Bishop’s falls to University City in Division III football semifinals

The visiting Bishop’s School of La Jolla rallied late but fell just short as the top-seeded University City Centurions came up with a bit of late magic to down the fourth-seeded Knights, 24-20, in the CIF San Diego Section Division III football semifinals Nov. 18.

University City (10-2), which lost to Patrick Henry in last year’s Division IV final, will face No. 2-seeded Point Loma on Friday, Nov. 25, in hopes of winning the school’s first section title.

Bishop’s, which finished the season 9-3, was trailing the Centurions, 17-13, midway through the final quarter of the semifinal when the Knights drove 80 yards in six plays for their first lead of the game as senior quarterback William Fierro found a wide-open Jaden Moore in the corner of the end zone for a 31-yard touchdown.

Trailing 20-17, Centurions freshman Quentyn Demara was at the helm at quarterback with starter Samuel Cooper moving to receiver. After three completions in four plays, University City quickly had a first down inside the Bishop’s 30 yard line with the clock winding down.

But the drive seemed to stall. A short gain, an incompletion and a sack had Demara facing fourth-and-12 at the 31 with 1:29 to play.

On the snap, Demara rolled right but couldn’t find anybody open. Holding the ball to the last possible moment, he released it as he was going toward the sideline. Sophomore Dreyden Garner outjumped a pair of defenders to grab the pass and fell into the end zone for the winning score with 1:16 remaining.

“It definitely feels like we pulled the rabbit out of our back pocket,” said University City coach Paul Lawrence. “Sure, we practice all the time for things like this and I knew we had a shot, but that was some play. I guess we deserved a bit of luck.”

Bishop’s coach Shane Walton could not immediately be reached for comment.

— La Jolla Light staff contributed to this report. ◆