FRANKLIN LOAN CENTER GAME OF THE WEEK: Playing with a Grudge, Bearcats Win the Smudge — more photos just added!

After a three-year drought, Bonita once again has a firm grip on the Smudge Pot trophy.

Leading San Dimas 34-20 late in the fourth quarter of the Smudge Pot rivalry, Bonita ran a trick play called “Swinging Gate.” Following a wall of receivers down the right sideline, Zach Brungard ran 47 yards for a touchdown, allowing his fellow Bearcats to not only swing open the gate, but also smash and march through it for a dominant 41-20 victory at Glenn Davis stadium on Friday night.

After starting slowly, which included three turnovers in the first quarter, the Bearcats rallied for 24 unanswered points in the second quarter. Trailing 7-0, the Bonita’s sophomore kicker Brandt Davis chipped a 27-yarder through the uprights to get the Bearcats on the board. The score was set up by a 39-yard run-back by kickoff return specialist Cameron Salce and a 21-yard keeper by Casey Horine.

After a Brungard interception of a Codee Watts pass, Bonita was on the move again, mixing in a 17-yard run by Cameron Griffith and short passes to Horine and Matt Gelalich before Giomani Johnson bolted up the middle on a 10-yard touchdown run to give Bonita a 10-7 lead after the Davis extra point.

In San Dimas’ next offensive series, Bonita’s Cody McKenzie picked off an errant Saints pass and ran it back for a 21-yard touchdown. The Bearcats’ fierce rush set up the play. After the point-after, Bonita led 17-7.

Still the Bearcats weren’t through. After Bearcats linebacker K.C. Huth recovered a San Dimas fumble, Bonita  quarterback Greg Spathias put together a drive culminating in an eight-yard scoring strike to receiver Horine.

Bonita lost the coin flip, but won the game.

In a span of about seven minutes, Bonita had hung up 24 points. If the game had been a UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), it would have been a tap-out. In the first half, despite throwing two interceptions, Spathias connected on 11 of 14 passes and Johnson racked up 45 rushing yards. Bonita also showed balance with 93 rushing yards and 93 passing yards. The kicking game was also flawless.

In the third, it was more frustration for San Dimas. The Saints had a touchdown called back on a hold. The quarter ended with Bonita stuffing a Saints’ fourth-down run. Meanwhile, Bonita’s Davis responded by booting another field goal to put the Bearcats up, 27-7.

In the first play of the fourth, Spathias threw his third interception of the game. San Dimas finally capitalized as Watts and receiver Kevin Kolbeck connected on a 21-yard scoring pass in the right corner of the end zone. The huge San Dimas crowd was suddenly back into the game, with its team trailing 27-14, needing only two touchdowns and extra points to win the game. There was plenty of time for a comeback, with 9:20 remaining.

San Dimas had the look of a champion early.

Taking over on its own 35-yard-line, Bonita pushed the ball out to its 44-yard line. On second down, Horine took a direct snap, shook loose to the left sideline and then sprinted to a 56-yard touchdown. With the extra point, Bonita led 34-14.

The Saints came marching back, however, with Watts and Kolbeck connecting once again on a play-action two-yard rollout pass. The extra point failed when Horine blasted up the middle to block the attempt, keeping the score at 34-20.

Then Bonita and San Dimas traded possessions before Brungard and his traveling mates providing protection crashed the gates to end three years of frustration and bring the Smudge Pot back home to La Verne.

“It seems like we just worked harder,” said Horine who scored touchdowns both running and receiving and played his usual fine defense from his middle linebacker position. “We weren’t tired and they got tired, and that’s how we won. It just came down to conditioning.

“We found out a lot about ourselves.”

Horine credited fellow linebackers Eric Mikity and Huth for plugging up the middle. “They played like wild men,” Horine said, complimenting their play and the entire defense for flying to the ball all night long.

Bonita also came out fired up.

Hoisted in victory, the Smudge Pot sparkled over a sea of green helmets, as it was handed from player to player and coach to coach. Defensive end Daniel Harriman called Podley “a genius” for putting together the winning game plan. Podley, who suffered through three straight losses, wasn’t gloating but it was clear that he was relieved by the outcome.

“Our strategy all year is to be a fast-paced, no-huddle team and grind our opponents down, and I think in the second quarter San Dimas started to get tired, and that strategy started to pay off,” said Podley, in his 11th year leading Bonita. “Once our players saw what was happening, they turned up the dial and took advantage of that – their fatigue (San Dimas’) at the end of the quarter there.”

Podley wasn’t fazed that his team was facing the 2009 CIF finalists across the field. “Our strategy was not to focus on San Dimas, but to focus on us. We felt all along that we’re a good football team, and we have the makings of a good football team. We talked very little about San Dimas.”

Thus, after the game, Podley kept the spotlight on his players, taking particular enjoyment in McKenzie’s 21-yard interception for a touchdown.

A little heart-to-heart and head-banging before the game.

“He read it beautifully,” Podley said. “He was there, got the pick, and ran it in. It’s every lineman’s dream. Being an old lineman, I loved to see a lineman’s dream come true like that. We were all excited for him.”

Another performance catching the coach’s eye was the debut of sophomore field goal kicker Brandt Davis, No. 15.

“He had an outstanding performance,” Podley said. “We were a little worried about him after the Damien scrimmage. He’s a sophomore out there, but he stepped up and really, really performed well. I don’t think anybody knew he was a sophomore tonight. He’s worked really hard, staying after practice this week, and it’s great to see hard work rewarded.”

Another number the public address announcer kept calling out was No. 31, linebacker Erik Mikity. “He’s one of our captains,” Podley said. “He does it all for us. He’s a leader on and off the field. Anywhere you ask him to play, he jumps in and does the best he can.”

First, respect had to be paid.

Podley was also pleased with the running game led by senior Johnson, junior Griffith and sophomore Reggie Turner. “The young guy had a few mistakes, but we’ll work through those,” Podley said. “I think we ran the ball better than people anticipated.”

Discussing the play of Horine, Podley just shook his head in admiration. “He’s a monster. He made some bad plays become good plays. That’s what great players do. And thank God he did it. When he’s on the field, he brings a lot of speed.”

As for that trick play, the “swinging gate,” which, in effect, gave San Dimas the gate, Podley smiled his Michael Strahan gap-toothed grin.”

And the music had to be played.

“That was one we certainly practiced all week,” Podley said. “People were a little skeptical about how it would work, so I was awfully happy when it worked well. Zach did a great job running in.”

With regard to injuries, Bonita came out of the game fairly well. Senior Tarez Lemmons banged up his leg. “Trainers think it’s not going to be that serious,” Podley said. “He’ll probably miss next week. I’m sure he’ll miss a little time, but it’s not as serious as we first thought. Free safety Garrett Horine also battled some late-game cramps but re-entered the game to break up a big pass play to help stop a San Dimas rally. “It’s typically what you see in a first game,” Podley noted.

For now, the shine of the Smudge Pot is back at Bonita. No longer do a few irate fans (first-class idiots) have to resort to cussing out the coach or throwing eggs, which has happened in the past. Winning takes away that tarnish.

“It’s a hostile environment when you lose three times in a row to your rivals,” Podley said stoically.

Now winning the Smudge Pot back is somebody else’s problem.

There were cheerleaders ...

and a capacity crowd.

And in the end, the mighty Bearcat roared again.

 After the game, stop in for some great pizza and Italian food at the Pizza Barn, endorsed by Daniel Harriman, or some great Asian cuisine at Taste of Asia, both located in the Oak Tree shopping mall on Foothill. And for your home loans, talk to the good folks at Franklin Home Loan Center.

Plus, for all your tailgaters this season, visit The Corner Butcher Shop for the best selection of meats and specialty items.

An Eric Davis photo

An Eric Davis photo.

An Eric Davis photo.

An Eric Davis photo.