Notre Dame Shuts Out Bishop Montgomery, 21-0

Joey Orlando’s two interceptions both ended up in an end zone Friday night. And it was the one he caught in his own end zone that had his Notre Dame teammates cheering the loudest.

That interception, which came with less than two minutes to play, sealed the fourth shutout of the year for Notre Dame, which beat Bishop Montgomery, 21-0, in a Mission League game at Notre Dame.

“Every week a shutout is our goal,” said Orlando, whose other interception was returned 48 yards for a touchdown. “We were really down after giving up six points last week.”

Those six points St. Francis scored are the only points Notre Dame has allowed in the past five games.

The defensive success is one of the reasons Notre Dame has rebounded from a 1-3 start to its current mark of 6-3. With a 4-0 league record, the Knights are set to play Chaminade next week for the championship.

Notre Dame’s defense will be tested in that game, because the Eagles boast one of the most potent offenses in the area.

But the Knights, who held Bishop Montgomery (2-5-2, 0-4) to 193 yards, think they are ready.

“Our defense is playing great,” Orlando said. “We’re stopping the run. We’re stopping the pass. Things couldn’t be going better.”

Offensively, Notre Dame struggled early. A fumble of the opening kickoff gave the Knights the ball at the Bishop Montgomery 16, but they couldn’t score.

Notre Dame later mounted drives to the Bishop Montgomery five and 19, but both ended without the Knights scoring.

Notre Dame finally got on the scoreboard when Orlando stepped in front of a pass by Dave Powers and raced into the end zone, giving the Knights the 7-0 lead they would take to the locker room.

Notre Dame’s offense picked up steam in the second half, largely because of Jon Velasquez, who gained 114 yards in 17 carries and scored on a pair of three-yard runs in the second half, boosting the Knights’ lead to 21-0.

Notre Dame’s Jabbar Craigwell completed seven of 12 passes for 113 yards.

Once they had a safe lead, the Knights focused on the quest for another shutout.

Bishop Montgomery drove as close as the Notre Dame 15. On a fourth-and-16 play from the 21, Orlando took the ball out of a receiver’s hands in the end zone to end Bishop Montgomery’s hopes for a score.