The injury-depleted Bishop’s School football team succumbed to a rapidly rising Santa Fe Christian High squad 56-13 under the lights at La Jolla High School Oct. 14. “I don’t want to make an excuse. Santa Fe played well,” Bishop’s head coach Joel Allen said. “I don’t think we coached it the best, starting with me. Yeah, we missed some guys but good teams find a way around that.” The Knights (4-2) entered the matchup against the undefeated Eagles without starting senior quarterback Joey Moreno, who was at the top of the list of injured players on the roster. But the Bishop’s players and staff refused to use injuries as an excuse for a poor performance by its vaunted program. “We’ve got to come out here with the guys we have. Everybody’s got to execute and play disciplined,” said sophomore Michael Hinkley, who served as Moreno’s replacement as quarterback. “We’ve got to get the job done. Tonight we did not.” SFC (6-0), which cracked the county’s top-10 list in the most recent edition of Spotlight Sports Magazine, used a relentless running attack and a stifling defense to quickly shoot out to a 42-0 first-half lead over the Knights. In particular, Eagles’ running back Jarrod Watson-Lewis was dominant. The senior scored four touchdowns in all and accounted for 160 of his team’s 431 yards on the ground. Most importantly, the shifty-yet-powerful runner was able to come up with big runs in key situations time and time again. “We didn’t tackle him. We missed tackles, we missed assignments and if he’s open, the guy gets it and takes it to the house,” Allen said of Watson-Lewis’ performance. The Eagles came in gunning for a Bishop’s squad that’s coming off a prestigious state championship last year. The added motivation was apparent in SFC’s will to keep pouring on points throughout the first half. Sophomore running back Jake Seau ended the Knights’ first half on a positive note with an impressive 53-yard touchdown run. Bishop’s came out strong in the second half with a scoring drive that culminated in a two-yard run by Seau. One other positive note from the game was a chance for Hinkley to get some playing time as quarterback. The sophomore also serves as the team’s middle linebacker and tight end. He had previously played just one other varsity game as quarterback and some at the junior varsity level. “It was great to be in there and get some varsity action,” Hinkley said. “I try to help my team as much as I can and that’s all I can do.” Following the tough loss, Bishop’s will look to move on with a daunting schedule ahead. “As coaches, you move on. We’ve got to rev back up and find a way to get it done,” Allen said. “It starts in practice. We’ve got to change the focus in practice and get after it.” The Knights travel to Parker High Oct. 22 for a 1 p.m. start then return home to take on rival La Jolla Country Day on Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. Notes: After starting out 4-0 following 2010’s unbeaten season, the Knights have fallen to 4-2 with consecutive lopsided losses. Senior QB Moreno suffered a deep thigh bruise in a game against Bishop Union on Oct 7. Allen said Moreno could be back this weekend depending on how fast his injury heals.