Top-ranked Bishop Diego crushes Santa Ynez

Some football teams try to control the clock. Bishop Diego is destroying it.

The Cardinals beat Santa Ynez 49-0 Friday night in Santa Ynez, topping a 48-0 win in their opener and, for the second straight game, played in such dominant fashion that officials ran the scoreboard clock without stops in the second half.

Bishop, the No. 1 ranked team in the Northwest Division, rolled up more than 300 yards rushing and 21 first downs in building a 35-0 lead by halftime. Abel Gonzalez scored twice and Daniel Molina scored one of his two touchdowns on the night as seven ball carriers ripped off runs of 10 yards or more in the first two quarters.

“It’s a sign of our line’s dominance,” said Anthony Carter, who passed for 60 yards and a touchdown while alternating downs with Gabe Molina at quarterback. “To us, that just shows how physical we can be.”

The Cardinals drove 82 yards for a score on their first possession and scored touchdowns on four straight possessions in the second quarter. There were few spectacular plays — the longest was a 36-yard run by Gonzalez — but there was no shortage of firepower on display as Bishop hit the Pirates with a befuddling mixture of standard inside runs, end arounds by receivers, and option tosses.

“Their offensive line and their receivers, they really blocked at the point of attack,” said Santa Ynez coach Josh McClurg. “I don’t know whether they wore us down or what it was — I’ll have to look at the films — but they really did a great job against us at the point of attack.”

Bishop opened the scoring with an 11-yard run by B.J. Murillo and made it 14-0 early in the second quarter on 30-yard pass to Gonzalez from Carter. Gonzalez scored on a 4-yard run to cap an 87-yard drive that featured six straight runs and the Cardinals recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff to set up a 46-yard drive ended with a 3-yard run by Ricky Herrera.

An interception by Christian Pearson set up Daniel Molina for a 21-yard scoring run with two minutes left in the half.

When Pearson picked off a Brock Dickey pass on the Pirates’ first play of the second half and returned it 40 yards for a score, the only question remaining was if Bishop’s second string defense could preserve the shutout. As it turned out, that also had little drama.

Santa Ynez managed just 27 yards rushing and 37 passing.

There were, however, some passing clouds to spoil an otherwise perfect day for the Cardinals. All-CIF running back Aidan Williams was ejected in the first quarter after fumbling a ball and diving into a pile of players trying to recover it. Officials apparently didn’t like something they saw on the play, though Coach Tom Crawford said he was told by officials that they would review film of the play to see if it actually merited the one-game suspension that normally attaches to an ejection.

Bishop plays La Salle, a top-10 team in its division, next week at La Playa Stadium.

Crawford also was unhappy about 100 yards of penalties amassed by the Cardinals and by several plays in which, he said, players lined up improperly.

After going 12-1 last year, this team has high expectations and the scoreboard is not always the final judge, he said.

“Our coaches almost go hoarse each week yelling that we need to keep progressing,” he said. You can’t be satisfied with staying where you are.”

McLurg also looked for improvement from his Pirates.

“Hats off to Bishop,” he said. “But it didn’t help that we came out and played like it was the first day of practice. A lot of it is things you don’t see from the stands . . . I’m talking about guys lining up in the wrong place, calling the correct play, calling the correct check on the line. I have to see the films but it seemed to me like our execution was more like a JV team than a varsity team.”

Bishop Diego 7 28 7 7 — 49
Santa Ynez 0 0 0 0 — 0

First quarter
BD_Murillo 11 run (Bollag kick) 6:40.
Second quarter
BD_Gonzalez 30 pass from Carter (Bollag kick) 8:35.
BD_Gonzalez 4 run (Bollag kick) 5:10.
BD_R.Herrera 3 run (Bollag kick) 3:11.
BD_D.Molina 21 run (Bollag kick) 2:08.
Third quarter
BD_Pearson 40 interception return (Bollag kick) 11:40.
Fourth Quarter
BD_D.Molina 14 run (Bollag kick) 5:18.

BD SY
First downs 24 5
Rushes-yards 39-349 16-27
Passing yards 89 37
Total yards 438 64
Passes 8-13-` 8-15-3
Sacks 0-0 2-16
Fumbles 1-1 3-2
Punts 2-37 5-34
Penalties 10-101 1-5

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING_BD: Gonzales 10-119, Williams 6-57, G.Molina 2-10, D.Molina 10-60, Murillo 3-29, Lash 2-30, R.Herrera 2-6, Carter 3-38, Bilotti 1-0. SY: Vreeland 8-11, Chavez 3-24, Goodwin 1-0, Dickey 1-(minus 4), Redell 1-(minus 4).
PASSING_BD: Carter 3-6-1-60; G.Molina 5-7-0-29. SY: Dickey 7-12-3-33; Redell 1-3-0-4..
RECEIVING_BD: Murillo 1-14, Lash 2-19, D.Molina 1-16, Tooley 1-2, Gonzelz 2-39, Gaasch 1-4. SY: Vreeland 3-13, Deming 1-2, Hanly 1-5, Gallardo 1-4, Nielsen 2-13.
MISSED FIELD GOALS_none.