Bishop's Julian Cassano runs around end for a big gain against St. Genevieve. (Vince Agapito Photo)
Jack Gregson made his first start a memorable one Friday night.
The Bishop Diego sophomore running back scored five touchdowns to lead the Cardinals to an impressive 50-18 non-league football victory over St. Genevieve at La Playa Stadium.
Gregson scored the first touchdown of his varsity career in the second quarter on a 3-yard run. His other rushing touchdowns covered 3, 5 and 10 yards.
His highlight play came on a pass from quarterback Nolan Tisdale in the right flat on which he broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage and bolted 86 yards for the score that put the Cardinals ahead 41-6 late in the third quarter.
Gregson started in place of Brandon Gonzalez, who was nursing an ankle injury. Gonzalez did see limited action on offense, though, and he made the most of it, rushing for 137 yards on eight carries and scoring on runs of 45 and 46 yards.
The Bishop defense and special teams had big nights, too. The kickoff team recovered a fumble and the defense pounced on a fumble and picked off a pass.
The win was coach Tom Crawford’s 52nd in his career at Bishop, moving past Norris Fletcher into second place on the school’s all-time list. Bob Morelli is the all-time leader with 74 wins.
Bishop is 2-3 and St. Genevieve 4-2.
CARPINTERIA 27, GRACE BRETHREN 20
A battle of running quarterbacks tipped in the favor of host Carpinteria on Friday night, as the Warriors overcame four red-zone turnovers to defeat Grace Brethren 27-20 at Memorial Stadium.
Carpinteria quarterback Paul “Munchie” Aguilar rushed 25 times for 191 yards and a touchdown while the Lancers’ Max Leffler racked up 143 yards on 16 carries.
The Lancers scored on a 6-yard run by Kendall Rettig with 45 seconds left in the game, but Carpinteria recovered the ensuing onside kick to seal its fourth consecutive win, improving to 4-1. Grace Brethren, meanwhile, falls to 3-2.
Alex Rodriguez scored a pair of touchdowns for Carpinteria and also had a 60-yard punt return. The Warriors open league play by hosting old rival Fillmore on Friday.
NORDHOFF 70, SAN MARCOS 14
Nordhoff quarterback Jake Logsdon led the Rangers with two touchdowns through the air and one by foot en route to a 70-14 win over the San Marcos Royals on Friday night.
The Rangers compiled 475 total yards, featuring two backs who eclipsed the century mark. Running back Isaac Seymore scored three touchdowns on his 112-yard effort on 16 carries and Robert Perron notched two of his own. Perron tallied 127 yards on 14 carries.
Head coach Tony Henney credited the offensive line.
“You can tell tonight compared to last week that (the offensive line) had something extra special when we were getting off the football,” Henney said. “I know our other guys will be the guys getting the headlines, but the offensive line has really come together as a unit, they love each other and play hard for each other.”
San Marcos wide receiver, kick returner and cornerback Randee Harvey shined on both sides of the ball. Harvey was the catalyst that put the Royals on the board with an 82-yard touchdown catch, courtesy of quarterback Joe Rivera. He also broke a 94-yard kickoff return early in the second quarter, but was sidelined with a shin injury toward the end of the half. Head coach Jeff Hesselmeyer was hopeful he will return next week against Santa Barbara High School in its first league contest.
“We’ve got a long ways to go,” he said. “Hopefully we will rebound and play a reasonable game against Santa Barbara.”
San Marcos fell to 1-5 while Nordhoff advanced to 6-0. San Marcos plays at Santa Barbara next Friday and Nordoff will go to Fillmore on Oct. 22.
CANYON 36, DOS PUEBLOS 3
The Chargers scored first on a field goal before everything fell apart in the non-league game in Canyon Country.
Quarterback Michael Spiritosanto suffered a neck injury on the team’s second series and DP (3-3) was never the same after that.
Canyon (5-0) got big games from its big playmakers. Quarterback Jonathan Jerozad passed for 255 yards and running back Darius Rudolph rushed for 150 yards.
PACIFICA 45, SANTA BARBARA 10
Dennis Taylor laid waste to Santa Barbara High on Friday night, helping Pacifica throw away the Dons 45-10 with a 231-yard, three-touchdown performance.
Taylor’s 58-yard scoring run in the third quarter put Pacifica up 38-0.
Santos Espinosa scored the Dons’ touchdown on a short yardage plunge in the second half.
Santa Barbara didn’t do itself any favors by throwing six interceptions.
“We’re a young football team and we made some young mistakes that can be corrected over time,” Melgoza told the Ventura Star. “We know it’s not going to come overnight and it’s going to take an entire season for us to learn. They didn’t give up in the end and you gotta love that out of a young team.”
The Dons (1-5) open up Channel League play next week against rival San Marcos, which is also 1-5.
