Bishop Diego High’s potent running game triggered another running clock on Friday.
The Cardinals rushed for 383 yards and six touchdowns in 28 carries while romping to their third-straight mercy-rule football win, 51-3, at Redondo Union.
Bishop (3-0), which has prompted a running clock in the second half in each of its lopsided victories, has already rushed for 848 yards this season while averaging nearly 10 per attempt. The Cardinals have outscored their opposition 133-17.
“We are fortunate to have a good-sized line — some big, physical kids,” Tom Crawford said after earning his 150th win in 22 seasons as the Cardinals’ head coach. “A lot of those runs are coming because we’re getting a pretty good push from the point of attack.
“We’ve also been really pleased by seeing some of our big guys 15-20 yards down field, still trying to block their guy. And fortunately, we have some depth and talent at the running back position. Some guys are pretty experienced there.”
Six Cardinals scored touchdowns. Junior Qu’ran Gossett rushed for a pair to get his season total to six. He gained 92 yards on 10 carries.
Senior Marcus Chan led Bishop with 102 yards rushing on just five rushes. He scored the Cardinals’ first touchdown on just their second play from scrimmage, dashing 29 yards down the left sideline.
Bishop out-gained Redondo (0-3) in total yards, 465-87.
Junior Isaac Burquez scored the next TD barely five minutes later on a 35-yard dash down the sideline. His only other run of the night went for 27 yards.
An interception by senior Hunter Boeddeker set up Gossett’s first TD – a 4-yard run — to boost Bishop’s lead to 21-0 with one second still left in the first quarter.
The Seahawks got their only points on Justin Baker’s 34-yard field goal with 8:57 remaining in the second period. Christian Hunt, who completed 11-of-31 passes for 107 yards, set up the kick with a 30-yard toss to sophomore Nate Stiveson.
The Cardinals’ stout defense scored two points of its own when it swarmed Redondo ball carrier Carson Crouch in the end zone for a safety with 7:44 left in the first half.
Bishop sacked Hunt three times, with senior Gabe Martinez forcing a fumble on the first one. Fellow senior Jayden Martinez made the recovery. He also batted down a pair of passes and had a sack of his own.
“Jayden has been so steady on both the offensive and defensive lines,” Crawford said. “He understands the concepts and understands what we’re trying to accomplish. He does a great job of conveying it to the other guys.”
Gabe Martinez got his first TD of the season on a 32-yard pass from Michael Luckhurst to send the Cardinals into halftime with a 30-3 lead. He also had a sack and a pair of runs for 39 yards.
“Gabe is a real good leader for the other guys that are maybe not as experienced as he is,” Crawford said. “He knows what he’s doing and there’s a calm about him.
“We’d been thinking of ways to get him more involved in the game because he is simply that sort of player. He does catch the ball well out of the backfield. He doesn’t mind being the lead guy, blocking for others, and he never complains about the number of carries he gets.”
Johnny Alvarado got Bishop off to a good start in the second half by taking a jet sweep 52 yards to the end zone.
“Johnny is another one that you try to figure out ways to get him the ball because you know that he has the potential of making a big play whenever he touches it,” Crawford said. “He runs great routes for us, has really fine hands at the receiver spot, and obviously he’s a playmaker for us at safety.”
Bishop closed out its win with 6-yard TD runs by both Gossett and Shawn Walters.
“It was nice to get everybody into the game,” Crawford said. “The positive was that we got a lot of plays for a lot of kids, and we saw a lot of contributions.
“The negative was — and maybe it was because we were away — but we had the mistakes that you’d expect in the first game, not a third game.”
The Cardinals committed three turnovers — two lost fumbles and an interception — and they were whistled for 17 penalties for a whopping 170 yards.
“Obviously some things to clean up, but it was nice to see some of these kids who work so hard in practice contribute with big plays,” Crawford said.
He did press junior quarterback A.J. Vele into duty during the second quarter after Luckhurst limped off the field.
“I just touched base with him briefly after the game and he said it was feeling a little bit better,” Crawford said. “I think we’ll have a better idea over the course of the weekend, but I think he’s going to be fine. He seemed pretty upbeat at the end of the game.
“He’s a strong kid. And it was also nice for us to get A.J. Vele into the game and get him a lot of reps. I thought A.J. did a nice job of controlling the offense and doing what he was asked to do.”
Bishop, which had its season-opening game against Righetti cancelled because of COVID-19 protocol, is still trying to find an opponent for next week’s bye week.