Column: Thunder heard from Bishop Gorman’s 34-31 win over St. John Bosco

LAS VEGAS -- In a city known for its spectacles, Elvis impersonators and moments when people will do just about anything to get noticed, Friday night’s nationally televised high school football game between No. 1 St. John Bosco and No. 2 Bishop Gorman produced a scene students will be talking about during their class reunions 20 years from now.

There was lightning, thunder, stiff wind and pouring rain just before kickoff, forcing a 55-minute weather delay and lots of confusion about what to do.

“It never rains in the desert,” a dumbfounded Bishop Gorman administrator said.

“It was crazy. It was raining so hard,” Bishop Gorman baseball player Nick Davis said.

Treating it like a trip to an amusement park, smiling Bishop Gorman students kept chanting, “We’re not leaving” as their orange shirts were drenched and their parents hid under umbrellas. On the other side, the St. John Bosco band kept playing, proving that band kids are tough too.

When the clouds finally cleared and the game began despite flashes of lightning in the distance, Bishop Gorman students didn’t stop partying. The Gaels (6-0) took advantage of holes in St. John Bosco’s defense and strong play from their own defense to come away with a 34-31 victory and put themselves on a clear path to winning a mythical national title.

It was the first defeat inflicted on a St. John Bosco team since Long Beach Poly defeated the Braves, 13-10, in the Pac-5 playoffs on Nov. 23, 2012. And if anyone wants to donate a trophy, the Gaels deserve to be crowned unofficial Pac-5 champions even though they reside in Nevada because they’ve beaten Servite, Santa Margarita, Corona Centennial and St. John Bosco in an impressive six-week stretch to start the season.

“All I know is we’ve done what a lot of people said we couldn’t,” Bishop Gorman Coach Tony Sanchez said.

In opening a 20-3 halftime lead and never trailing, the Gaels got a five-yard touchdown run by quarterback Tate Martell, an 80-yard scoring run by Russell Booze and a one-yard touchdown plunge by Jonathan Shumaker. The lead grew to 34-10 in the third quarter. Martell completed 12 of 17 for 230 yards and two touchdowns. Booze rushed for 152 yards.

“We just didn’t have an answer for Martell,” St. John Bosco Coach Jason Negro said. “He did a great job. We just couldn’t get off the field, and if you can’t do that against a good football team, it’s hard to come back.”

The Braves put up a fight in the second half. Quarterback Josh Rosen completed 13 of 26 for 244 yards and three touchdowns. His eight-yard touchdown pass to Kaylin Franklin with 1:12 left cut the Braves’ deficit to three points. But an onside kick was recovered by Bishop Gorman.

“We won the second half, and that’s something to build upon with a young team,” Negro said.

Meanwhile, college football coaches could be lining up to offer scholarships to Martell, who moved to Las Vegas from San Diego this year. USC offered earlier this week and more offers figure to come. Martell was signing autographs after the game.

“It was pretty crazy beating the No. 1 team,” he said. “I had a good time.”

As for watching the student section get soaked and not budge, Sanchez said, “Wasn’t that phenomenal? That’s high school football.”

eric.sondheimer@latimes.com

Twitter: LATSondheimer