The Bishop Diego defense forced six turnovers, lifting the Cardinals to a 24-12 victory over Simi Valley in a crucial Marmonte League contest on Friday night at La Playa Stadium.
Coming off a narrow loss to Oaks Christian last week, Bishop Diego righted the ship with big plays on offense, defense, and special teams.
“The guys recognize how important it was to get this second Marmonte League win, and they’ve been doing a good job of taking it one game at a time,” said Bishop Diego coach Tom Crawford. “I think they were disappointed in the outcome at Oaks Christian, knowing that we had a chance to win that.”
Simi Valley took the opening kickoff and marched right down the field. The Pioneers capped off the drive with a short touchdown pass from Connor Petrov to Jayden Clarke to take a 6-0 lead.
Late in the first quarter, Bishop Diego recovered a Simi Valley fumble on its own 47-yard line. A few plays later, Tua Rojas completed a 27-yard touchdown pass to John Michael Flint, giving the Cardinals a 7-6 lead after the extra point. Flint finished with three catches for 62 yards and was named homecoming king at halftime.
“We knew it would be a competitive contest. I’m just really pleased with how we responded after the opening drive, with them moving the ball down the field,” said Crawford. “I thought our guys gathered themselves really quickly, and particularly defensively, we played lights out after that.”
The Bishop Diego defense created another scoring opportunity when an interception by Crawford set up a four-yard touchdown run by Sam Boeddeker with 5:39 remaining in the second quarter, increasing the lead to 14-6.
As time ticked down in the first half, Bishop Diego moved quickly down the field before settling for a short field goal by Diego Cortez to take a 17-6 lead into the locker room.
The second half was the Remy Boykin show, as the junior transfer from San Marcos hauled in an interception and returned a punt 40 yards to the end zone after expertly setting up his blocks. The special teams touchdown put Bishop Diego ahead 24-6 early in the fourth quarter.
“Remy has that athleticism and that burst. It doesn’t matter if he’s playing offense, at cornerback, or on special teams — the guy is a highlight reel,” Crawford said. “He makes catches and plays that make you go, ‘Oh wow!’”
Simi Valley cut into the deficit late, as an interception by defensive end Ryan Schlundt-Bodien set up a one-yard touchdown run by James Scida with 3:15 remaining.
An interception by Bishop Diego sophomore Gabriel Phillips clinched the game for the Cardinals.
The game featured a legendary head coaching matchup between Ventura County’s all-time winningest coach, Jim Benkert, and Santa Barbara County’s all-time winningest coach, Tom Crawford.
Bishop Diego will travel to St. Bonaventure for a rivalry game next week.
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