grind Gorman's passing game to a halt. The weather Friday is not expected to be an issue.

All that being said, Dallas Christian is only allowing opponents about 11 points per game.

Don't be surprised if: Friday's game is a shootout.

Bishop Gorman averages 37 points per game on offense outside of a wild 91-71 win against Ore City in Week 2. Dallas Christian averages 43.7 points per game and has won all seven of its games by a margin of about 33 points.

It's safe to say the only thing that can hold these two offenses back are mistakes. The team with the better turnover margin will absolutely be the winner of this contest.