SACRAMENTO — After a 380-mile road trip, Qu’ran Gossett made sure to get the most out of every step that followed.
The senior back rushed for 181 yards and five touchdowns on just nine carries to lead Bishop Diego High School to a 61-20 football victory at Capital Christian on Friday.
“Clearly, he had a dynamite game,” Bishop coach Tom Crawford said. “One of those touchdowns was a highlight reel.
“He made a lot of guys miss tonight, but there was that one long run where I think he made everybody miss twice.”
Gossett had rushed for 128 yards and two TDs in only five carries in last week’s 41-9, season-opening win over Righetti. He’s now averaging more than 22 yards per touch.
Bishop (2-0), ranked 55th in the state by Cal Preps, rushed for 297 yards on 27 attempts as a team and finished with 357 yards total offense.
“That was nice, to come a long way and get the kids that experience and actually show up and win a game,” Crawford said. “Again, the offensive line performed very well for the most part.
“I think we set a physical tone with them pretty darned early.”
Gossett needed less than four minutes to score his first touchdown on a nine-yard run.
Capital’s Kanye Clark returned the ensuing kickoff 55 yards to Bishop’s 33-yard line. He tied the score less than three minutes later on a three-yard run with 5:17 to go in the first period.
But Gossett put the Cardinals ahead for good on a dazzling cut-back run for a 43-yard touchdown with 2:06 still left in the first quarter.
Senior Bryan Trejo improved Bishop’s lead to 21-7 just two minutes later when Capital (0-2) failed to down a punt which had traveled just 10 yards. He alertly picked up the ball and ran 35 yards down the right sideline for the score.
“It was a real heads-up play,” Crawford said. “Naturally, we’re all yelling, ‘Get away from the ball!’ — but Bryan realized that when it took that back-spin bounce, nobody was there to down it and nobody was in front of him.
“It was one of the oddest plays I’ve seen in a very long time, just the bounce of the ball. It was near the sidelines so not too many kids on the Capital punt team knew where the ball had gone. They were headed down the field searching for it.”
The Cardinals added a defensive touchdown when junior Misa Paiau forced a fumble after a short pass play and senior Roy Luvu returned it 24 yards to the end zone for a 28-7 lead.
“The turning point were those two quick scores with the punt return by Trejo off the bad kick and the fumble return,” Crawford said. “The game was still close at that point, then those two quick scores took the air out of them a little bit.”
Paiau added to the Cougars’ woes when he switched to Bishop’s offensive backfield later in the period. His 39-yard run to the Capital one-yard line set up Gossett’s third TD with 9:29 still left in the first half. He finished with 68 total yards of rushing.
Quarterback A.J. Vele made the most of his passing attempts, completing 7-of-11 for 60 yards.
“It’s a little unfair to him, the way the games have unfolded in terms of both the score and the dynamics limiting how much we want to throw and how much we can throw,” Crawford said. “A.J. is going to have to have some big games for us as we move along, and certainly as we get to league.
“He’s a strong, physical kid, and he’s getting better every week in practice.”
The Cougars trimmed Bishop’s lead to 35-14 on Jayden Nolen’s 24-yard touchdown reception with 7:19 to go in the second quarter.
But senior Isaac Burquez answered for the Cardinals with a 12-yard TD run to boost their lead to 41-14 by halftime.
Burquez had a big night on defense, as well, with eight tackles in the first half alone.
“He’d been coming off an injury which slowed down his ability to fully participate in summer,” Crawford said. “He’s going to get sharper and sharper as we go along here and he gets more reps.
“He’s such a smart player in terms of understanding what’s going on around him. He’s also been a nice addition in the offensive backfield, complementing Qu’ran and Misa.”
Su’e Luamanu added six tackles — three for a loss which included a sack. Henri Benoit had four stops.
“Su’e was clearly an anchor to our defensive line last year and this was going to be a good test for him because they have really good size,” Crawford said. “They have a couple of real impressive guys on their offensive line, so he was matched up most plays with one of their solid offensive linemen.
“I thought he had an excellent game and, honestly, got better as the game wore on. We’re counting on him big-time because he is such a dynamic player.”
Gossett scored his fourth TD on an 11-yard run up the middle in just the third minute of the second half to extend Bishop’s lead to 48-14.
He saved his best touchdown run for last, however, when he broke numerous tackles on a 64-yard play with 3:05 left in the third quarter for a 55-14 lead.
“Everybody in the stands and on the sidelines had their mouths open, just going, ‘Oh my goodness!’” Crawford said.
The Cougars scored on the next play with an 81-yard TD pass and then held the Cardinals on downs. But Gossett turned a bobbled punt snap into another big run of 31 yards. It set up a three-yard TD run by sophomore Isaiah Kitt to complete Bishop’s victory.
“He had a special night even when he made a mistake, dropping the punt,” Crawford said. “He turns that into a first down, as well.”
Bishop will return home to play Garces of Bakersfield (1-1) on Friday at SBCC’s La Playa Stadium. Garces routed Paraclete 41-7 on Friday after losing to Los Alamitos in its season opener.
“They played Los Al in their first game, and you’re looking at a team that’s ranked in the top five by the L.A. Times, at least,” Crawford said. “I think they’re very solid and well-coached. Weve just got to keep getting better.”