Kwock plays huge, ignites Bishop Diego to 33-14 win

The smallest player on the field made all the difference for Bishop Diego High on Friday night as the Cardinals downed Mission Prep 33-14 in their home football debut at La Playa Stadium.

Sam Kwock returned the opening kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown, rushed twice for 45 yards, recovered a pooch kickoff and ran back a punt 42 yards in the waning minutes.

Bishop Diego's Anthony Carter returns the game's 2nd kickoff for a big gain after Sam Kwock took the opening kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown. (Presidio Sports photo)

He’s listed as 5-foot-6, 145 pounds but his impact was immeasurable.

Bishop, ranked No. 8 in the CIF East Valley Division, evened its record at 1-1 while Mission Prep, of San Luis Obispo, suffered its first loss in three games. The Royals had outscored their first two opponents 89-0.

“We wanted to send a message that we were here and we were going to win,” said Kwock, who had an 88-yard kickoff return for a TD last week at Santa Ynez. “We were practicing all week for a squib kick and I was really surprised when they kicked it in the air. I was super stoked. I got great blocking from my teammates, who opened up some big holes.”

Kwock took the opening kick straight up the middle and was gone, giving the Cardinals a 7-0 lead after just 11 seconds.

“I think Sam has deceptive speed and size and I think he’s probably a little hard for teams to find,” said Cardinals coach Tom Crawford. “I thought our special teams’ play and blocking was really the difference.”

Justin Brosnan booted a 35-yard field goal late in the first quarter and Bishop got the ball right back when Brosnan popped a short kickoff near the Mission Prep 30. Kwock sprinted down and grabbed the ball, setting up the Cardinals at the 28.

Seven plays later, senior quarterback Nolan Tisdale hit Reese Moulton with a 7-yard strike in the back of the end zone for a 16-0 lead. The PAT try bounced off the left upright.

Tisdale completed 13-of-22 passes for 120 yards and two TDs. Brandon Gonzalez rushed 24 times for 86 yards and a 2-yard score that made it 23-0 with 6:30 to go in the second quarter.

“Nolan played very well and was the beneficiary of a couple of wonderful catches by Moulton and (Anthony) Carter,” said Crawford. “They both made very athletic plays.”

The Cardinals took a 30-7 halftime lead when Tisdale connected with Carter on a 21-yard pass with 9.9 seconds left in the second quarter. The 40-yard scoring drive was set up by an interception from Nic Mon.

Bishop racked up 197 rushing yards on 43 attempts. The defense was stout, holding the Royals to 20 yards on 15 tries and intercepting three passes. Mission Prep quarterback Tyler Baty completed 21-of-38 passes for nearly 200 yards and a touchdown.

After cutting the deficit to 30-14, the Royals got to the Bishop 38 before Troy Skinner picked off a pass and returned it 24 yards to the Mission 44. On fourth-and-5 from the 39, with 8:19 remaining, the Cardinals executed a perfect fake punt with Carter dashing around the right side for 25 yards.

Four plays later, Brosnan kicked a 29-yard field goal to make it 33-14.

“We were a little tight at the start,” said Mission Prep coach Chad Henry. “We got ourselves in a pretty big hole and it took a while for us to settle down. Missed tackles killed us all night.”

Bishop will play Santa Paula on Friday at Ventura College.

Mission Prep ………   0   7   7   0 — 14
Bishop Diego ……… 10 20   0   3 — 33

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
 RUSHING — MP: Cardwell 8-26, Laird 2-4, Team 1-(minus 1), Baty 4-(minus 9). BD: Gonzalez 24-86, Kwock 2-45, Brosnan 5-40, Carter 1-25, Gregson 4-16, Williams 2-0, Team 1-(minus 2), Tisdale 4-(-13).
PASSING — MP: Baty 21-38-3-197, Hall 0-1-0-0. BD: Tisdale 13-22-1-120, Molina 1-2-1-12.
RECEIVING — MP: Fernandez 7-50, Hall 4-50, Cardwell 3-46, Souchek 3-15, Parkinson 2-23, Laird 2-13. BD: Moulton 4-53, Brosnan 3-7, Gregson 2-17, Carter 1-21, Gonzalez 1-18, Herrera 1-12, Bilotti 1-4, Kwock 1-0.
MISSED FIELD GOAL — BD: 31 (Blk)