Damien Moore leads Bishop Amat to thrilling 25-24 win over Alemany in Mission League football opener: 5 takeaways
MISSION HILLS -- Damien Moore rushed for 172 yards and a touchdown as well as the game-winning two-point conversion to push Bishop Amat to a 25-24 victory over Bishop Alemany in both teams’ Mission League openers Friday night. Amat moved to 5-1 with the win, and Alemany fell to 5-1. Below are five takeaways.
TOP PERFORMERS
Amat head coach Steve Hagerty said that Moore earned “every
one” of his 172 yards on the ground. The Cal commit appeared to be stopped on
the Lancers’ two point try with under a minute to go in the fourth, but he kept
his legs churning and got into the endzone. The senior also rushed for a
13-yard TD in the third quarter.
Lancer receiver AJ Souza caught two touchdown passes from quarterback
Tobin O’Dell. Souza wrestled his second TD reception away from an Alemany
defensive back to set up Moore’s game winning two-point play. His contributions
were monumental.
On the Alemany side, sophomore running back Floyd Chalk rushed for 134 yards and two touchdowns in the loss.
THEY SAID IT
Hagerty addressed his team’s slow start to the season compared to where they’re at now after tonight’s win. Amat had trouble in wins over Diamond Ranch and Paramount to start the year. The Lancers’ head coach explained the difference between then and now postgame.
“Reps. We’re getting better, we’re practicing better, kids
roles are getting more defined better. We’re playing better. It’s a tribute to
them working hard.”
IT WAS OVER WHEN
On fourth and four from the Bishop Amat 12, Alemany elected to go for it instead of attempting a game-winning field goal. Warrior quarterback Miller Moss handed the ball off to Chalk who was stopped short of the line to gain by a group of Lancer defenders, which included Moore. That gave Bishop Amat the ball and the Lancers took a knee on the next play to end the game.
AMAT IN MISSION LEAGUE DRIVER’S SEAT
Only one Mission League game has been played by each team so far, but Amat got arguably the toughest one out of the way and walked away with a win. Tonight’s results (Chaminade beat Notre Dame and Loyola beat Serra) show that every league game will be a dog fight. Those were two upsets. Wins will be tough to come by and Amat picked up a really tough one tonight. This may be a very important head-to-head victory down the line.
PENALTIES PLAGUE BOTH TEAMS
Hagerty wasn’t happy with his team’s multitude of false start penalties and Alemany coach Casey Clausen was constantly asking the referees for explanations on calls against his Warrior team Friday. This wasn’t the prettiest game.
