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Tony Manzano (center) moves the ball past Bishop Diego defenders in the varsity game Friday. |
Cardinals play Bishop Diego Cardinals to a tie
October 29, 2003
By Brian D. Wilson
Sports
It was homecoming for the Santa Paula Cardinals as they played the Cardinals of Bishop Diego Friday, ending in a 25-25 tie.
The 7:30 game didn’t end until almost 10:30, as penalty after penalty slowed the game to a crawl. It sometimes took several minutes of conferring between the four officials, before a ruling was made after a yellow flag was thrown. Aside from that problem, many of the calls were deserved as Santa Paula recorded 15 penalties and four turnovers during the game.Tony Manzano led the offense for Santa Paula, rushing for 183 yards and one touchdown. Matt Lindsey, who quarterbacked the entire came for the home team, threw the ball for 109 yards and a touchdown.Santa Paula took an 18-7 lead at one point in the second quarter, but Bishop Diego came back, scoring 17 points in less than five minutes to lead 25-18 at the half.Neither team made any headway in the third quarter, as fumbles and turnovers stopped both sides. Finally, in the early seconds of the fourth quarter, Santa Paula tied the score as Manzano took the ball into the end zone on a five-yard run.A missed field goal attempt by Bishop Diego and good defensive plays by Santa Paula kept the score tied. This game left Santa Paula with a 1-5-1 overall record and 0-2-1 in Tri Valley League play.
Coach Ed Gomez said the team is making progress. "We had one of our best rushing performances in a ong time," Gomez said. "The offensive line (Johnny Vera, Angel Vera, Michael WAkefield, Mark Quintanilla, Ron Harmon and Ivan Hernandez) and the fullbacks (Kevin Moore and JOey Zavala) did a great job of opening holes for Tony Manzano and Jon Duran. Duran and Manzano also provided some pretty physical running."Gomez notes that the defense did a good job in the second half, turning Bishop away. "If we'd elimnated the penalties and mental lapses, we probably would've won the game," Gomez added. "The playoffs are still within our grasp, but we're going to have to beat some good teams on the road. If we play mistake-free football we can give ourselves a shot."The Cards are on the road for the next two weeks, playing at Nordhoff this Friday and Oak Park the following week. The final regular game of the season will be a home contest against Fillmore.