Gridiron Showdown
Despite a Hard-Fought Game, the CIF Finals Elude Bishop Diego
Everything that is exciting, dangerous, frightening, inspiring, and heartbreaking about football came into play last Friday night when the Bishop Diego High Cardinals tried to break through the barrier of the CIF Southern Section semifinals.
Bishop Diego’s lineup was laden with seniors who made it to the semis for the third consecutive year. It was their mission to play for the championship of the Northwest Division, and in the final 30 seconds of Friday’s game, they were eight yards away from accomplishment. Standing in their way was the sturdy defense of the Nordhoff Rangers, the defending CIF champions from Ojai.
The marquee matchup, Bishop Diego’s first home play-off game in three years, brought a crowd of 5,000 to SBCC’s La Playa Stadium. The two well-coached teams pulled out all the stops. Bishop tried a fake punt; Nordhoff faked a field goal. The defenses stopped both plays. Bishop’s first touchdown came after a 42-yard pass from Gabe Molina to Anthony Carter, who alternates at the quarterback position with Molina. Nordhoff got rolling on a 56-yard burst by running back Matt Woodcock.
