Gritty defense allowed the Bishop Diego football team to hang tough in a matchup against Marmonte League rival St. Bonaventure for most of the first half, but mistakes added up and the Cardinals suffered a 32-7 defeat on Friday night at La Playa Stadium.
St. Bonaventure quarterback Kaden Glover tossed three touchdown passes, two of which went to Washington State commit D.J. Doss and the Bishop Diego offense had no answer.
“Offensively we just didn’t really get anything going and that was really the toughest thing. We didn’t help our defense at all,” said Bishop Diego Tom Crawford. “The game was played on our end of the field.”
The only points in the first quarter were surrendered by the Bishop Diego offense and special teams. St. Bonaventure got on the board after a Bishop Diego punt was snapped through the back of the end zone less than two minutes into the game.
The Bishop Diego offense struggled to overcome tough field position for the majority of the game and Cardinals’ quarterback Tua Rojas was flagged for intentional grounding in the end zone, increasing the Seraphs lead to 4-0 with 3:10 remaining in the first quarter.
The first touchdown of the game came with 6:19 remaining in the second quarter when Jayce Franco powered into the end zone from one-yard out to take an 11-0 lead.
It appeared that Bishop Diego would go into the locker room at halftime with a manageable deficit, but on the last play of the first half Glover found David Montes behind the Bishop Diego defense for a 40-yard bomb as the second quarter clock expired. The shocking touchdown increased the Seraphs lead to 18-0 and left the Cardinals stunned.
“Defense is our identity. At St. Bonaventure we want to run the football and play great defense,” said St. Bonaventure coach Joe Goyenche. “Hats off to Bishop Diego, they were able to stop our run essentially, Up front those guys battled.”
Doss broke open the game on the third play of the second half, catching a quick slant from Glover, slipping a tackle and racing 50-yards to the end zone. Doss added a 14-yard touchdown catch on a fade early in the fourth quarter.
“D.J. Doss is the best athlete I think that we’ve had at St. Bonaventure in the last ten years. He can move at a different speed. He’s got strength that other guys don’t have,” Goyenche said. “That combination of strength and speed and tenacity is hard to stop and so we’ve got to try and put the ball in his hands.”
A bright spot on offense for Bishop Diego was Oscar Mauia, who found a cut-back lane and broke free for a 50-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter for Bishop Diego’s only points of the game.
Maui finished with 8 carries for 83 yard and is averaging nearly ten yards per carry this season as a sophomore.
Santa Barbara, 30; Rio Mesa, 10
The Dons notched their second massive Channel league road win in as many weeks. Santa Barbara relied on strong defense and a resurgent rushing attack that has been dormant for much of the season.
Bishop Diego, (1-5, 0-1) will travel to Oaks Christian next week. St. Bonaventure 4-2, 1-0 will host Westlake.
Dos Pueblos, 55; Channel Islands 0
The Chargers snapped a three-game losing streak and picked up their first Channel League victory over a Channel Islands team that has not won a game since 2021.
Hueneme, 35; Carpinteria 13
The Warriors have lost four consecutive games after starting the season 2-0. Hueneme picked up its first win of the season in the Citrus Coast League opener for both teams