No. 3 Bishop Gorman handles No. 16 Chandler in battle of Xcellent 25 high school football teams

Video: (3) Bishop Gorman vs. (16) Chandler - high school football preview
See how MaxPreps hyped up this battle between Xcellent 25 powers.

The Kenneth Sanchez era is off and running at Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas). As football fans across the nation saw in a nationally televised game, not much has changed with the Gaels.

The No. 3 team in the nation registered a 35-14 victory at home Saturday over No. 16 Chandler (Ariz.) in a rare battle between Xcellent 25 teams. While the Wolves from the Phoenix area had their moments, there was little they could do to hold off the likes of quarterback Tate Martell, running back Biaggio Walsh and wide receiver/cornerback Tyjon Lindsey.

Walsh went untouched for a 55-yard touchdown in the first quarter to make it a 14-7 game, representing the second touchdown scored in the team's first two drives. His score followed a short touchdown run by defensive end/running back Haskell Garrett. In between those, Chandler quarterback Mason Moran took a keeper into the end zone.

That 14-7 Gorman lead moved to 21-7 in the second quarter when Martell found Lindsey behind the defense, and it went to halftime with that tally.

Moran took another keeper 44 yards for the first touchdown of the second half, but that was as close as Chandler got, as Lindsey grabbed an interception to end a later Chandler threat in the waning seconds of the third quarter.

By the time Walsh scored again on a screen pass in the fourth quarter from about 20 yards out, it was just about a formality. Jonathan Shumaker scored in the final minute of the game to forge the final 35-14 tally.

Chandler took a big blow early in the game when four-star recruit Chase Lucas left the game after an injury on a kickoff. Without the versatile athlete, it left Moran that much more vulnerable in his first varsity start. Wide receiver N'keal Harry did his best to pick up the slack, performing well on medium-range passes throughout.