A Little Goes a Long Way for No. 3 Bishop Amat

Bishop Amat did little Saturday. But it did a lot.

The Lancers spent most of the night under Servite’s thumb but managed to wriggle free enough times for a 22-8 victory at Santa Ana Stadium. They did it with big plays--a kickoff return here, a fumble recovery there--and a small amount of perseverance.

As a result, the Lancers remained undefeated and alone on top of the Angelus League standings. But Coach Mark Paredes wasn’t exactly in a celebrating mood.

“We got our rear ends kicked all over the field,” he said. “But we made enough breaks and the defense took care of the rest.”

Servite (6-3, 1-2) outgained the Lancers, 261-88. The Friars took away Bishop Amat’s running game, something that had not happened all season, and gave up only two first downs in the second half.

But the Lancers (9-0, 3-0) showed why they are the third-ranked team in the Southern Section Division I by making the most of a bad situation. They found ways to score touchdowns.

The first came quickly, as Trevor Woods returned a kickoff 88 yards to give the Lancers a lead 12 seconds into the game. It put the Friars in a hole they could never climb out of.

“We got off fast, then tailed off,” Paredes said.

Servite’s defense was the cause.

The Friars manhandled running back Scott Fields, who has gained more than 1,000 yards on the season. He was limited to 34 in 19 carries Saturday.

“That’s the first team that has stopped me,” Fields said. “They just confused us.”

The Lancer offense made a token appearance when quarterback Mike Smith engineered a 51-yard drive in the second quarter. Smith threw for 50 of the yards, including a 21-yard touchdown pass to Art Cuellar.

But Smith was knocked out of the game with an elbow injury in the third quarter, and the Lancer offense went with him.

It was left up to the defense to pick up the slack, which it did. The Lancers forced three turnovers, two on interceptions by Miregi Huma.

Huma also saved a touchdown when he ran across the field to deflect a pass from a wide-open Julian Jones. Two plays later, he stepped in front of Jones for his second interception.

The Lancers also sacked quarterback Josh Nelson six times, Willhans Ili and Tyrone Chamois getting two each.

The defense also contributed a touchdown, when Scott Eastman scooped up an Elphamous Malbrue fumble and ran 47 yards.

Servite was unable to match the Lancers’ big plays. Their only score came on a one-yard run by Ken Mousseau with two minutes left.