Shaq Powell and Ronnie Stanley are cream of No. 10 Gorman's talented crop

There was no hole, only a sea of green and silver De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) football jerseys in his path, including future Division I defenders, lineman Dylan Wynn (Oregon State) and linebacker Blake Reynaud (Boise State), two of the best tacklers in the school's storied history.

But Shaquille Powell spun out of Renaud's initial grip a yard down field. Then away from two, three and four more exasperated grasps. Powell spun one more time, sped down the Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) sideline, shifting past one last diving attempt by Wynn, completing one of the more remarkable 17-yard touchdown jaunts of the 2010 season.

It's nothing Gorman coach Tony Sanchez hasn't seen before from the now 5-foot-10, 205-pound senior who has rushed for 2,647 yards and scored 49 touchdowns the last two state championship seasons.

Gorman, No. 10 in the MaxPreps.com Xcellent 25 national rankings, takes on No. 24 Chaparral (Scottsdale, Ariz.) in the Sollenberger Classic at spacious University of Phoenix Stadium, site of the 2008 Super Bowl. This first national showdown kicks off Saturday at 7 p.m. (local time).

"The thing that is so great about Shaq is his competitive spirit and toughness," Sanchez said. "He can match anyone in the country in that department. Yes, he's got great balance and power and speed, but it's that intangible inside him that you simply can't coach."

What teammate Ronnie Stanley was born with too isn't coachable. At 6-6 and 295 pounds, Stanley has helped pave the way for many of Powell's rushing scores.

Beyond his sheer size are Stanley's nimble feet and soft hands. He starts on Gorman's national-ranked basketball team at center. He can reverse dunk and make graceful moves to the hoop. MaxPreps basketball editor Jason Hickman said if Stanley focused on basketball, he'd be a surefire Division I prospect.

We repeat, Stanley weighs almost 300 pounds.

On the football field, he recently completed a pro-agility test in an unheard-for-a-lineman time of 4.69 seconds. He's received more than 20 D1 football offers, including from Auburn, Miami, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, USC and Oregon.

"He could be a tight end if someone want to make him one," Sanchez said. "We had an alumni 7-on-7 game and we stuck him out at wide receiver and he caught a TD pass. The kid is simply an amazing athlete."

There's plenty of them on the Gaels, who return 16 starters – 10 on offense – from last year's 13-2 squad that won a third state title in four years. The two losses were to nationally ranked De La Salle (28-14) and Hamilton (24-17).

They feature four players who are getting serious D1 attention – also guard Ron Scoggins (6-4, 300) and linebacker/strong safety Marc Phillippi (6-0, 201) – but between talented underclassmen and borderline seniors, Gorman boasts at last 10 college-bound players.

Unquestionably, the cream of their crop right now is Powell and Stanley, who are as opposite in personality as they are in stature.

"Shaq is a quiet, humble kid but always positive and upbeat," Sanchez said. "He's always patting kids, praising his lineman. He works really hard all the time, does everything his very best and he just loves football. He's just a great kid. Often he'll ask me how my wife and kids are doing. He sincerely wants to know, which is unusual for kids his age.

"Ronnie is funny, a talker, a goof ball really. He's always joking, always have fun – real light-hearted. He knows when to get serious though."

More Gaels with serious talent: 

* Junior quarterback Jarrett Solomon (6-0, 193) has already completed 230 of 387 passes for 4,520 yards and a staggering 61 touchdowns and just 10 touchdowns as a two-year starter.

* Super sophomore running back Nathan Starks (6-0, 190) would be a starter anywhere else and has already been offered by Colorado. He contributed last season as a freshman.

* Senior defensive end and tight end Zach Hutchins (6-2, 222), senior cornerback Jelani Walls (5-10, 183) and junior cornerback Justin Sweet (5-10, 166) are Division I talents.

* Senior receivers Ryan Smith (38-935-16) and Jamir Tillman (32-419-9) combined for 25 TD receptions last year.

* Senior guard Nick Strehlow (6-2, 280) is a third-year starter.

Even though Gorman's offense has earned most of the team's attention the last two seasons, piling up almost 50 points per game – the under-appreciated defense has given up just 236 points in that span (7.8 per game).

That's why predictions of a shootout on Saturday bothers Sanchez somewhat. He acknowledges that the passing combination of Chaparral's Texas-bound quarterback Connor Brewer to fleet Davonte Neal is lethal. But it's not an attack the Gaels can't manage.

Besides, he hopes to be able to control things with Gorman's methodical downhill running attack.

"First off, the Neal kid is incredible – great hands, hip explosion, speed," Sanchez said. "He's super athletic, scary and elusive. Probably the best skill kid I've ever faced as a coach.

"We're not going to completely shut them down. We'll just try to contain. But if this game turns into a shootout I'll be very disappointed. If we give up in the high 20s, I'll be mad."