FRANKLIN LOAN CENTER GAME OF THE WEEK: The Miracle on D Street, Bearcats Do More With Less

Hercules Huth played standout football. All photos by Eric Davis.

Call it the miracle on D Street.

Somehow, the Bearcats clawed and scratched their way to an improbable 21-16 victory over La Serna, despite the Lancers owning the ball all but about 2 minutes on offense in the first half and outgaining Bonita by more than 200 yards (250 yards to about 30) in the first 24 minutes of battle. Bonita’s chief miracle maker was KC Huth, who may want to consider changing his name to JC, another miracle maker who played a couple of thousand years ago.

Everyone watching the game, the fans in the stands and the media prowling the sidelines, could probably point to a different tide-turning play in the game. As a good teacher once said, you might as well start at the beginning.

In the opening series, La Serna, behind senior 6-foot-five, 220-pound quarterback Andrew Buenrostro, deftly marched the Lancers 66 yards to the Bearcats’ 14-yard-line. Bonita aided the drive by being flagged for four encroachment penalties. The Bearcats’ miscues got so out of hand that exasperated Bonita coach Eric Podley had to waste a timeout to try to settle his defense down.

Gio Johnson picked up Huth's block and was off to the races.

On third and six on Bonita’s 14, Buenrostro overshot his wide-open receiver in the end zone for an easy six. As a result, La Serna elected to try a 27-yard field goal attempt to take an early 3-0 lead. Huth had other plans. Coming off the edge, Huth blocked the attempt, and Bonita’s Giomani Johnson scooped up the loose ball and returned it down the northern sideline for a 60-yard touchdown romp. After Brandt Davis’ extra point, Bonita led, 7-0. Bonita’s stunning touchdown was a dramatic 14-point swing on the scoreboard.

“I saw the ball, and I had to attack it and take it to the house,” Johnson said after the game. “Thanks to KC, he not only blocked the field goal, but he made the block for me to score that touchdown.”

La Serna went nowhere on its second possession, but Bonita was even worse on its first offensive set of downs. Three normally sure-handed receivers each dropped passes from quarterback Garrett Pendleton, forcing the Bearcats to punt. Even Bonita’s fourth down fake punt, which caught La Serna napping, failed after another dropped pass. In the first quarter, Bonita controlled the ball for a dismal 32 seconds.

Feeling the pressure, Garrett Pendleton looks for daylight.

In the second quarter, La Serna came knocking again. The Lancers put together an 83-yard drive, capped by a touchdown pass from Buenrostro to fellow captain and wide receiver Andrew Rosales. Huth got a hand on the extra point try, which barely fluttered through the uprights to make the score 7-7.

On Bonita’s third offensive series, the Bearcats once again were stymied, giving the La Serna the ball on their own 42. Buenorostro led the Lancers to Bonita’s 25 before La Serna called in kicker Tavis Guerra to attempt a 37-yard field goal. Guerra missed wide right, but Bonita was flagged for roughing the kicker, rewarding La Serna with a second try.

Bonita’s Huth had seen enough. The senior linebacker, once again coming off the right edge, blocked the kick. After the block, both teams headed into half-time with the score knotted 7-7.

“The miracle of that first half,” Podley said, “was that the score was 7-7, even though it felt as if it should have been 40-0, La Serna.”

Huth successfully blocks La Serna's first field goal attempt.

Podley knew something else.

“The fact that we were tied,” he said, ” let me know that we were good enough to come back and win that game.”

That’s called faith, when your team only runs nine offensive plays for an entire half.

Bonita did little to reward Podley’s faith early in the second half. Receiving the ball to start, Bonita again went four and out. Seemingly, Bonita’s offense was establishing a pattern of futility. But Bonita’s defense held again, and returned the ball to Pendleton and company on its own 26-yard line.

Switching in and out of its wildcat offense directed by Cameron Griffith, Bonita started punching holes in the stellar Lancer defense. Pendleton then stepped back into complete passes to Zach Brungard and Matt Gelalich. Finally, he spotted Garrett Horine for a 13-yard scoring strike with 4:29 left in the third. After the Davis extra point, Bonita led 14-7.

Garrett Horine protects the ball as he fights for yardage.

La Serna threatened again late in the period, but it was that old combination of Huth causing a fumble and Johnson picking it up to stop one more Lancers’ drive.

In the fourth, clinging to its 14-7 lead, Bonita was pinned on its own 9-yard line after a successful La Serna punt. On first down, Pendleton rolled right to pass. Finding no receivers open, he dumped the ball to Griffith, but the officials ruled intentional grounding and because he had thrown the ball with a foot in the end zone, a safety was called against Bonita, bringing vociferous protests from the Bonita bench, to no avail. Bonita now clung to a tenuous 14-9 lead. Suddenly, the season was on the brink. One touchdown by La Serna and school was out for the Bearcats.

After a free kick, La Serna went to work from its own 45. After a procedure penalty, La Serna threw a bomb down the left sideline that was deflected at the last possible second by Matt Gelalich. Bonita had dodged  a big bullet. In the same series, Bonita’s Nick Pichotta recovered a fumble at La Serna’s 40-yard line. Johnson ripped off an 11-yard gain to La Serna’s 29. Bonita, however, went no farther. There would be no insurance field goal after a penalty and a couple of incomplete passes.

Matt Gelalich deflects a long pass attempt.

Again, La Serna was rewarded with good field position, but could do nothing with it. Bonita was equally obliging, finding it difficult to run seconds off the clock. A Huth punt, however, pinned the Lancers on their own 13-yard line. After moving the ball out to the 25, a holding penalty and a sack by Huth forced La Serna into a third and 22 from its own 9. That’s when junior linebacker Nick Berghoudian stepped in front of a Buenrostro pass and returned it to the 1-yard line after which Johnson punched it in for the score. After the extra point, Bonita led 21-9.

With 2:26 left, however, La Serna’s Craig Johnson recovered a Johnson fumble in the end zone for a touchdown. The early Christmas present made the score 21-16.

La Serna tried an on-side kick, but it made the mistake of kicking it directly to Huth who locked up the ball, smothering any last chances of La Serna stealing back the victory that somehow slipped through its fingers.

Giomani Johnson and Eric Mikity sandwich the Lancer's Tommy Ruiz.

“Tonight, KC Huth was the player of the game for us,” Podley said. “His two blocked field goals, the plays he made on defense. He really kept us in the game, especially when our heads were hanging just a bit.”

Huth was a popular interviewee after the game. “I don’t like to go with what the media says or what the blogs say,” said a healthy Huth, who last year broke his ankle. “I just play my game and play it hard and I come out every day to practice fired up.

“There’s no need to play soft if you play football. If you’re going to play soft, don’t come on the field.”

Podley was proud of Huth and his teammates for bending not breaking, especially in the early going. Any Bonita softness turned to steel when the game was on the line.

“As ugly as the game was, there were some heroics there,” Podley said. Then Podley turned away from the media and addressed his waiting warriors, aware that Bonita was back in the finals for the first time since 1999. The opportunithy to perform is more important than the opponent, West Covina, which defeated Bonita earlier this season for the Bearcats only loss.

“We got our shot,” Podley told his jubilan players. “Now let’s make sure we don’t waste it.”

Brandt Davis believes every little extra point helps.

The Bonita Marching Band didn't miss a note all night long.

Bonita remained united through thick and some thin moments.

Superman Huth blocks another field goal try.

Bonita fans are the 12th Man.

Garrett Horine leans in for a touchdown, giving Bonita a 14-7 lead.

An upended Eric Mikity upends La Serna with approval from No. 29 Toure McCulley and No. 23 Garrett Horine.

Bonita may not have won the time-of-possession battle, but it won the turnover war, showing once again that what matters is what you do with the football when you have it.

Bonita is the home team in the CIF finals against the West Covina Bulldogs, but the game will not be played at Bonita. At press time, a site has not yet been selected.

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Another shout out to the immensely talented Mr. Eric Davis for all his photographic gems.

Also to Franklin Loan Center, for sponsoring the Game of the Week. Call Marc Burns at (909) 962-6350 for help with your next purchase or refinance.