Aidan Williams breaks a tackle and the goal line for Bishop Diego’s first touchdown of 2013. (Presidio Sports Photos)
Top-ranked Bishop Diego raced out to a 34-0 halftime lead in Friday night?s football opener at SBCC?s La Playa Stadium and went on to blank Santa Maria 48-0.
The Cardinals, the preseason No. 1 pick in the CIF Northwest Division, threw three touchdown passes and outgained the visiting Saints 348 yards to 98 in the first half. Bishop scored touchdowns on five of its first six possessions.
?We played well and we played physical,? said senior quarterback Gabe Molina, who completed 4-of-5 passes for 106 yards and two TDs in the first half. ?It was good for us to know where we?re at in our first game.
?The offensive line stepped up big and our receivers made plays.?
Four of Bishop?s seven TDs went for 40 yards or more and five players got into the end zone.
Anthony Carter, who alternated at quarterback with Molina on every play in the first three quarters, brought the crowd to its feet on the opening kickoff. He returned it 69 yards, setting his team up at the Saints? 16-yard line. On second down, Aidan Williams went up the middle and broke three tackles to complete an 11-yard touchdown. The PAT try was wide left.
Nolan Tooley was scored a touchdown on offense and was a beast on defense.
BJ Murillo scored three TDs in the game. He raced into the end zone on a 40-yard inside reverse to make it 20-0 in the opening quarter, caught a 33-yard pass from Molina that boosted the lead to 34-0 five minutes before halftime and scored on a 3-yard run with 4:23 to go in the third period.
Nunzio Bilotti foiled Santa Maria?s best drive of the game, a 12-play, 56-yard march in the final quarter. He intercepted a fourth-down pass at his own 25 and returned it 75 yards for the final TD with 5:16 remaining.
Molina completed 6-of-8 passes for 109 yards and two TDs. The Cardinals finished with 16 first downs and dominated the yardage battle, 440 to 174. Bishop averaged nearly 10 yards a rush (282 yards on 29 carries), led by Abel Gonzalez (11 for 81 yards) and Williams (4 for 61).
Bishop Diego’s Anthony Carter tries to get around the tackles on Friday.
Bishop had one of its best seasons in history last year, winning its first 12 games before falling in the CIF semifinals for the second straight year.
?We ran the ball very hard and we were pretty physical, until the last 15 minutes,? said coach Tom Crawford, who became the winningest football coach in school history (79-70-1) with Friday?s triumph. ?We did a pretty nice job of disrupting their running game between the tackles.?
Joe Salcedo (6-6, 270) and linebackers Nolan Tooley and Christian Pearson spearheaded a defense that limited the Saints to 99 yards on 39 rushes.
Carter ended Santa Maria?s first drive with a leaping interception at his own 28. After the Cardinals lost a fumble and Santa Maria punted, Bishop needed just two plays to cover 90 yards. Williams bounced out to the right and scampered 41 yards to the Saint 49. On the very next play, Molina faked a handoff and hit a wide-open Tooley for a 49-yard scoring pass.
The Cardinals went 52 yards in four plays on their next possession to make it 20-0 with 2:53 to go in the first quarter. They needed just two plays to cover 56 yards on the next drive, capped by a nifty shovel pass on a misdirection play. With everything flowing to the right, Gonzalez took off in the other direction, grabbed a short pass from Carter and sprinted 49 yards into the end zone, boosting the lead to 27-0 on the third play of the second quarter.
The Cardinals travel to Santa Ynez on Friday night.
Santa Maria ?..?? 0 0 0 0 — 0
Bishop Diego ??… 20 14 7 7 — 48First Quarter
BD — Williams 11 run (kick failed), 11:07
BD — Tooley 49 pass from G. Molina (Bollag kick), 6:05
BD — Murillo 40 run (Bollag kick), 2:53
Second Quarter
BD — Gonzalez 49 pass from Carter (Bollag kick), 11:05
BD — Murillo 33 pass from G. Molina (Bollag kick), 5:02
Third Quarter
BD — Murillo 3 run (Bollag kick), 4:23
Fourth Quarter
BD — Bilotti 75 interception return (Bollag kick), 5:16INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING–SM: Garrett 11-53, Jam. Maycotte 1-22, Jos. Maycotte 6-7, Carasco 4-7, Castaneda 11-3, Tedero 3-3, Aguire 1-3, Jimenez 1-1, Talamantes 1-0. BD: Gonzalez 11-81, Williams 4-61, Murillo 2-43, A. Herrera 1-37, R. Herrera 3-32, Hernandez 1-20, Carter 3-12, G. Molina 1-7, D. Molina 2-7, Martinez 1-0.
PASSING–SM: Garrett 6-22-2-75. BD: G. Molina 6-8-0-109, Carter 1-2-0-49.
RECEIVING–SM: Monzo 3-49, Talamantes 2-18, F. Jimenez 1-8. BD: Murillo 2-38, Gonzalez 1-49, Tooley 1-49, Williams 1-18, D. Molina 1-6, Lash 1-(-2).
MISSED FIELD GOALS–None.
