Bonita vs. Claremont: Tale of Two Halves Almost Produces Miracle finish for Bearcats

Deron Holmes crosses the goal line to help the Bearcats rally for 28 unanswered points in the second half against Claremont.

Claremont withstood a furious second-half rally to defeat Bonita 31-28 on a perfect night for football.

The only trouble was Bonita was about as imperfect as a football team can get for one half. The Bearcats mustered a total of seven yards on offense and went the entire 24 minutes without a first down.

Meanwhile, Claremont had its way with the Bearcats, scoring on passes of 65 yards and 6 yards, then on a punt return of 49 yards and finally a 25-field goal right before the end of the half to go into the locker room leading 24-0. Had the Wolfpack connected on two field goals, the score could have been worse.

“I think our team thought it was showing up for a flag football, and then a tackle football game broke out,” said Bonita head coach Eric Podley.

While Bonita was having trouble moving the ball, Claremont amassed 202 yards of total offense in the first half behind quarterback Danny Kessler.

Early in the second quarter, Podley inserted Greg Spathias at quarterback, but the junior signal caller fared no better than starting quarterback Garrett Pendleton. Spathias hit one receiver in the numbers, but the ball was dropped. It got that ugly. The first half showed Bonita missing tackles, over-pursuing, fumbling snaps, surrendering sacks and throwing away pitches. For Bonita, it was a forgettable half of football.

The second half was a far, far different tale – and those in the stands fortunate to see the Bearcats roar back with four straight touchdowns might have seen a football team grow up right before their eyes.

With 10:26 left in the third quarter, Bonita achieved its first down of the night. However, on the next set of downs, a Pendleton pass was picked off and returned for a touchdown. With 8:44 remaining in the third, Bonita trailed 31-0. For Bonita, it was time to get out of Dodge.

But something happened that nobody, not even the coaching staff, could explain. On the next series, Bonita rattled off six first downs before Pendleton and Evan Highley hooked up for a 16-yard scoring strike. At the time, the touchdown seemed like a concession score, the host not wanting to embarrass their non-league neighbor.

On Claremont’s next series, Bonita’s Justin Serrano recovered a fumble on the Wolfpack 40-yard-line, and seven plays later Pendleton threw a 26-yard scoring strike to Casey Horine with 10:59 left in the fourth quarter. Highley kicked the extra point to make the score 31-14.

Although Bonita’s onside kick failed, its defense stiffened and gave the Bearcats the ball back on the Wolfpack 46-yard line. With Pendleton directing the attack, Bonita marched to the one-yard line before Deron Holmes ran crosed the goal line for Bonita’s third straight touchdown. Highley kicked the extra point, and suddenly Bonita was trailing not by 31 points, but by just 10.

With 5:35 remaining in the game, Claremont took over on its own 45, but on the first play from scrimmage, ‘Bonita’s Matt Gelalich scooped up a fumble and raced down the right sideline before being pushed out at the Wolfpack 20. Two plays later, Bonita was in the endzone, with Pendleton this time picking out receiver Robert Moss for an 11-yard touchdown. Highley converted the extra point. Claremont led by just three points with 4:41 remaining.

The Bonita defense held again and its offense took over with 1:50 to play in the game. On the very first play, Pendleton threw a 22-yard completion to the Wolfpack 20-yard line setting up a first-and-ten-situation, but the pass was called by a holding penalty. This time the hole was too big to overcome, and Claremont took over on downs and ran out the clock.

“It is a game of two halves, not one half,” Podley said, having just stepped off the physical and emotional roller coaster of watching his team mount one of the greatest comebacks in Bearcat history. “We showed that when we play with guts and character, nobody can stop us. But you simply cannot spot a good team 24 points and expect to win.

“To win, you have to play two halves of football.”

On the night, Pendleton completed 11 of 19 passes, including three touchdowns. On the ground Deron Holmes carried 27 times for 120 yards.

In the late stages of the game, it was hat on hat as Bonita furiously fought back from a 31-0 deficit only to lose 31-28 in one of the most exciting games in Bearcat football history.