Bishop McNamara holds of St Laurence

Bishop McNamara used the pass in the first half and the run in the second, to hold off a late St. Laurence rally and give it a 20-16 Catholic League White win at St. Laurence Friday night.

“The weather (on and off downpour rain) is something we both had to deal with and not let it affect us,’’ said Bishop McNamara quarterback Channing Dolliger. “But because of the rain, we didn’t pass on much as we would have liked in the second half and ran more.’’

The Fighting Irish (5-1, 3-0) used Dolliger’s arm in the first half, as he passed for 102 yards and two touchdowns in the first two quarters. His 68-yard pass to Ed Dorsey put the visitors up 7-0 with two minutes remaining in the opening frame.

The Vikings (2-4, 0-2) got their best field position of the first half with 8:36 remaining in the second quarter and cashed in, driving 50 yards in seven plays, tying the score at seven on a 14-yard pass from Alex Flisk to Andrew Javorka.

Dolliger’s second first half touchdown, this one a 17-yard pass to Ryan Lambert, with 36 seconds left in the half, gave the Irish a 14-7 lead going into the half.

The game looked won up until St. Laurence backed Bishop McNamara up at its own one-yard line with just over four minutes remaining. The result helped the Vikings gain a safety and get the ball back with 2:47 remaining in the game. But time ran out on the hosts as their drive stalled at the 6-yard line.

“It’s games like these and teams like St. Laurence that help us in the playoffs. We learn from this and try to become better,’’ Dolliger said.

Travis Grant, who rushed for 97 yards on 27 carries, scored the other touchdown for the visitors. Flisk (11 of 28, 204 yards, two touchdowns) threw his second touchdown to Javorka in the second half to complete the scoring.