Photos by Eric Podley
Football:
From the Bonita perspective, there couldn’t have been a better way to bounce back from a disappointing week-two loss at La Salle than to beat San Dimas in the annual Smudge Pot rivalry game.
Trailing by six points at the half, the Bearcats outscored the Saints, 14-0, in Saturday’s 21-13 victory at Citrus College.
Connor Spina carried the ball 11 times for 69 yards and he accounted for each of Bonita’s three TD’s.
Spina scored on runs of 4, 26 and 1 yard.
The Bearcats workhorse, Noah Mikhail, also had a monster game.
Mikhail gained 135 yards on 14 carries, which was nearly double that of San Dimas’ leading rusher (Brian Freeland).
Bonita coach and four-time CIF-SS champion, Steve Bogan, is now 4-0 in head-to-head matchups with his San Dimas counterpart, Mark Holman.
The Bearcats took a 7-0 lead, as Spina scored on a 4-yard run in the first quarter.
San Dimas would recapture the momentum in the second period.
Brian Freeland got the Saints even on a 2-yard TD run.
And Kingston Curtis picked up a fumble and brought it back 75 yards for a TD.
The SDHS extra-point attempt was no good, and the Saints led 13-7.
The BHS defense, however, would pitch a shutout in the second half.
Spina’s 26-yard TD run in the third quarter gave Bonita a 14-13 lead.
And Spina would close out the scoring with a 1-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.
Bonita quarterback Daniel Andrade went 5-of-9 for 64 yards.
The BHS ground game out-rushed SDHS, 195-132, and the Bearcats had a 251-172 advantage in total offense.
To illustrate just how competitive this game was, consider the follow stats: San Dimas had the ball for 24:12, as compared to 23:48 for BHS, and both programs had exactly 43 plays on offense.
SDHS quarterback Jacob Gonzalez completed 5-of-10 for 60 yards and was picked off three times.
Brian Freeland anchored the Saints ground game.
Freeland carried the ball 16 times for 70 yards and the one TD.
Caleb Morquecho had 33 yards on six carries and Brian Jackson gained 27 yards on four carries.
Jackson also had two catches for 35 yards and Morquecho had a pair of receptions for 27 yards.
Up next: Bonita and San Dimas both have home games on Friday.
The Bearcats welcome Los Osos (2-2), and the Saints will battle Schurr (2-2).
Quotable:
Bonita coach, Steve Bogan: “This was a great neighborhood slugfest. Our defense played huge and kept us in the game. Offensively, the offensive line stepped up big, and Noah Mikhail and Connor Spina ran the ball with unbelievable passion. It was a tremendous team victory.”
To view Eric Podley’s 46-pic (photo) gallery of both programs, click on the Facebook link here: Facebook
Box Score:
BHS: 7-0-7-7-(21)
SD: 0-13-0-0-(13)
Scoring:
B: Connor Spina 4 run (George Markossian kick)
SD: Brian Freeland 2 run (Matthew Sanchez kick)
SD: Kingston Curtis 75 fumble recovery (kick failed)
B: Connor Spina 26 run (Alexander Laguna kick)
B: Connor Spina 1 run (Alexander Laguna kick)
Records: Bonita (2-2); San Dimas (2-2)
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