Pictured L-R: Ryder Cadam, Noah Mikhail & Georgie Markossian

Football:

By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor

If you’re a diehard, old-school football fan, Claremont High School was the place to be on Thursday night.

Both programs took, lost and regained leads.

The Bearcats and Wolfpack each picked off passes and left their collective heart and soul on the turf at CHS.

Neither tried to upstage or disrespect the other, and it wasn’t until the final moments that a winner would emerge.

And it was Bonita, who would edge Claremont, 31-28, in a nonleague slugfest.

Trailing 28-24, Connor Spina rumbled in from two yards out to give BHS a 31-28 lead with 4:44 remaining in the game.

Claremont would have two offensive possessions down the stretch and needed just a field goal to send the game into overtime, but the Bearcats defense held both times.

Bonita drove the distance of the field on the game’s opening drive, and it was capped by Cole Parra’s 1-yard TD run.

The Wolfpack answered back, as Zack Leeper caught an 8-yard TD pass from Nathan Giles.

After the extra-point snap was bobbled, Bonita would lead 7-6.

Claremont would get its first lead of the game, as Caden Campuzano scored on a 1-yard TD run, and a 2-point Giles to Ryan Dunfee pass gave the Wolfpack a 14-7 lead.

Just as it looked like CHS had wrestled away the momentum with Campuzano’s score and the 2-point play, Georgie Markossian returned the ensuing kickoff 80 yards for a score, and the game was tied at 14-14.

Ryder Cadam hauled in a 44-yard scoring strike from Daniel Andrade to give BHS a 21-14 advantage.

Giles answered by tossing a 5-yard TD pass to Campuzano in the waning moments of the first half.

But Noah Mikhail picked up the CHS kickoff and ran it all the way down to the Claremont 10-yard line.

It looked destined to be the final play of the half.

The Claremont and Bonita sidelines, though, both looked surprised when they discovered that one second remained on the scoreboard.

BHS called a timeout and Alexander Laguna came on and booted a 27-yard field goal as the buzzer sounded.

Claremont was obviously and rightfully frustrated, but instead of pouting, the Wolfpack took a 28-24 lead when Giles found Campuzano on a 53-yard TD pass on the opening drive of the second half.

That held up until the 4:44 mark of the fourth quarter.

Connor Spina, in between treatments on the sidelines, scored on a short run for what turned out to be the game-winning points.

So much happened (mostly good) for both programs, and they’ll both benefit in league play and the postseason for testing each other throughout Thursday’s contest.

There aren’t enough superlatives to say just how good and important Caden Campuzano is for the Wolfpack.

Earlier this year, CHS coach Shane Hile called Campuzano “Mr. Everything,” because of all he does, including his play in the defensive backfield.

And despite being a guy who carries the ball nearly 30 times a game, two of Campuzano’s three TD’s actually came through the air.

On the other side of the ball, Noah Mikhail is just ridiculously talented and put together.

Although he gets doubled teamed every Friday, Mikhail still finds a way to make game-changing contributions.

Last week in a one-point win over Los Osos, Mikhail caught back-to-back passes, the second of which was the game-winning TD reception.

Last night, Mikhail ran that kickoff to set up Laguna’s field goal, and the Bearcats sophomore put the game on ice when he picked off Giles on Claremont’s final possession of the game.

BHS also got interceptions from Bryan Bradshaw and Parker Smith.

Ryder Cadam had a TD catch, pinned CHS deep on a punt, and it was a helmet-to-helmet penalty that he drew that helped extend a late Bonita drive.

Claremont’s Jamel Oliver picked off Daniel Andrade in the east end zone to end a Bonita scoring opportunity.

And the bottom of this story are some highlights, and interviews with Bonita co-head coaches Bo Beatty and Steve Bogan, as well as the Bearcats’ Ryder Cadam, Noah Mikhail and Georgie Markossian.

Up next: Bonita and Claremont will both be in action next Friday.

The Bearcats will face Northview at Covina District Field, and the Wolfpack host South Hills.

Box Score:
B: 7-17-0-7-(31)
C: 6-15-7-0-(28)

Scoring:
B: Cole Parra 1 run (Alexander Laguna kick)
C: Zack Leeper 11 pass from Nathan Giles (snap mishandled on extra-point attempt)
C: Caden Campuzano 1 run (Ryan Dunfee pass from Nathan Giles)
B: Georgie Markossian 80 kickoff return (Alexander Laguna kick)
B: Ryder Cadam 44 pass from Daniel Andrade (Alexander Laguna kick)
C: Caden Campuzano 5 pass from Nathan Giles (Nathan Giles kick)
B: Alexander Laguna 27 FG
C: Caden Campuzano 53 pass from Nathan Giles (Nathan Giles kick)
B: Connor Spina 2 run (Alexander Laguna kick)

Records: Bonita (4-2); Claremont (2-2)