(La Verne)- Bonita ran off 24 consecutive second quarter points to take a 41-20 decision from San Dimas Friday night in the schools annual battle for “The Smudge Pot”.
“My team needed to know they are not CIF champions anymore,” said Saints HC Bill Zernickow.
SD looked like defending champs when Dillon Corona picked off his second pass of the game late in the first quarter to thwart a Bonita drive.
Starting from their own 44 the Saints advanced 20-yards on a pass from Codee Watts to Jordan Taylor. Two plays later Watts went 36-yards to Kevin Kolbeck as the talented receiver made the first of several excellent catches on the night.
Angel Gonzales went in from 2-yards out, Corona added the point after, and it was 7-0 San Dimas.
Two years before the Saints out-quicked the Bearcats. Last year they outlasted them, in 2010 they would do neither.
After a field goal made it 7-3, Bonita’s Zach Brungard intercepted a Watts pass and returned it to the SD 39.
Five plays later Giomani Johnson blasted through the gut of the defense on a 10-yard scoring run.
On San Dimas’ next possession they quickly found themselves in a third and 14 situation from their own 16.
The Saints attempt at a screen was read by Cody McKenzie. The defensive lineman intercepted the Watts pass and returned it for the touchdown.
“I’m an old lineman,” said Bonita HC Eric Podley. “I was happy for him. I’ve got a staff of old fat linemen who were all happy for him.
San Dimas’ offensive attack wilted even more when three plays into its next series Dominic Jollevet fumbled after a 6-yard run and the Bearcats recovered.
Moments later Greg Spathias went 9-yards to Casey Horine and the rout was on.
By the time the fourth quarter started the score was 27-7 in favor of Bonita and the Saints were sputtering.
Partly because of the turnovers, partly because of a rash of penalties for delay of game, illegal substitutions, motion, and false starts…and the Bearcats defense.
Along the front line Justin Serrano, Tarez Lemmons, and Daniel Harriman were putting the squeeze to the SD ground game forcing them to go the air.
With 9:20 to play Watts found Kolbeck in the back of the end zone for a 21-yard score. (Kolbeck doing a great job of getting both feet in bounds.)
Horine answered the score with a 56-yard touchdown run out of the Wildcat formation less than a minute later.
SD ground out another drive and Kolbeck again capped it with 2-yard scoring pass from Watts.
Horine blocked the extra point.
…And Brungard closed the scoring by running 47-yards on a shift formation with the entire Bonita offense lined up to the right.
“We had an inkling about two weeks ago this was coming,” said Zernickow. “We just weren’t ready.”
The victory was the Bearcats first over the Saints since 2006.
Spathias, playing for the injured Garrett Pendleton, went 15 of 20 for 132-yards, a touchdown, and three picks.
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