Coronado's boys soccer team needed just three minutes to show it is easily the favorite to win its second straight Class 5A state title.
The Cougars scored two goals in the first three minutes against Bishop Gorman in a battle of the top boys soccer teams in the city.
It wouldn't get any closer. Coronado, No. 1 in the Review-Journal's Class 5A rankings, continued its perfect start to the season with an 8-1 win at No. 2 Gorman on Tuesday.
"It feels really good," junior striker Dylan Flores said. "We've been preparing for (this game) for a while, and we showed out right away. I scored right away, and it got the momentum going for sure."
Flores scored three goals for Coronado (10-0, 5-0 5A Southern League), and Gavin Flickinger added two goals and an assist. The rout continued the Cougars' dominance this season as they've outscored opponents 65-3 thus far.
"We weren't really expecting for it to be a blowout," Coronado coach Dustin Barton said. "We thought it was going to be a tough game for us. We just played well. We finished well, and everything came together."
Coronado scored its first two goals on a pair of perfectly executed set pieces. First, Flickinger's pass across the field from the corner went right in front of the net, and Flores scored on a header 1:44 into the game.
Flickinger didn't waste any time adding to the lead. He gathered a loose ball after Gorman (7-2, 3-2) couldn't control possession, and his shot from over 20 yards angled perfectly across the field and into the top left corner of the goal to put the Cougars ahead 2-0 three minutes into the game.
"Both teams came out hard, so it was everything to score those first two goals," Barton said. "That took the pressure off of us. Every single goal was a great goal in this game, and we knew we were going to have to score on great goals. We knew we weren't going to get any easy ones."
Coronado's defense made things challenging for Gorman. Midfielders Cy Adams and Dalton Meusy and defenders Grayson Elisaldez and Connor Morgenthal gave the Gaels fits as they tried to attack on the offensive end and complete passes.
It made life easy for goalie Logan Pierce, who faced just one shot on goal. Gorman did score in the 20th minute on a Chase Stewart header from a corner kick to cut the deficit to 3-1.
Flores and Austin Kiernan scored before halftime to give Coronado a 5-1 lead at the break. Gavin Biddinger also had a first-half goal for the Cougars.
Flickinger scored again in the 45th minute. The junior, one of a few newcomers on a Coronado team that brought back most of its key contributors from last year's state title team, now leads the state with 20 goals and 54 points.
"He's another guy that's scoring goals," Barton said. "That's what we needed. We needed consistent scoring, and we got it. We're rolling right now."
Flores scored again in the 47th minute, and Morgenthal added a goal in the 51st minute for Coronado's final goals.
After hosting Green Valley on Thursday, the Cougars will get a look at a pair of other 5A Southern League challengers. They play at third-ranked Las Vegas High (6-0-2) on Monday and host No. 4 Palo Verde on Sept. 18 in a rematch of last year's state title game.
"We expected to be good this year, but definitely not as good as we are," Flores said. "We're doing really good. (This win) boosts our confidence, but we can't get too ahead of ourselves."