Patriots take big leap over Knights
- Updated: August 27, 2023
2023 EAST COUNTY PREP FOOTBALL
CHRISTIAN 20, BISHOP’S 10
By Nick Pellegrino
ECS senior writer
LA JOLLA – For the first time in the 21st Century, the Bishop’s School dropped its first pair of football games of the season.
Christian High quarterback Spencer Johnson connected on a 64-yard pass to Brady Eads to thwart a comeback attempt by The Bishop’s, leading to a 20-10 non-league triumph over the Knights on Saturday (Aug. 26) at Gene Edwards Field at La Jolla High’s Scripps Stadium.
Eads beat his defender to the right side for the reception. By the time, a free safety got near him, Eads raced the final 51 yards along The Bishop’s’ sideline for the biggest play of the contest.
Trailing 13-3 at intermission, The Bishop’s moved within a field goal on a TD pass late in the third period. However, Christian’s defense tossed the shut-out ball over the final 17 minutes to preserve the victory.
The last time The Bishop’s opened the season at 0-2 was in 2000, although the 2002 squad opened with a 3-3 tie before dropping three straight to open at 0-3-1.
Otherwise, it’s been a series of league and CIF championships for the Knights, many led by former head coach Joel Allen, the former Patriots standout at quarterback. Allen moved on to head the Point Loma Pointers in 2020.
After the Knights booted an early 20-yard field goal thanks to a solid solo tackle by the left outside linebacker to prevent a score on third down, Christian (1-1) grabbed the early advantage on a pair of rushing touchdowns.
Dylan Eads, a senior, busted around the corner and went 41 yards on a flanker reverse or the go-ahead TD late in the first period for a 6-3 lead. Then in the second period, Brady Eads, a junior, registered the first of his pair of scores on a 3-yard run for a 13-3 cushion.
The defense for the Patriots has now yielded just 17 points over the last six quarters.
The contest was the first of a 4-game road trip for Christian — the school’s longest stretch of road games this century. The sequence starts next Saturday at Scripps Ranch, then Christian plays at Santa Fe Christian and Needles before returning to Valley Stadium to face Valhalla on Sept. 22.
