Bishop Diego Stopped at the Goal Line In 31-28 Season Opening Loss to Foothill

Bishop Diego running back Gabe Villa took a toss from the one-yard line and barrelled towards the end zone with seven seconds on the clock, but was driven back inches short of the end zone by the Foothill defense as time expired.

The goal-line stand clinched a 31-28 victory for the visiting Knights and sent Bishop Diego to a heartbreaking defeat.

“I’d be in a much happier mood if we had gotten six more inches, but the reality is we moved the ball pretty well and I thought we were pretty balanced,” said Bishop Diego coach Tom Crawford. “I think the running backs did their job.

The Cardinals’ were without 5’11” 215 pound senior running back Misa Paiau due to injury. He  is a key cog in Bishop Diego’s offensive attack and averaged nearly ten yards per carry last season as a junior.

In Paiau’s absence, the sophomore Villa carried the load from the running back position and finished with 105 yards on 19 carries and two touchdowns.

The game went back and forth from the start. Bishop Diego came out humming offensively on its opening drive of the game and capped off a six-play, 46-yard drive with a 21-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Tua Rojas to junior receiver Nick Malesky with 7:06 remaining in the first quarter.

However, Foothill responded with back-to-back touchdown drives on a 37-yard touchdown pass from Nicholas Miali to Nico Mancini and a 55-yard touchdown run by Miali on a read option that put the Knights ahead 14-7.

“I believe that they had eight returners on offense and a similar number on defense and I thought their quarterback did a really nice job in terms of delivery,” Crawford said. “We didn’t really tackle very well, particularly at the beginning of the game and so that’s something we obviously have to work on.”

Bishop Diego immediately responded beginning with a 28-yard pass from Rojas to fellow sophomore Ian Bartley that jump started a six-play, 80-yard drive, which Villa paid off with a two-yard touchdown run to even the score at 14-14 going into halftime.

The Cardinals opened the second half by driving 80 yards on two plays. Jaison Lotu broke off a 45-yard run and Rojas followed with a 35-yard touchdown pass to Dominic Herrera to put Bishop Diego ahead 21-14.

Rojas completed 12-of-17 passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns in his first varsity start. 

“I thought Tua did a wonderful job of controlling the game and making some plays with his feet as well as his arm,” Crawford said. “He kept his composure throughout so that was a nice looking game for a sophomore quarterback.”

Bishop Diego never quite figured out how to stop the Foothill passing game as Miali found Mancini for a 19-yard touchdown to even the score at 21-21 with 8:37 remaining in the third quarter.

The Cardinals pulled ahead again 28-21 with 2:30 remaining in the third quarter on a two-yard touchdown run by Villa, but Foothill scored the final ten points of the game, including a three-yard touchdown pass from Miali to Connor Pietras with 3:09 remaining. 

However, Bishop Diego methodically drove down the field as the clock ticked down. Rojas was in command on the 11-play drive, but three straight runs by Villa inside the five-yard line did not result in a touchdown as a bevy of Foothill defenders converged on the running back on the final play.

Bishop Diego (0-1) will travel to Mission Prep next week. Foothill (1-0) will host rival Tustin.