SHERMAN OAKS >> Notre Dame made a strong first impression in the Mission League by rallying from a tie score at halftime to beat Bishop Amat, 28-21, on Friday night at Notre Dame.

“We’re becoming even more of a family,” quarterback Steele Pizzella said. “I think we just fought through. It was a roller coaster of a game and I’m really happy that we all stayed in it together.”

Pizzella’s quick feet secured the game-winning touchdown when he rushed 3 yards into the end zone. A long pass to Luc Weaver and a face- mask penalty against Bishop Amat (2-4, 0-1) set up the Knights (4-2 overall, 1-0 Mission League) for the scoring play.

Notre Dame’s offense shined with more than Pizzella’s running. The quarterback’s quick release passing was complemented by his receivers’ abilities to find open spaces and fight for contested catches.

“They have developed to the point where we’re always on the same page when we need to be and we can get on the same page if we’re not,” Pizzella said.

The Knights scored twice in the opening quarter when Tre Fernandez sprinted more than 80 yards to score on the opening kickoff, and Pizzella fired a 10-yard TD pass to Elliot Cooper.

All three players were part of Notre Dame’s 4x100 relay team that placed fourth at the CIF State meet in the most recent track and field season.

Bishop Amat resorted to its rushing attack, and running back Ryan Salcedo scored twice before halftime to even the score. He scored from 2 yards out with 1:10 left in the first quarter and with 1:02 left to tie the score 14-14.

Amat quarterback Frankie Villalbazo launched long passes but the Lancers couldn’t get the chunk plays for which they were looking. However, Amat went to a uptempo offense and Villalbazo used his legs effectively for a 5-yard run on fourth down to set up the tying touchdown.

“We had to go in at halftime and make sure that we were preparing for those tricky formations,” coach Evan Yabu said. “In the long run, they kept us guessing with the way they lined up the entire night and they gave us a healthy dose of run concepts to challenge our guys.”

The Knights defense adjusted at halftime to slow Salcedo and the run game while also increasing pressure with the pass rush. Jacob Diamond sacked Villalbazo for a loss of 2 yards, then Caden Sliwoski knocked the ball loose on the following play. Max Martin-Beckmann recovered the fumble.