Bishop Kelly High slipped into an early hole, but showed some promise in a 42-22 loss Saturday against a bigger, faster and fresher football team from Portland's Central Catholic.

BK fell behind 14-0 in the first 5 minutes at Nick Ysursa Field, cut the lead in half in the second quarter and trailed 28-15 after three quarters.

"We never really got down on ourselves and we stayed fired up. Honestly, it made us more fired up after they scored those two touchdowns," said Bishop Kelly senior running back Justice Mariscal, who led his team with 145 yards on the ground, including a 41-yard fourth-quarter touchdown run.

"It was big for us to come back a little like that," Mariscal said. "No matter how big they are or how good they are, we can play with teams like that."

Central Catholic, which plays in Oregon's largest division (6A), boasted a roster of 72 players who aren't asked to play both ways. Twelve players stand at least 6 feet, 3 inches tall.

BK, which plays in Idaho second-largest division (4A), lists 45 players on its roster, most of whom play offense and defense. Only two are 6-3 or taller.

Over time, the Rams wore down BK, but it wasn't Central Catholic's seemingly endless roster or size advantage that put the Knights in an early hole.

Mistakes doomed BK in the first quarter.

After the Knights' opening drive stalled at their own 31, Jake Wylie punted to the Rams' 37, where the ball glanced off the back of a BK player. Central Catholic punt returner Gerald Kaufman alertly scooped up the ball and found the middle of the field wide open for a 63-yard return for a TD.

"Our guys were supposed to be in the middle of the field, and I don't know where they were," BK coach Jack Parker said. "It's just frustrating."

The first-quarter frustration didn't end there.

BK's second drive stalled at its own 24 and the Knights were forced to punt. This time, the snap went high and Wylie covered the ball at the 11 for a 13-yard loss.

The Rams needed one play to go ahead 14-0 as quarterback Derek Bowen's pass found 6-foot-5 receiver Nate Carr in the corner of the end zone.

"Those are mental mistakes you can't have," Parker said. "Those are things we can fix. ... There were some positives we can take away."

BK played well for much of the final three quarters but couldn't stop Bowen, who distributed the ball to six different receivers and completed 13-of-19 passes for 176 yards and three TDs.

Among the positives for BK was Mariscal's rushing performance, sparked by BK's offensive line. Senior quarterback Cam Charles, who started his first game, completed 7-of-15 passes for 48 yards and a TD, and had eight carries for 30 yards and a TD.

Central Catholic coach Steve Pyne, who coached at Emmett in 1992-94, said his team made its share of mistakes, too, but was impressed with BK.

"It was a solid win against a very solid football team," Pyne said. "When I was back here coaching at Emmett, Bishop Kelly was the cream of the crop and they will be again."

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