Bishop Diego thrashes Santa Maria

BY ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER
The Cardinals rumbled for more than 450 yards on the ground as Bishop Diego walked all over Santa Maria, winning 48-7 at La Playa Stadium yesterday evening.
Running backs Aaron Skinner, Eli Orosco and RJ Escamilla combined for 426 yards alone and Skinner scampered into the end zone four times. Bishop Diego head coach Tom Crawford credited the defensive line for clamping down on the Saints and allowing only a few sizable gains.

"It means your line is doing a good job," Crawford said of the nonexistent Saints offense. "We got contributions from pretty much everyone on the squad."
With the victory, Bishop Diego pushed its record to 3-0, with earlier wins over Santiago and Nipomo.
Skinner's four touchdowns and 193 rushing yards stood out as the highlight of the evening. After scoring on a quick five-yard run to the left with 6:57 to go in the first half, Skinner took the ball in again less than two minutes later on an 8-yard run after the Saints fumbled the ball on their 34.
"The line did a great job," Skinner said. "The holes were there and I just did my job."
On their next possession, Santa Maria started at their 39. Quarterback Robert Rodriguez bumped into his running back on first down and fumbled the ball, diving on it quickly. After a two-yard run and an incomplete pass, the Saints punted it away, a theme that repeated itself throughout the night.
Cardinals quarterback Christian Winnewisser completed his first big pass of the night on the next drive, hitting Art Gonzalez over the middle for a 30-yard gain down to the Saints 41. After a 15-yard rumble by Orosco, Escamilla bobbled a pass over the middle and dropped the ball into the waiting hands of the Saints' Steven Grigg.
The Saints handed the ball right back to Bishop Diego two plays later when Michael Placencia picked off a pass near the 50 and ran it back to the 19 with 20 seconds remaining in the first quarter. A few plays later, Winnewisser completed a pass to Jeremy Kjar, who sprinted untouched for a 17-yard touchdown.
With the score at 21-0, the Saints looked to be waking up after an 18-yard pass to Grigg on their next drive. However, their offense ground to a standstill on the next two plays and they punted the ball away.
On the next play, Orosco drew thunderous cheers from the crowd after leaping over a Saints defender and gaining 17 yards. A few plays later, a muffled snap turned the ball over to the Saints at their 41. After two short runs, the Saints running back fumbled on a dive up the middle and Shane McCarthy recovered the football for the Cardinals.
Winnewisser then completed a play action pass to Kjar, who took the ball down to the Saints 20. With an empty backfield, Orosco ran a reverse to the left, picking up 12 yards before being tackled by Duran. Skinner punched the ball in a few plays later on a 4-yard dive up the middle to push the score to 28-0.
After another Saints fumble at their 42, Bishop Diego seemed on the verge of netting another touchdown before half-time, but a muffled snap on the last play of the half kept the Cardinals out of the end zone.
Escamilla opened the second half with a 24-yard kickoff return to the 40-yard line. After a 19-yard gain by Skinner and a 15-yard pass to Gonzalez, Skinner busted open a 33-yard scamper into the end zone with 9:18 left in the quarter. After another uneventful Saints possession, the Cardinals took over at their 28. Escamilla took a pitch to the right, gaining 12 yards.
Orosco put in his second highlight of the evening, dancing left and outrunning three Saints defenders for a 54-yard touchdown run with 3:52 left in the third quarter. Although Orosco typically plays wide receiver, he will assume second-string running back responsibilities due to an injured Anthony Martinez.
The Saints went three and out in the following possession, punting the ball away. On the resulting drive, Skinner racked up more yardage with a 42-yard gain. After Orosco and Escamilla pushed the ball down to the 17, Skinner drove left to the 8-yard line before fullback David Renick crushed through the Saints defensive line into the end zone with six seconds remaining in the quarter.
Renick recovered a Saints fumble on the first play of their drive, bringing the Cardinals offense back onto the field at the Saints 36. A few plays into the possession, Orosco spun his way down to the four, but fumbled the ball away on the next play.
A few possessions later, the Saints pulled off their first touchdown of the night on a trick play. Wide receiver Ryan Duran took a toss from Rodriguez and swung out left, passing to running back Josh Pipersburg for a 54-yard touchdown with only a few minutes remaining. Bishop Diego took a knee to run down the clock.
Yesterday's final score closely resembled last year when the two teams faced each other in Santa Maria, with Bishop Diego taking that contest 48-12. The Cardinals will travel to St. Joseph next Friday for their fourth game of the season.
"We have our work cut out for us," Coach Crawford said, explaining that St. Joseph is expected to contend for their league title.
Orosco echoed his coach, saying, "They're supposed to be good, so we've got to be ready."
When asked if the Cardinals can go to the air if their ground game struggles against St. Joseph, Orosco said, "Oh yeah, we're ready to go."