CARSON CITY -On the opening game of the state football high school championship game Bishop Gorman’s Micah Kaapana raced untouched for the score of 51 yards rushing.

Kaapana and Gaels had just begun their game with their match against Bishop Manogue in Reno and scored an early touchdown in their first three plays during an enthralling 70-6 win in Carson High School.

Kaapana unleashed an impressive touchdown every one on the 5 occasions he played the ball which helped Gorman take home its second consecutive state championship. In a season that was dominated by performances, this could be the most complete win.

“As as a child you watch the more experienced kids compete in a state championship. This time, we took home the championship. It’s a great feeling to achieve that goal,” said senior receiver Trech Kekahuna. He recorded Gorman’s 3rd touchdown with an extended throw to Micah Alejado at the 7:15 time of the opening quarter.

The state championship was won within five minutes of the game, and that was especially due to the way Kaapana performed. He racked up 236 yards of rushing and four touchdowns, as well as an impressive 41-yard touchdown reception.

“Kaapana was a beast in the game. If we were to play the ball, we could have the entire (game),” Gorman coach Brett Browner said.

Gorman who is ranked as at No. 5 in the nation in the country by Max Preps, has won 13 of the 15 most contests for titles as it transitions from a Nevada rival in the early 2000s to an elite national team that regularly produces top Division I recruits . 19 of the 22 starters received more than one offer of scholarship prior to the start of the season.

It’s up for debate whether this Gorman team ranks in the greats of the program’s history particularly when you consider that the Gaels of 2014-16 who were the ones to win the infamous national championship. However, what’s not in dispute is the way that this season’s Gorman team played against Nevada schools.

Every Friday night, Gorman played the same format of Gorman scoring early and frequently losing only 23 points over nine games in the state and were able to win with lopsided scores of 75-0, 70-0 , and 69-0.

“We were prepared to play here. We were prepared and eager to end the season,” said Alejado who completed six of nine passes for 335 yards and 197 yards. “It’s an accomplishment the offensive line for that has opened spaces and Kaapana. They’ve been doing it all season.”

The game featured a distinct differentiator: the location.

The game was played at the state capitol in Carson High School, and is not the typical Northern Nevada championship-game host of Mackay Stadium on the UNR campus.

It could also mark the end of the northern-south battle for the big-school championship.

Officials from Reno Schools are scheduled to request for the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association to be realigned to 4A class next year that means they’ll not compete against Gorman at the end of the tournament but instead play against smaller-enrollment Las Vegas schools. A realignment meeting has been scheduled for the last day of the month.

When the last time a school that wasn’t from Las Vegas was crowned a state champion is McQueen in Reno in the year 2008. McQueen beat Palo Verde, who defeated Gorman at the finals of regional competition. Gorman also fell in the playoffs of 2019 in the playoffs to Liberty from Las Vegas, who two weeks later took home the State Championship.

With only two losses, Gorman has rarely been confronted. They’ll be even better next year, when they will be back with Kaapana, Alejado, tight end Elija Lofton, and a host of other outstanding players.