Bishop Diego fell into a massive hole in the first half and struggled defensively throughout the 44-13 loss to St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy on Friday at La Playa Stadium.
The game was the Cardinals’ (1-4) final non-league matchup while the Warriors (1-4) picked up their first win of the year.
It all started with a bang, as St. Pius safety Jacob Davis stepped in front of a pass from Bishop Diego quarterback John Michael Flint on the third play from scrimmage and took the interception all the way back to the endzone, giving his squad a 7-0 lead early.
The Cardinals responded by running 16 straight run plays on the ensuing drive. The methodical drive was capped off by a 7-yard rushing touchdown by Flint to tie the game up with just under a minute left in the first quarter.
The Warriors answered right back with a screen play to wide receiver Geoffery Brown that he took 70 yards to the endzone, simply outrunning the Cardinal secondary. That score put St. Pius up 14-7 at the end of the first quarter.
It didn’t stop there as the St. Pius offense, led by senior quarterback Brady Shaffer, exposed the Cardinals defense with a five-wide setup, punishing Bishop Diego through the air in the second quarter.
In the quarter, Shaffer threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Treveon Dawson Jr. and a 13-yard touchdown strike to Brown.
Brown ended the night with three receptions for 126 yards and two touchdowns, all of which came in the first half.
“[Brown] was tremendous as an athlete and made some 1-on-1 plays that were as good as we’re going to see,” Bishop Diego head coach Tom Crawford said.
The Warrior defense and special teams also got in on the fun, grabbing another interception and blocking a punt into the back of the endzone for a safety.
“We just didn’t execute offensively very well,” Crawford said.
When the first half came to an end, St. Pius held a commanding 30-7 lead.
However, the Cardinals made defensive adjustments at halftime and found some success in the third quarter, stopping the Warriors multiple times.
“We realized that they were in the empty set quite a bit, so the quarterback run was really a secondary option for them,” Crawford said. “It was more a matter of trying to match up with receivers.
“We did a better job in terms of reacting to routes and reacting to the receivers.”
After forcing a three-and-out and a fumble, the Bishop Diego offense drove the field and scored thanks to an 8-yard touchdown pass from Flint to junior tight end Dominic Herrera.
That touchdown cut the Warrior lead to 30-13 with 5:28 left in the quarter, a score that would hold into the fourth quarter.
The score didn’t last long into the final quarter, however, as Shaffer connected with Dawson Jr. for the second time from 14 yards out to bring the lead back up to 37-13 with just under 10 minutes to go.
That touchdown brought St. Pius’ mojo back on offense, as Shaffer hit Dawson Jr. on the first play of the next drive for an electric 65-yard touchdown down the middle of the field with 7:14 left, bringing the score to 44-13.
Shaffer turned in a stellar performance, completing 22-of-32 passes for 355 yards and five touchdowns. Three of those touchdowns went to Dawson Jr., who racked up 150 yards on seven receptions.
When asked the biggest reason for the defense’s struggles, Crawford simply answered, “speed.”
“We have not been a good tackling team all season and they took advantage of that by just getting the ball out into space very, very quickly,” Crawford said.
Neither offense scored from there as the Warriors milked the clock down on their final offensive drive.
Flint ended the night 5-of-16 for 38 yards while Oscar Mauia and Gabe Villa combined for 104 yards on the ground.
The Cardinals have now completed their non-league schedule, but not before some key players on the roster suffered injuries, including quarterback Tua Rojas and running back Misa Paiau.
“[The youth and injuries] is tough and something we haven’t dealt with in a very long time as coaches,” Crawford said. It’s a little bit more difficult or complex because of the number of our kids that are being asked to play on both sides of the ball.
“There’s a lot of learning that’s taking place and unfortunately it’s taking place in game environments. It’ll pay off in the long run, in the short run we’re really dealing with learning some tough lessons.”
Bishop Diego will have a bye week next week and will host St. Bonaventure on Friday, Sept. 29 at La Playa Stadium.
“Going into league is about competing,” Crawford said. “I’m hopeful that as we get more guys back that have been injured we get more depth and a bit more ability to compete.
“I think we have a group of kids that are just laying it out and giving us everything they’ve got. We’re putting a huge load on kids and so we need bodies back.”
