Archbishop Riordan lost a lot of high-level talent to graduation, including the explosive Mike Mitchell Jr.-to-Cynai Thomas aerial attack. The Crusaders went just 1-2 in the preseason, including a humbling 31-0 loss at Cardinal Newman. But that hasn’t stopped Riordan from opening the WCAL campaign in impressive fashion, improving to 2-0 with a 21-14 win over previously undefeated St. Ignatius.
The defending WCAL champs built a 21-7 lead and held on thanks to a defense that came up with three interceptions. The Wildcats pulled to within 21-14 late in the game on a 35-yard touchdown pass from sophomore Isaac Liu to junior Davion Moffett, but the Crusaders survived a last-second Hail Mary pass that was nearly converted.
Riordan built the lead on a pair of short touchdown runs by senior Heneli Ahovelo and a touchdown pass from senior Jayden Crane to freshman Jeffrey Palega. The Crusaders (3-2, 2-0) will host Sacred Heart Cathedral (3-2, 1-1), a 35-7 winner over Saint Francis. St. Ignatius (4-1, 1-1) hosts Saint Francis Friday.
It was the first win for the Irish over the Lancers in nearly two decades. Michael Vasquez connected with Chase Jenkins on a 93-yard touchdown pass and a 43-yarder to Jared Camara. Saint Francis fell to 1-4, 0-2 in the WCAL.
Serra looks like the clear favorite in the WCAL following another one-sided win, 50-19 over Valley Christian.
In other WCAL action, Bellarmine broke a 16-game league losing streak with a 10-7 win over Mitty. Jackson Catalano kicked a 22-yard field goal with 7:35 left in the game to complete the comeback for the Bells, who trailed 7-0 at halftime. Luke Thomas threw a touchdown pass to Justin Donahue on a fourth-and-goal play from the 2 to make it 7-7 in the third quarter. Mitty scored in the second quarter on 46-yard touchdown run by Alex Hopwood.
Bellarmine (4-1, 1-1) visits Valley Christian next Saturday while Mitty (2-3, 0-2) travels to Serra Saturday afternoon.
