Bishop Diego football pulled out a 35-27 victory over rival St. Bonaventure on Friday night in Ventura.
The Cardinals (8-1, 3-1 Marmonte League) will now face off against undefeated Pacifica (9-0, 4-0 ML) in the regular-season finale next week with the league title on the line.
After the Seraphs came up with an interception on the first play of the game, the Bishop Diego defense answered as John Michael Flint hauled in a pick to keep St. Bonaventure of the board.
The Cardinal offense responded, moving down the field with some strong run plays before Tua Rojas found Sam Crawford for a 27-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead, which held through the end of the first quarter.
The Bishop Diego defense then came up with a stop on fourth down early in the second, which set up a 28-yard rushing score by Oscar Mauia to double the lead to 14-0.
That score held for the final nine minutes of the half, thanks in part to a blocked field goal by Bishop Diego’s Donova Tupa’i.
After a slow start to the third quarter, St. Bonaventure made it a one-score game with 5:10 left in the third courtesy of a pick-six.
However, the Cardinals answered immediately as Sam Boeddeker scooped up the ensuing kickoff and took it all the way back to the endzone to give his team a 21-17 lead.
The back-and-forth play continued later in the third quarter as the Seraphs drove down the field and scored to inch closer. However, the extra-point attempt was blocked to give Bishop Diego a 21-13 lead with one quarter to play.
The Cardinals opened the fourth quarter with a bang, as the offense worked its way into field position to set up a stellar play by Rojas, who scrambled out of the pocket and found Gabe Villa in the endzone for the score and the 28-13 lead with 10:50 to go.
St. Bonaventure responded in less than a minute, scoring on a 25-yard passing touchdown and converting the two-point conversion to cut the deficit down to 28-21.
The Bishop Diego offense stayed hot on the ensuing drive, marching down the field and finding the end zone on a 1-yard plunge by Mauia to bring the lead to 35-21 with 6:04 on the clock.
The Seraphs did not go away quietly, marching down the field quickly and scoring with 4:40 remaining. However, the extra-point attempt was once again blocked to bring the Cardinal lead to 35-27.
Bishop Diego then leaned on Mauia and the offensive line, as the offense milked the rest of the clock down to secure the rivalry victory.