Bishop Diego’s football season came to an end Saturday night in a first round CIF-Southern Section Division 5 playoff loss at the hands of L.A.’s Salesian High Mustangs, 58-20, at La Playa Stadium.
The Mustangs (7-4) notched 363 yards rushing behind the strong play of their dual-threat quarterback Deommodore Lenoir (an Oregon commit) and running back Urael Blackshear.
Salesian got on the board first, with Lenoir evading tackles in the backfield and keeping the ball for a pickup of 40 yards on a third-and-19. Blackshear punched the ball in from 4 yards out to make the score 7-0.
Bishop (7-4) responded with a strong 7 play, 77-yard drive behind the legs of standout junior running back John Harris. Harris carried the ball six times for 61 yards on the drive, and scored on an 11-yard rumble up the middle to tie the score.
The Mustangs answered immediately with Lenior keeping the ball on a quarterback draw and taking it 55 yards to the house.
Bishop responded with another strong drive behind an additional 48 yards from Harris, who scored from eight yards out. A failed two-point conversion attempt left the game tied at 13 early in the second quarter.
The Mustangs then blew the game open behind two more Lenoir rushing touchdowns and an 8-yard touchdown pass to Tysean Prysock, making the score 39-13 by halftime.
The Cardinals tried to rally as senior utility man Mark Soracco threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Harris. The throw was Soracco’s first and only pass of the season.
Down 39-20 with just under six minutes left in the third, Soracco recovered an onside kick in Mustang territory. But the Cardinals turned the ball over on downs at the Salesian 18, and Lenoir scored his fourth rushing touchdown (fifth score overall) of the game on a 41-yard quarterback keeper. He finished the game with 185 yards on 12 carries and went 6-for-8 with 91 yards passing. Bishop’s Austin Bohnett picked off Lenoir on a deep pass in the third quarter.
“He’s really talented,” Bishop Diego head coach Tom Crawford said of Lenoir. “We couldn’t stop him but it wasn’t for lack of effort.”
Blackshear scored from 3 yards out and Dominick Partida returned an interception for a touchdown to round out the game’s scoring.
“They were a better team and we made too many mistakes to stay in the game,” commented Crawford. “We had a few opportunities early and we didn’t capitalize and it got away from us a little bit.”
Harris had a strong night, rushing for 183 yards on 35 carries while playing many snaps at defensive end as well.
The Cardinals finish the year at 7-4.
“This was a very tight group of kids, they really hung together,” Crawford said of his team, specifically the graduating class. “Top to bottom those seniors were there at practice every day.”
— Noozhawk sports reporter Christian Eckert can be reached at ceckert@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports and @noozhawk. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.