PREP FOOTBALL : Mistakes Make It Easy for Bishop Amat

Mistakes against good teams are costly enough. But a mistake against La Puente Bishop Amat High this year is the equivalent of football suicide.

Bishop Amat, ranked No. 1 by The Times, took advantage of five turnovers to defeat seventh-ranked Loyola, 20-7, Saturday night before an estimated crowd of 10,000 at Glendale High.

Bishop Amat running back Daylon McCutcheon, who rushed for only 39 first-half yards, picked up 147 in the second half, including a 68-yard touchdown run, helping the Lancers improve to 8-0 overall and 3-0 in Del Rey League play. The Cubs fell to 5-2 and 1-2.

“I was frustrated early,” said McCutcheon, who finished with 186 yards in 17 carries, including another 68-yard run to set up a fourth-quarter field goal. “Our coaches kept telling me to settle for the five-yard gains and the big ones would come--and that’s what happened.”

Loyola Coach Steve Grady had reason to be frustrated. Nearly every promising drive was thwarted by turnovers.

Bishop Amat’s Ralph Brown was a particular thorn. The junior cornerback intercepted three of Loyola quarterback Kyle Spielbuehler’s passes, including one at the Lancers’ 15-yard line with 7:45 remaining and the Cubs trailing, 17-7.

“The turnovers caught up with us,” Grady said. “Without the turnovers and those two big runs, we played them even.”

“They’re by far the toughest defensive team we’ve played this year,” Bishop Amat Coach Tom Salter said. “It was a great one for us to win.”

The Lancers took a 7-0 first-quarter lead when quarterback James Free hooked up with Mark Verti on a 58-yard pass play.

After McCutcheon’s 68-yard third-quarter burst put Bishop Amat ahead, 17-0, Loyola scored its only points on a 17-yard pass from Spielbuehler to Dan Farmer.

The Cubs committed four first-half turnovers, the most costly being a fumble by Mike Vanis that was recovered by Bishop Amat’s Booker Bell in the end zone for a touchback with 4:30 remaining in the half.