Glendale Catches Notre Dame Off Guard With Pass

What happened to those Glendale High backs who ran the ball play after play?

Notre Dame Coach Kevin Rooney might still be wondering.

The Dynamiters passed for 168 yards in a 28-21 nonleague victory against Notre Dame on Friday night.

Asked if he expected Glendale to throw so much, Rooney said, simply, “no.”

He also didn’t expect the news he got before the game: Senior defensive end Brandon Gabriel, who was hurt in practice Tuesday, will miss the rest of the season because of a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

Glendale Coach Don Shoemaker, whose team improved to 3-0, said his game plan was to pass more than in the previous two games because of Notre Dame’s run defense.

Glendale quarterback Ramon Jose completed 10 of 15 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns. Tailback Shawn Cole chipped in with 149 yards in 20 carries.

The Dynamiters had to hang on for the win, though. With Glendale leading, 28-14, with 5 minutes 43 seconds to play, Notre Dame quarterback Kelly Moran guided his team downfield.

Moran (13 of 26 for 127 yards) capped the drive with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Francisco Dongo with 3:01 left. Notre Dame receiver Joey Orlando, who had two catches during the drive, finished with 11 receptions for 122 yards.

Notre Dame held Glendale and got the ball back with 1:56 to play. Two 15-yard penalties helped the Knights (1-2) get as close as the Dynamiters’ 23, but the drive stalled.

“This is the best team we’ve played,” Shoemaker said. “A lot of the teams we’ve played would have dried up and blown away.”

Rooney, whose team started the year in The Times’ regional top 10 but has lost two in a row, said he was happy with the second-half comeback. “We kept battling until the last minute,” he said.

Jabbar Craigwell led the Knights’ rushing attack with 70 yards in 12 carries. Lei Malieitulua, who suffered a slightly strained ankle toward the end of the game, gained 48 yards in six carries.

Malieitulua will be all right. Gabriel was not so lucky. The 6-foot-4, 210 pound Gabriel was considered one of the area’s top defensive ends and an NCAA Division I prospect before the injury.

Gabriel, the son of former NFL player Roman Gabriel, will undergo surgery in three weeks.