Bishop Diego Mike Soracco scored three touchdowns and had 122 rushing yards. (John Dvorak/Presidio Sports Photos)
Bishop Diego head coach Tom Crawford said he was worried that his Cardinals might come out flat after their bye week. Needless stress is what it turned out to be.
Mike Soracco rushed for three touchdowns, quarterback Spencer Stovesand was perfect throwing the ball, and the team didn’t commit a turnover. All the positives added up for the Cardinals in a 47-13 dissection of Mission Prep on Saturday night at La Playa Stadium.
Bishop Diego took just three plays to go 55 yards for a touchdown on its first possession and scored again and again on its next four possessions to gain a 34-0 advantage with 4:56 to go in the second quarter.
“That was an issue for us early on in the season was not starting games well and then kicking it into gear, so it was nice to see us come out with some energy and be consistent,” Crawford said.
The Cardinals defense bolstered the great start by forcing two turnovers by Mission Prep in the first quarter. Dylan Streett caught an over-the-shoulder interception and returned it 20 yards, then Mike Agnoli recovered a fumble at the Mission Prep 11 that set up an 11-yard run by Tommy Murillo, who also had a second touchdown on a 62-yard run in the second half.
Soracco carried the ball 18 times for 122 yards. Stovesand was 11-for-11 passing for 182 yards and two touchdowns. Both passing plays for TDs went to AV Bennett, who had three catches for 74 yards. Bishop Diego’s Matt Shotwell piled up 14 tackles, including three for a loss and one sack.
“It was nice to see Mike Soracco have some really tough runs but I was real pleased with our offensive line execution for the most part,” Crawford said. “I think we got movement at the point of attack and I think guys were being physical so I was really pleased with that aspect.”
The Cardinals controlling the line of scrimmage was aided by a rash of injuries suffered by Mission Prep. The Royals won their first three games of the season but have been missing key players over the past couple of weeks.
“For us, not to make excuses, but it really affected us missing three key guys on our defensive front,” said Mission Prep head coach Chad Henry.
Bishop Diego’s AV Bennett beats the defense down the field to catch a 50-yard touchdown pass from Spencer Stovesand.
Mission Prep, which begins its Northern League schedule next week at home versus Templeton, falls to 3-2.
“We came in saying, ‘we just got to try to keep it close early and then you have a chance,’ and we couldn’t keep it close early and it just rolls,” Henry said.
The Royals first touchdown came 1:56 before halftime on a 7-yard pass from quarterback Bryce Fledderman to receiver Angel Sanchez making the score 34-7. The same duo was involved on the Royals’ second touchdown that came late in the fourth quarter. This one was a 49-yard connection. With the score 47-13, Bishop Diego’s Murillo blocked the point-after attempt.
Bishop Diego is undefeated on the season with a record of 5-0. The Cardinals still have two non-league contests before Tri-Valley League games. Next week the Cardinals are at View Park (2-3).
