SAN JOSE – The Bellarmine offense rebounded from a difficult defeat at Valley Christian with 472 total yards to secure a 55-14 victory over visiting Riordan Friday night.
“Tonight, we played very well,” said Bellarmine senior quarterback Ike Ogbogu. “Our biggest goal was to come out fast. Usually we have been coming out very slow but today we came out on top.”
Bellarmine’s dominance started right from the beginning. In just its fifth offensive play, the Bells scored on a 47-yard touchdown run by senior Jackson Burrill.
Next, Ogbogu threw a 60-yard touchdown pass to Austin Ajiake. Ajiake then ran for a 45-yard touchdown with 3:19 left in the first quarter, finishing with 172 yards and three touchdowns on the night.
“Our offense was very explosive tonight,” said Bellarmine head coach Mike Janda.
Senior running back Brendan Manigo had four of the eight touchdowns for the Bells. Towards the end of the second quarter, Manigo had a five-yard touchdown.
“I feel like this is the best game I’ve ever had,” said Manigo, who rushed for 167 yards. “I feel like I used my speed and broke tackles.”
Riordan came in missing five key players, one of them being star athlete Joshua Boone, who plays quarterback and wide receiver.
Riordan had two quarterbacks on the night. Senior quarterback Xavier Caracter played most of the game, but freshmen Adham Abdelghani played as well. Overall, Abdelghani had 49 total yards and Caracter had 106 total yards.
Despite the two touchdowns, the Crusaders knew they could have done better.
“We knew Bellarmine had a storied program,” said Riordan head coach Kevin Fordon. “We knew they run the ball well. We didn’t tackle at all today, it was obvious. It was an ugly showing on our side of the ball. With the injuries, we lost some weapons but that is no excuse.”
