Ventura, CA — St. Bonaventure High's underclass defensive starters are no longer overmatched. It doesn't hurt having upperclass leaders like Anthony Albanez Jr. around. Albanez's finishing tackle after an initial stand-up hit by Zayne McCulley on a two-point conversion attempt with 15 seconds remaining enabled St. Bonaventure to kick off defense of its Marmonte League title by defeating Bishop Diego 21-20 on homecoming night Friday at Ventura College . Delon Thompson rushed for 160 yards and two touchdowns for St. Bonaventure (3-3, 1-0). Anthony Wolter completed 9 of 13 passes for 90 yards. For the Seraphs, it was the rapidly improving defense, no longer looking like the one that surrendered 41 points in each of its first two games, that carried the day. Especially in the second half with four crucial stops. The biggest was saved for last. In the closing minutes, Bishop Diego (4-2, 0-1) drove relentlessly inside the St. Bonaventure red zone. With St. Bonaventure defenders holding on for dear life, running back Qu'Ran Gossett made one final thrust into the end zone to pull Bishop Diego within one point. Gossett was injured on the play and returned to the sidelines. Opting not to go for the extra-point kick to potentially send the game into overtime, Bishop Diego handed the ball to Misa K. Paiau. Paiau swept to the left side of the line and was stopped at the 1-yard line by Albanez after McCulley came up in the hole to take on Paiau head-on. "We were in man (coverage)," said Albanez. "I followed him all the way." Big plays from a freshman and a pair of sophomores helped pave the way for Albanez's big moment. "We had a lot of young guys," said Albanez. "They had a lot of stuff to work on and we had to get them the experience." Sophomore Drew Cofield's 75-yard interception return for a touchdown on the next-to-last play of the third quarter broke a 14-14 tie and gave St. Bonaventure its final points. "That was the biggest play of the game," said St. Bonaventure coach Joe Goyeneche. "Drew has a good feel for the game. The best players have a high IQ." Cofield had a feeling Bishop Diego quarterback A.J. Vele was trying to set up a big play at his expense. "I always thought that they were trying to bait me and throw it over the top of me," said Cofield. "I was ready for that moment." Undaunted, Vela drove Bishop Diego to the St. Bonaventure 10-yard line on Bishop Diego's next possession. On fourth down, Vela was sacked by freshman Jeremiah Barrios for a 10-yard loss. Barrios had shown his mettle against the run during St. Bonaventure's close loss to Lincoln. "He had seven tackles, including four tackles for losses," said Goyeneche. "We knew we had to get him onto the field more." Sophomore Koen Glover's blocked punt in the second quarter, recovered at the Bishop Diego 12, set up St. Bonaventure's second touchdown, a 2-yard run by Thompson. Thompson's 11-yard TD run capped St. Bonaventure's 11-play 80-yard drive on the game's opening possession. Carries of 14 and 36 yards by Thompson into the end zone were nullified by penalties. He leads the county in rushing and scoring. "From an offensive coordinator's perspective," said Goyeneche, "we always want to put points on the scoreboard. "But it is always good to see the defense help us out." Bishop Diego tied the game at 14-14 as Vela threw a 20-yard TD pass and scored on an 11-yard run. St. Bonaventure travels to Westlake in a league this Friday.