Tre Evans and the Saints stood tall down the stretch against Bonita
(San Dimas)- “Sometimes its better to be lucky than good,” said San Dimas coach Bill Zernickow after the Saints 21-13 victory over Bonita on Friday night.
The annual battle for the Smudge Pot may have been blessed by a few breaks (fortune does often favor the foolish), but it was a series of adjustments and grit that allowed SD to claim the coveted symbol of its rivalry with the Bearcats for the third straight season.
Bonita opened early with a 76-yard strike from Garrett Pendleton to Casey Horine.
By the end of the first quarter the Saints climbed back into a 7-7 tie on Ryan Kohler’s 11-yard run, but they would still trail 13-7 (after a bad snap on the point after) at the break when Evan Highley scored on an eight-yard run.
Alternating with Pendleton at quarterback, Highley engineered much of the 11-play 80-yard drive out of the Wildcat (Shotgun) formation. The Bearcats were dominating in the trenches, opening running lanes for themselves, and closing down the SD attack.
“We don’t have a senior on our offensive line,” said Zernickow. “It took a while to get them going in the game. I have to give credit to our defensive coordinator Brian Mustain who did a great job adjusting. We have a lot of guys who play both offense and defense for us.”
Those adjustments resulted in Bonita’s six second half possessions ending twice by punt, once by pick (SD’s Jordan Taylor), once by fumble (SD’s Jordan Taylor), and twice by turning the ball over on downs.
The first turnover on downs gave San Dimas the ball at its own 35 with 1:13 to play in the third.
On a second and nine, quarterback Shawn Kennedy went over the top to tight end Justin Winrow. The senior bobbled the ball into the air then hauled it the next 61-yards to the Bearcats four. An eye blink later Kohler scored his second touchdown and Dillon Corona added the go ahead extra point.
Down by a point as time ebbed away in the fourth quarter Bonita had an errant snap give the Saints the ball at its own 13 with 3:37 to play.
Three plays later Kohler hit paydirt on a three-yard run and it was 21-13 game.
“We just executed,” said Kohler (21-96-yards 3 Tds). “Our offensive line did a great job. We played hard, the best we could, we did what we had to do. It’s phenomenal.”
A 48-yard connection from Highley to Robert Moss put the Bearcats in business at the San Dimas 24 on the following possession.
The deal was closed though on four consecutive incomplete passes, including illegal touching by an offensive lineman, as Highley was being sacked, gave the ball and the victory to San Dimas.
“This is huge for our program,” said Zernickow. “To have three (Smudge Pot wins) is an awesome feeling.”
All hands reach for the Smudge
The San Dimas faithful race to celebrate the Saint victory
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