LJ FB 41, Bishop's 19 - Week #1

 

Vikings players and coaches exult on the field

after taking back the so-called "Pearl St."

trophy in downing Bishop's, 41-19,

Fri., Aug. 18.

(Photos by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

After stretching out to a dominating 27-0 first-half lead behind the passing and running of senior quarterback Jackson Diehl--dishing to the receiver crew of younger brother Carson, Aidan "Carolina" McGill, and Kai Fukuda--the La Jolla Vikings absorbed some punches from cross-town rival Bishop's before finally taking home the Pearl Street trophy, signifying a victory in the seaside battle, 41-19, Fri., Aug. 18.

On the first night of the 2023 season, as cash donations for recent victims of the wildfires in Maui were solicited, new Knights QB Cash Herrera, a sophomore, and 5'5" runner/receiver Ruben Gutierrez III refused to lay down and take the drubbing. Momentum began to shift early in the fourth quarter when "Guti" plunged over for a touchdown, Bishop's down only 34-19 and everybody waking up to the fact the game was in doubt.

But the elder Diehl, a returner after a fine junior year, plunged a dagger into Knight hopes with his second long TD scamper, and third in total, for 55 yards--which came on top of his 57-yard keeper in the third stanza. That closed the deal, as La Jolla got the ball back and went into victory formation at the finale.

In all, Jackson Diehl, with his legs and right arm, accounted for all six Viking touchdowns on the warm late-summer evening. It was a night to remember, and La Jolla High students, who have yet to attend class till Mon., Aug. 21, were delirious in appreciation.

Knights' receiver Tom Lowe (23, far right) is in

motion as QB Cash Herrera (behind Lowe)

calls out the cadence. The soph Herrera's

throw to Lowe was incomplete on the

ensuing play near the end of the

first quarter.