Lessons learned in Bell-Jeff loss

MEMORIAL FIELD — Bellarmine- Jefferson High football Coach Rolando Aguirre found out some things about his team Saturday night.

He found out that his offense goes nowhere without starting quarterback Philip Diaz, who had to be taken to the hospital after suffering an injury early in the Guards’ nonleague contest with Frazier Mountain.

And it didn’t help matters when running back Alex Davidians injured his ankle, turning him into a non-factor.

“I lost my starting quarterback and my starting running back, so we had to change the game plan,” said Aguirre, after a 52-14 loss at Memorial Field. “I had to do things that I normally wouldn’t do.”

Changing the game plan proved ineffective, as the Guards (2-2) managed to gain just 39 yards of total offense in the first half. With backup quarterback Brenden Alferez taking the snaps, Aguirre knew he had no choice but to run the ball.

“We were just trying to run the ball, suck up the clock and finish the game,” Aguirre said. “We weren’t trying to win the game.”

The Guards finished with 145 yards of total offense, a far cry from last week when Diaz threw for 355 yards on his own.

Aguirre also found out that his defense couldn’t do much to contain quarterback Mike Morgan and the Falcons (3-0) who, unlike the Guards, had success moving the ball downfield.

Morgan threw four touchdown passes, three to Jake Gale. Gale finished had 115 receiving yards.

Most of all, though, Aguirre learned something valuable that he’s sure to keep in mind as the season progresses.

“We found out who manned up and who didn’t,” he said.

The Guards committed costly penalties and gave up two points on a safety on their first possession of the game following a botched punt that was recovered in their own end zone.

It didn’t get any easier for the Guards after that point.

On the ensuing possession, Robert Burns scored a touchdown from three yards out on a drive that started on the Bell-Jeff 25-yard line.

With the score, 11-0, after the Falcons caused another safety, Morgan found Gale in stride for a 26-yard touchdown pass.

Less than two minutes later, Morgan and Max Arteaga hooked up for the 40-yard game-sealing touchdown.

Morgan continues his solid season in leading a high-powered offense, as he has thrown nine touchdown passes.

Bell-Jeff running back Abdo Hajj gave the Guards their first points of the night in the third quarter, scoring from 34 yards out.

Haij was one bright spot of the Guards’ offense, gaining 56 yards in eight carries.

Micah Shirley scored the other touchdown with 6:22 remaining in the final quarter.

After the game, Davidians said his injury isn’t serious, and he hopes to play next week.

“When I got hit, I fell down and rolled my ankle,” the Guards’ leading rusher said. “I sat for about a quarter, but I came back [I] should be able to play next week.”

More importantly, however, the status of Diaz is not as certain for Saturday’s home game against Crean Lutheran South.