Bishop Montgomery Holds Off Santa Ana Valley

Alex Rodriguez kicked a 22-yard field goal with 7 minutes 52 seconds left in the third quarter to lift Bishop Montgomery to a 10-7 victory over Santa Ana Valley High on Saturday at the Santa Ana Bowl.

The Knight defense was able to slow Falcon running back Dwayne Cherrington, who rushed for 327 yards and four touchdowns last week against Dana Hills. Cherrington had 125 yards in 23 carries, but his fumble on the Falcon 27-yard line set up Rodriguez’s field goal.

Santa Ana Valley (3-2) also hurt itself with several key penalties. Cherrington led two impressive drives in the fourth quarter, but two clipping calls killed one and an interception of a pass by quarterback Tristan Lynch with 28 seconds to go ended the other.

Lynch completed only five of 14 passes for 53 yards and rushed for 25 yards.

On its first possession, the Falcons drove to the Knight six, but a penalty moved them back to the 12. Santa Ana Valley went for it on fourth down but failed to convert.

On Bishop Montgomery’s next possession, Alexander Maia blocked a punt. Two plays later, Brandon Wright caught an 18-yard touchdown pass to give the Falcons a 7-0 lead with 3:16 remaining in the first quarter.

Bishop Montgomery (1-4) tied the score, 7-7, with 11:16 left in the half, when quarterback Gary Thomas scored on a two-yard run.