The Bishop Diego Cardinals got into the win category in dramatic fashion while Dos Pueblos had its two-game winning streak snapped on Friday.
Bishop Diego 33, Bishop’s 30
The Cardinals picked up their first win of the season in a thriller against the Knights.
The game started out slow for both sides, as it was still scoreless after one quarter. In the first quarter, Cardinal quarterback Tua Rojas left the game with a shoulder injury and did not return.
The shutout continued for most of the second quarter, with Bishop Diego breaking the tie thanks to a 4-yard touchdown run by Jaison Lotu. A two-point conversion gave the Cardinals an 8-0 lead with 4:53 remaining in the half.
The Bishop Diego defense kept it rolling by forcing a fumble and taking the recovery 40 yards, setting up Lotu to score a touchdown and go up 14-0 with two minutes left.
Bishop’s managed to move down the field and find the endzone before heading into halftime, cutting the lead to 14-7.
Out of the break, Cardinal running back Oscar Mauia capped off a drive with a 4-yard touchdown to extend the advantage to 20-7 with eight minutes left in the third.
The Knights responded right back with a touchdown run and forced a safety after a bad snap by Bishop Diego, inching closer to the Cardinals and making the score 20-16.
Bishop’s grabbed its first lead of the night late in the third quarter on a 30-yard touchdown pass, putting the Knights up 23-20 after the extra point.
Mauia flashed his big-play ability to open up the fourth, bursting out for a 60-yard rushing touchdown to regain the lead at 27-23.
After some back-and-forth play, Bishop’s got a big touchdown run of its own to jump back out in front 30-27 with just 1:06 to go.
On the ensuing kickoff, Cardinal return man Gabe Villa found a seam and took it over 30 yards to midfield with 57 seconds remaining.
Bishop Diego then found success on the ground, with quarterback John Michael Flint scrambling for 11 yards, Villa picking up 12 yards and Mauia scampering 24 yards down to the 1-yard line with 15 seconds remaining.
With just one yard to go, the Cardinals turned to lineman Mays Pese, who barrelled his way into the endzone for the game-winning touchdown, as Bishop Diego escaped with a 33-30 victory.
The Cardinals (1-2) will look to ride this momentum into their next matchup against Central (Fresno) next Friday.
Buena 39, Dos Pueblos 12
The Chargers struggled to contain the Bulldogs to begin Channel League play with their first loss of the year.
After Dos Pueblos’ opening drive stalled, Buena scored on its first play from scrimmage and converted the two-point try to take an 8-0 lead just 2:30 minutes into the game.
However, the Chargers bounced right back with a touchdown drive that included five first downs and ended with a three-yard rushing touchdown by Danny Vidaure. A failed extra-point attempt gave the Bulldogs an 8-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Buena then scored touchdowns on back-to-back drives in the second quarter after the Dos Pueblos offense couldn’t move the ball, sending both teams to the locker room with the Bulldogs up 22-6.
The Buena offense kept up its momentum to open the second half, scoring on a play-action pass to bring the lead to 29-6.
The Chargers finally snapped their scoreless drought with a one-yard touchdown run by Vidaure that cut the lead to 29-12 after a failed two-point conversion.
At the end of the third quarter, the Bulldogs capitalized on a muffed punt by Dos Pueblos with a field goal and put the cherry on top midway through the fourth, scoring their final touchdown to go up 38-12.
The Chargers (2-1, 0-1 Channel League) will have their bye week next week before facing Ventura the week after.
