Dylan Flores provided the dagger for Bonita
By Tim Peterson
They were done, cooked, toast. It wasn’t a matter of if they fall but when. Bonita had as much of a chance of winning this game as I did of being named the starting middle linebacker for the Green Bay Packers.
Monrovia was up by four, 30-26, and Bonita was faced with a fourth down and 12 at the Monrovia 17 with less than two minutes remaining. The Bearcats had already converted a fourth and 17 three plays earlier when a pass play only covered 11 yards but Monrovia was hit with a controversial personal foul penalty to keep the drive alive.
So now they’re faced with another fourth down…a live or die fourth down. Who will the Bearcats go to? Maybe Darren Ireland who had caught six passes for 60 yards? Or maybe B.J. McLaurin, who had already rushed for 120 yards, would catch one out of the backfield and work his magic.
No, instead Tanner East faded pack and heaved one high and deep into the right corner of the end zone. The ball appeared to be heading out of bounds. Neither the Bonita receiver or the Monrovia DB was going to get this one. It looked like it was game over. Wildcats survive.
But instead number 15, wearing Bonita white, leaped out of the sky, pulled it in and came down with the ball. Was he in? Out? Did he hold on to the ball? From my vantage point on the far sideline I had no idea. Then after a slight hesitation the official threw his arms in the sky. Touchdown Bearcats!
A stunned Monrovia crowd sat motionless. Who’s number 15? That’s what I wanted to know. A quick glance at my stat sheet showed that he hadn’t caught a pass all night. “Was that 15?” I asked a Bonita stat guy. He assured me it was.
“But he didn’t catch a pass all night! That’s his first one!”
“Yeah, I know,” he replied, the smile never leaving his face.
Number 15 is Josh Peifer, a senior, listed as a tight end and a outside linebacker. No catches on the night until that one…but what a huge one it was. The biggest play of the night, and no doubt the greatest of his prep career.
But still it wasn’t over. Monrovia, now down three had the ball at their own 34 after the kickoff. With guys like Asaph Zamora, Aubrey Mosley and Canaan Chandler, there was still a chance.
On the next play it was over. Definitively, authoritatively, decisively over. Dylan Flores, a junior, stepped in front of a Zamora pass on the near sideline and raced 35 yards for a touchdown. The clock read 1:26. As NBA announcers like to frequently say “Dagger!”
Dagger, arrow, spike, whatever you want to call it, it was driven right though the heart of Monrovia. It’s early in the season. The Wildcats will bounce back and hopefully won’t remember this. But for Bonita, and especially Josh Peifer and Dylan Flores, it was an unforgettable night.
That’s my principle.
Tim can be reached at www.midvalleysports.com or Twitter @tspeterson40.
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