Bishop Diego sweeps TVL’s top awards

Bishop Diego’s Matt Shotwell, left, Mike Soracco, center, and AV Bennett, right. (Presidio Sports Photos)

Mike Soracco, AV Bennett and Matt Shotwell have claimed the Tri-Valley League’s premier awards for leading Bishop Diego to a dominant undefeated regular season.

Soracco was Bishop’s main rusher and the Cardinals’ leading scorer. Shotwell was a force on defense as Bishop Diego’s leading tackler, and made a strong impact on offense as well. Bennett, the league’s overall Most Valuable Player, was a star in all facets of the game: offense, defense and special teams.

Bennett accounted for 16 touchdowns on the season and was a threat to score every time he touched the ball. Four of his touchdowns came on running plays, five were receptions through the air, and seven were delivered on returns. As a defensive back, the dynamic playmaker returned three of his five interceptions for touchdowns. On special teams, Bennett raced for four scores on kickoff or punt returns. The speedy receiver added 29 catches for 513 yards and five touchdowns on offense.

Bennett’s special season finished with 1726 all-purpose yards in 13 games.

Shotwell was named the TVL’s Defensive Player of the Year for totaling 176 total tackles. The senior linebacker had a presence on offense too, reaching the endzone 10 times on the ground and through the air. His physical power made him an effective threat in the red zone and on third downs.

Speaking of physical, TVL Offensive Player of the Year Mike Soracco was Bishop Diego’s beefy ball carrier who was handed the rock 220 times this season. Soracco turned that into 1404 yards, an average of 108 yards per game. The 19 touchdowns for the season were a team high.

Bishop Diego head coach Tom Crawford was recognized as Coach of the Year.

The Cardinals added eight players to the All-League First Team.

Carpinteria, which finished second in the league standings, placed eight on the First Team.

FIRST TEAM

SECOND TEAM

HONORABLE MENTION