The last time Bulla Graft set foot on the infield of Southwestern College’s DeVore Stadium, he was wearing a Park View Little League uniform and the subject of adoration of 10,000 fans during a welcome home ceremony for the Little League World Series champion Blue Bombers.
That was in 2009.
Fast forward five years and Graft is still a fan favorite — and big league champion.
The 5-foot-8 senior from The Bishop’s School scored the game-winning touchdown in the top-seeded Knights’ 19-16 overtime victory against the second-seeded Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders to add an exclamation point to last Friday’s San Diego Section Division IV championship game at SWC — as well as a perfect 13-0 season for Bishop’s.
“When I crossed the goal line, I kept looking to see if the referee was going to signal a touchdown,” said Graft, one of six South County players on the Division IV championship team. “When he finally did, I went nuts. It was an amazing feeling.”
Graft, the 2014 Coastal League Player of the Year, was the shining knight for Bishop’s this season with 40 touchdowns to lead the team. He rushed for 105 net yards on 20 carries in the championship game, averaging 5.2 yards per rush.
The last carry — and most important one of the season — was reserved for him.
“I told the coach if we got to the two- or three-yard line to give me the ball because I knew nothing could stop me from scoring,” said Graft, who also made one interception and eight tackles on defense.
The Knights’ South Bay players produced on the big stage. Freshman receiver Mozes Mooney caught two clutch fourth quarter touchdowns to erase a 10-0 Mater Dei Catholic lead, finishing with 109 yards on nine receptions, while sophomore tight end/middle linebacker Justin Woodley had two receptions for 30 yards, including one 23-yard catch-and-carry, as well as seven tackles.
Graft was thankful for his teammates helping him get another championship ring.
“We’d been in the playoffs three years before this but never made it here until now,” Graft said. “It’s amazing what the college did to this stadium. It’s an amazing field, and it was amazing to play on it. To win this my senior year and go 13-0 is an indescribable feeling. I’ve got two rings now.”
Bishop’s head coach Joel Allen said all the pieces fell into place this season.
“Bulla, of course, has always been a big part of our team,” Allen explained. “His football IQ is incredibly high and has a good feel for the game. He plays as large as he can. He has a huge heart and plays with his natural gifts.
“He adds a ton, but we now have more pieces to the puzzle than we did in previous years, and we’re a much more balanced team. Bulla adds that spark for us.”
The story of the opening three quarters of the game was the Crusader defense, however. Mater Dei Catholic (7-6) had done what no other team had been able to accomplish this season against Bishop’s: hold the Knights scoreless through a half and put them at a disadvantage on the scoreboard.
MDC sophomore quarterback Chris Jones surprised everyone in the stadium by scoring on a 68-yard touchdown run on the Crusaders’ first play of the game. Jones called his own number and went right up the middle, scoring untouched into the end zone.
The game settled into a defensive battle thereafter, though Mater Dei Catholic was able to spring another big play in the second quarter as Quentin Frazier hauled in a 43-yard bomb from Jones.
Frazier landed at the Bishop’s six-yard line, but the Crusaders couldn’t get a first down, which resulted in a 29-yard field goal by Alex Golembiewski.
That was good enough for a 10-0 MDC lead at halftime.
The Knights took the field rejuvenated for the second half, and were able to steadily gain the upper hand.
“We came out flat in the first half,” Graft said. “At halftime, we came out fired up and played better, especially on offense.”
Bishop’s scored its first touchdown with 7:30 to play in the fourth quarter on a 17-yard catch by Mooney. The extra-point attempt was wide, leaving the Crusaders with a 10-6 lead.
Interceptions by the Crusaders’ Frazier and Kyle Moses, as well as a fumble recovery by Roberto Marcos, kept Bishop’s at bay. But the Knights finally got the ball back at their own 15-yard line with 2:56 left in regulation and promptly zipped down the field.
Bishop’s quarterback Griffin Seaman capped the 85-yard scoring drive on a 24-yard TD pass to Mooney, who carried defenders into the end zone.
The successful extra point conversion by Chris Alleyne put Bishop’s ahead 13-10 with only 47 seconds remaining in the game.
With their season seemingly fading into oblivion, the Crusaders mounted their best offensive drive of the game, advancing to the Bishop’s five-yard line in a meteoric 43 seconds.
A penalty on Graft for a late hit on defense — a thunderous helmet to chin hit on MDC’s Conner Finnestad that sent shockwaves throughout DeVore Stadium — was a pivotal play in keeping the drive alive.
Jones just missed hitting C.J. Verdell for a potential game-winning touchdown with 3.7 seconds to play. Already in field goal range, Golembiewski booted a perfect 22-yard kick through the uprights to tie the game as time expired.
The game went to the college-rules tiebreaker, with each team having an opportunity to possess the ball from the 25-yard line.
The Bishop’s defense rose to the occasion, forcing Mater Dei Catholic to opt for a 35-yard field goal on fourth down. That put the Crusaders back on top 16-13.
But Mater Dei Catholic could not stop the determined Knights, who quickly ravaged their way to the Crusader one-yard line.
Graft got the call and, though it appeared the MDCHS defense had him corralled outside the goal line, the officials ruled that the ball had crossed the plane.
Celebrations ensued for victorious Bishop’s, while the Crusaders slowly began to pick themselves up off the field. It wasn’t the ending that MDC head coach John Joyner had hoped for, but he remained proud of his team in defeat.
“I’m proud, for sure,” he said. “I’m proud of our whole effort, especially on defense. The guys didn’t quit. I’m proud of everybody.
“I thought we could move the ball a little better in the second half, but we didn’t,” Joyner conceded. “That’s a tough team we played. We didn’t execute as well, that’s it.”
“It was a very hard-fought game,” Finnestad said. “They executed better than we did in the second half. They deserved to win.”
When all was said and done, fate simply had one last home run reserved for Graft.
Stat attack
Bishop’s recorded 19 first downs to 13 for Mater Dei Catholic. The Crusaders rushed 30 times for 170 net yards while the Knights rushed 32 times for 158 net yards. Bishop’s owned the edge in the passing department with 194 to 127 net yards.
Bishop’s out-gained DC 352-297 in total offensive yards. The Crusaders, however, owned a significant edge of time of possession — 48:14 to 29:46. MDC was just two-for-12 on third-down conversions.
Jones rushed nine times for 96 net yards while Verdell rushed 18 times for 65 net yards. Luis Victoria carried the ball three times for nine yards.
Frazier had four catches for 70 yards, Verdell had four catches for 18 yards. Michael Pimentel had two catches for 19 yards and Finnestad had one catch for seven yards.
Moses led MDC with eight tackles while Finnestad had six.
