Sometimes history really does repeat itself.
After allowing a fourth-quarter comeback victory by Grace Brethren to lose the Tri-Valley League title last year, Bishop Diego squandered a 14-point third quarter lead and fell 31-24 in a double-overtime thriller to the Lancers on Friday at La Playa Stadium in the league title game.
“No one’s going to question the heart of either team,” claimed Bishop Diego head coach Tom Crawford.
The Cardinals (9-1, 2-1) got off to a hot start, forcing a missed field goal on defense and driving 74 yards on 12 plays to take a 7-0 lead on John Harris’ one-yard run with 10:21 left in the second quarter.
The Lancers (8-2, 3-0) responded quickly, as workhorse running back Lontrelle Diggs scored from seven yards out to even the game with 6:17 left in the half.
Two plays later, Harris found the end zone again on a 51-yard carry that put the Cardinals up 14-7 at halftime. Harris would score again from 31-yards out midway through the third quarter to extend the Bishop lead to 21-7. The senior carried the ball 20 times for 151 yards and three touchdowns.
Grace Brethren found the end zone late in the third quarter on a busted coverage pass play. Quarterback Michael Zele connected with a wide-open Brandon Jones for a 37-yard score to pull within seven entering the fourth quarter.
The Cardinals forced a turnover on downs midway through the fourth quarter to get the ball back at their own 13-yard line with just over six minutes to play and up by seven. Quarterback Jake Engel connected with Isaiah Veal on third-and-nine to extend the drive, but Bishop Diego had to punt with 2:15 left.
Grace Brethren got the ball back at their own 22-yard line in need of a score, and they did just that.
Diggs picked up 18 yards on a fourth-and-three, and a personal foul penalty gave the Lancers the ball on Bishop Diego’s 15 with less than a minute remaining.
Diggs carried the ball twice to the Cardinals five-yard line, and was tackled with :18 remaining. With no timeouts, the clock should have continued running, but a timekeeping error awarded the Lancers with four extra seconds and an impromptu timeout. Zele connected with Jauqine Vukobradovich in the end zone to tie the game at 21 with :12 remaining, a score that lasted into the end of regulation.
In the first overtime, Cardinals kicker Jack Luckhurst booted a 21-yard field goal, but the Lancers responded with a 26-yarder from Kevin Aranda.
In the second overtime, Brandon Jones converted on a third-and-7 for the Lancers with an 8-yard end-around run, and Diggs pounded the ball in from 4 yards out for his second touchdown of the contest. Diggs finished the game with 173 yards on 33 carries.
“There were lots of times he made something out of nothing,” explained Crawford.
Bishop Diego took over in need of a touchdown. Harris carried the ball 11 yards on the first play and exited with a calf injury (he reentered two plays later). The Cardinals ran the ball three times but only picked up five yards. On fourth-and-5 at the 9-yard line an incomplete pass ended the game and Bishop Diego’s perfect season.
“It came down to making a few plays on both sides of the ball and we didn’t do it,” said Crawford. “They made a few more. It was a dogfight. I told the guys to have short memories, we’ve got to learn from this, we can’t dwell on it.”
Grace Brethren and Bishop Diego are both headed to the CIF playoffs, Grace in Division 8 and Bishop in Division 6. The pairings will be announced on Sunday.
“No matter who we have, we’ll be ready to go,” Crawford stated.
— Noozhawk sports reporter Christian Eckert can be reached at ceckert@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports and @noozhawk. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.