Bishop Diego senior quarterback Spencer Stovesand stepped up when his team needed it, and the Cardinals made it four straight wins over San Diego Section Small Schools power Santa Fe Christian.
Stovesand guided Bishop on a 99-yard fourth-quarter drive and scored on a 1-yard run for the go-ahead touchdown. AV Bennett secured the victory with a 30-yard interception return for a score as the Cardinals prevailed 29-21 on Saturday afternoon in Solana Beach.
Stovesand was masterful in leading the Cardinals on the time-consuming drive that ended with 58.5 seconds left in the game.
Earlier, he hit Matt Shotwell on a 8-yard touchdown pass to narrow Santa Fe Christian’s lead to 21-16 with 22 seconds left in the third quarter. The PAT was blocked.
The touchdown came after Santa Fe Christian scored on a 48-yard touchdown play on a double pass, giving the Eagles a 21-10 lead at 2:12 in the third quarter. Santa Fe Christian threw for 189 yards in the game, but was held to 89 yards on the ground.
Bishop Diego (2-0), which went from unranked to fourth in this week’s CIF Northern Division poll, opened the scoring with a 33-yard field goal by freshman kicker Jack Luckhurst.
Santa Fe Christian responded with a long drive that was capped by a 5-yard touchdown pass. The PAT gave the Eagles a 7-3 lead at the 4:01 mark of the first quarter.
The Cardinals reclaimed the lead midway through the second quarter when Stovesand found Michael Agnoli for a 3-yard touchdown pass on a fourth and 1. Luckhurst kicked the PAT for a 10-7 advantage.
Santa Fe Christian came out strong in the second half and scored on a 9-yard run to go ahead 14-10 with 8:16 left in the third quarter.
The Eagles had the lead and the momentum, and looked like they might get their first win over Bishop.
But just as they did in a comeback win over Righetti last week, the Cardinals pulled out some big plays and found a way to win.
Bishop returns to La Playa Stadium on Saturday to play La Salle.
