Bishop Diego football came up just short in a 48-44 thriller with Bishop Alemany on Friday night at La Playa Stadium.
The two sides exchanged blows back-and-forth throughout the matchup to bring the non-league schedule to a close. The Cardinals (2-3) will head into their bye week before beginning Marmonte League action on Friday, Oct. 2 at Newbury Park.
Bishop Alemany got out to a stellar start, scoring quickly before forcing a turnover and finding the endzone again to take a 13-0 lead with less than three minutes off the clock. That lead held for the rest of the first quarter.
The Cardinals got on the board early in the second quarter when sophomore Fusi Tauave barrelled in for a short rushing touchdown to make it 13-7.
Bishop Alemany responded immediately, taking the ensuing kickoff all the way back for a touchdown to make it 19-7 with 11:38 left in the half.
The two sides then exchanged stalled possessions, including a red zone stand by the Bishop Diego defense. The Cardinal offense turned that momentum into a 44-yard reception by senior Remi Boykin and a 40-yard rushing touchdown by senior Mateo Williams to cut the deficit to 19-14 with 2:19 on the clock.
Bishop Alemany fumbled on its next possession, which led to Williams breaking off another big run that ended in the red zone. Sophomore quarterback Kaleo Satele did the rest, rushing into the end zone from 20 yards out.
Satale found junior Gabe Phillips for the two-point conversion to take a 22-19 lead into halftime.
Bishop Diego stumbled out of the break with a turnover that led to a Bishop Alemany touchdown and two-point conversion to jump back in front 27-22 with nine minutes left in the third.
The Cardinals punched right back as Satele swung a pass out to Tauave, who burst free for a 40-yard touchdown. Satele then found senior Jeremiah Mercier for the two-point conversion and the 30-27 lead.
However, Bishop Alemany continued to shine on special teams with its second kickoff return touchdown of the night to regain the lead 33-30 with three minutes left in the third.
The Bishop Diego offense remained on fire on the next drive, as Satele found Boykin in open space and the wideout did the rest, weaving through the Alemany defense to score and give his team a 37-33 lead as the game flipped to the fourth quarter.
The back-and-forth continued down the stretch, beginning with Alemany marching down the field and scoring on a touchdown reception to take a 41-37 lead with just about nine minutes on the clock.
Satele and the Cardinals didn’t go away quietly, marching back down the field and scoring on a pass from Satele to Tauave for his third touchdown and a 44-41 lead with five minutes to play.
Bishop Alemany did not blink on the road, cruising back down the field and scoring on a rushing touchdown to go up 48-44 with 1:43 to go.
The Cardinals had a chance at the go-ahead score late, securing three first downs to get down to the Bishop Alemany 30-yard line with 13 seconds remaining.
After an incomplete pass into the end zone, Bishop Alemany came up with a sack on the final play of the game to secure the victory.
