Had it been a college game, it would have been an instant ESPN classic. Had it been the Super Bowl, fans would be talking it about it as the best ever. Instead, it was a CIF-Southern Section CIF Southeast Division finals between two outstanding 12-1 teams, Bonita and top-seed West Covina, that took the game to the wire before a jammed house at Ken Gunn Stadium in Walnut.
West Covina eventually surged ahead and won 37-33, but you canât blame Bonita fans and players if they woke up this morning thinking they had won, 40-30. Although West Covina marched 80-yards with 1:45 left in the fourth quarter to score the game-clinching 1-yard touchdown by quarterback George Johnson, Bonita aided that desperate and determined last drive with a personal foul and a missed interception.
Those plays are mentioned only because they are the most glaring, coming at the end of the game. But it wasnât one situation that turned it around for West Covina or lost it for Bonita. There were key mishaps and miscues by both teams. It was a game of many plays, turnovers and soul-searching turnabouts that eventually would spell the difference. Bonita scored on its first drive and West Covina, like a true champion, scored on the last drive of the game when it was needed most. Given a second opportunity, West Covina seized the ring and a place in CIF history.
But what happened in between those bookend drives was simply amazing.
After falling to West Covina 51-25 earlier in the fall, Bonita, from the opening drive, let the Bulldogs know it would be a far different outcome and effort this time. Starting from its own 4-yard-line, Bonita quarterback Garrett Pendleton drove the Bearcats 96 yards on a series of pass completions to Matt Gelalich and Garrett Horine before waltzing into the end zone on a 5-yard quarterback keeper.
West Covina answered with a 14-play, 80-yard drive of its own, capped by a 2-yard, fourth down touchdown plunge by junior running back Chris Soloman.
On its second offensive series, Pendleton and company went to work again from their own 36. This time, Bonita needed only six plays â a pair of runs by KC Huth and one by  Giomani Johnson and three completions to Gelalich, the last of which traveled 31 yards for a touchdown strike — to help Bonita retake the lead 14-7 after the Brandt Davis extra point.
A fired-up Bonita defense held the Bulldogs to a three-and-out, forcing a West Covina punt from its own 19. After taking a bad snap, Bulldog punter Marcus Haigler somehow scrambled away from the pressure and kicked the ball 47 yards downfield, averting disaster for West Covina. Had the punt been blocked, Bonita could have set up deep in Bulldog territory, possibly looking at a 21-7 lead.
Instead Bonita took over on its own 34. After Pendleton connected for a 15-yard completion to Austin Venegas, the drive was stalled by a couple of holding penalties.
West Covina fared no better. After completing one first down, the Bulldogs were forced to punt again, with Bonita taking over on its own 20. On the third play from scrimmage, West Covina senior linebacker Maurice Dupleasis, Sr., picked off a Pendleton pass over the middle that was intended for Gelalich. Five plays later, West Covina was in the end zone after marching 37 yards, capped by Chris Solomonâs 12-yard touchdown run.
Both teams entered the locker room, tied 14-14, but the score didnât quite sit right.
Despite outplaying the Bulldogs in the first half, Bonitaâs effort was not reflected on the scoreboard. West Covina had the momentum and Bonita had only a tie. Moreover, Bonita had to kick off to the dangerous Bulldogs to start the second half. Plus, West Covina had history on its side. The last time, the two teams had met, the Bulldogs chewed up and spit out the Bearcats with a big second half for a runaway victory.
Pendleton had finished the first half 13 of 19 with 183 yards, but what would we be most remembered from the first half was Bonitaâs failure to block West Covinaâs punt after a bad snap and West Covinaâs ability to convert Bonitaâs one miscue.
The start of play in the third quarter quickly dispelled Bonitaâs half-time thoughts of momentum swings and missed opportunities. On West Covina’s first play of the second half, Gelalich recovered a Bulldogs fumble and the Bearcats were in business. On a flea flicker, Pendleton found Horine down at the 2-yard-line. From there, Huth ran it in to give Bonita a 20-14 lead. West Covina blocked the PAT.
Bonita wasnât done. Davis squibbed the kick off , and this time Venegas came up with the loose ball. Mixing in short passes to Gelalich and some wildcat formations led by Cameron Griffith and a rush by Huth, Bonita got down to the West Covina 19 before backing up and calling in Davis to try a 40-yard field goal. The sophomore kicker nailed it as the ball brushed and then bounced over the crossbar. Bonita led 23-14.
Incredibly, Bonita recovered another onsides kick. There was lightning in Davisâs toe. This time Eric Mikity recovered for the Bearcats. Using the short field, Pendleton mixed in completions to Gelalich and Zach Brungard, but missed on a connection to Venegas when he was separated from the ball on a jarring hit by West Covinaâs Anthony Molina. Bonita set up for a 35-yard field goal, but Davisâs attempt was wide left.
West Covina had to breathe a sigh of relief, knowing it didnât have to face another Bonita kick-off. But after reaching its own 42, West Covina was forced to punt, giving Bonita the ball on its own 30. West Covinaâs defense stuffed one run and then a Bonita holding penalty forced the Bearcats back  to their own 15, where Huth was forced to punt. The Bulldogs broke through and blocked the punt out of the end zone for a safety to trim Bonitaâs lead to 23-16. Suddenly, it was a one-possession game for the Bulldogs to get back into it.
On the free kick, Huth streaked down the field and made a bone-jarring tackle to keep the Bulldogs from advancing past their own 22 on the return. As the third quarter ended, West Covina, however, was on the march. In the third play of the fourth quarter, Johnson threw a 37-yard touchdown strike just over the outstretched arm of Gelalich to knot the score at 23-23 after the extra point.
Bonita responded with a touchdown drive of its own, keyed by completions to Brungard and Horine and then a personal foul and off-sides by West Covina that set up a first-and-goal at West Covinaâs two. After faking the ball to Huth, Johnson ran it in with 8:35 left in the fourth. After the Davis extra point, Bonita was back on top, 30-23.
West Covina proved just as determined, mounting a 69-yard drive of its own, finished off by Solomonâs electrifying 39-yard touchdown run. After the extra point, Bonita and West Covina were tied at 30.
It was Bonitaâs turn in what was now becoming a classic shoot-out with the last-man standing to take home the championship gold. In the most important drive of the season and his career, Pendleton coolly and calmly guided the Bearcats from their own 26 to West Covinaâs 21, hooking up on key completions to Gelalich, Venegas and Brungard. But after a pass to Venegas that he couldnât corral and another that fell incomplete in the right corner of the end zone to Brungard, Davis had to set up for a 38-yard field goal. The sophomore kicked it true, and Bonita led 33-30 with 1:46 left in the game.
Davis, who has been a model of consistency all season, said he didnât put any more pressure on himself, despite the gravity of the game situation.
âI just wanted points on the board,â Davis said, adding that he came of age after a kicking a field goal in the Smudge Pot game, the season-opener for the Bearcats. âAfter I hit that first field goal, nothingâs been the same.â
Although Bonita had the lead, the veteran Podley and the rookie Davis had hoped for more. There were no sideline celebrations. There was still time on the clock.Â
âI wasnât comfortable at all,â Podley said about the tenuous margin. âWest Covina moves the ball in big chunks. They have the ability to score in big chunks at any time.â
After his field goal, Davis launched a great kick down field that proved impossible to return, forcing the Bulldogs to go 80-yards in 1:45 if they wanted to win the championship. The Bulldogs did just that, completing four first downs before senior Johnson emerged from a huge pile on the goal line that sent the line judgeâs arms bolting upright to signal the game-winning touchdown. After the successful point-after, West Covina led 37-33.
Taking a page out of Bonitaâs playbook, West Covina kicked off, squibbing a kick that caromed off Bonitaâs frontline kick-off return team before the Bulldogs recovered it. After one kneel-down, West Covina had earned its championship.
âYou have every right to hold up your head and be proud,â Podley told his crestfallen gladiators moments after the game, speaking over the roar of the Bulldog crowd. âYou showed the heart of a champion.â
Then Podley turned to the media:
âWe had opportunities to win,â he said. âWe didnât take advantage of those opportunities. We made mistakes in critical situations. You canât win the big ones that way.”
The loss didnât diminish his respect and admiration for his playersâ efforts, however.
âI thought our kids played their butts off, when you consider what the first game looked like compared to this one,â he said. âYou saw vast improvement in our players. They were not going to go down without a fight. You saw their heart and you saw their character, and you canât ask for anything more.â
Bonita featured several outstanding performances, highlighted by Pendleton’s precision passing.
âHe had a championship-level performance tonight,â Podley said. âHe stepped up, he made big plays when he had to, he hung in the pocket. On that flea flicker, he knew he was going to take a big shot and still got the ball out there. That was a gutsy, courageous performance, and thatâs what we ask for.â
Davisâs kicks also helped keep West Covina off-balance, and almost changed the outcome of the game. His late fourth-quarter field goal looked like the game-winner until West Covina drove the field for the final touchdown. âHis kick-offs all night were very effective, too,â Podley noted. âFor a sophomore, the kid really stepped up and played hard.â
Podley echoed the sentiments of Bonita fans when he said it was a shame that so many outstanding Bonita performances couldnât have been rewarded with a championship ring. âI think our kids showed a great amount of courage and poise and tenacity in the way they came back and played,â Podley said.
âItâs just tragic that it had to end the way it did. Tragic for us, great for West Covina. They played a tremendous game, and they deserved to win.â
Huth, who took his outstanding game to an even high level in the playoffs, was shaken by the gameâs unpredictable outcome after Bonita had played so hard and so well for so long.
âThe game unfolded just as I expected, with the crowd, the intensity, the emotion,â he said. âWe tried our best, we just didnât succeed.â
With time, Huth hopefully will be able to put the game in even clearer perspective, realizing the real reason you compete.
âThis is the greatest team I have ever played on by far,â a dispirited Huth said. âI love everyone on it.â
Our thanks again to Eric Davis for all his great photos and dedication to the Bonita football program.
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.
Before or after the game, we also ask you to drop by the Pizza Barn in La Verne, a supporter of La Verne Online.
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December 11th, 2010 at 3:23 pm
With 2 minutes left in the 4th quarter deep in Bulldog territory, all the Bearcats had to do is keep the ball on the ground, run the clock down to seconds and kick the field goal for the win. Choosing to pass the ball gave the ball back to West Covina with all the time they needed to drive 80 yards for the game winning touchdown. Although the personal foul and the dropped interception were critical mistakes in the final seconds, all could have been avoided had they controlled the clock on their last possesion, leaving me to believe that the Bearcats were not out played, only out coached.
December 12th, 2010 at 8:12 am
Like the the great race horse Zenyatta Bonita just came up short they play like champions.A great effort the City of La Verne and the school can be proud of Bonita lost with class. This team will benefit in life with this disappointment that you must earn the ring and that rings are not given and the game is 48 minutes. The sun will shine again on Bonita. Thanks for the great memories. Good luck………..
December 12th, 2010 at 9:35 am
Peter,
Thank you very much for the exceptional coverage of the Bonita Football team this season. Your outstanding game articles were also a great component of the home game programs. I appreciate the opportunity you gave me to provide LaVerneOnline with photographs from the games.
It was a great season, just a minute too long. Bonita football 2010, you make me proud to be a Bearcat!
Happy Holidays,
Eric
GO BEARCATS!!!
December 13th, 2010 at 10:49 am
A great coach, staff and inspired players led to the Bearcats being in the CIF championship game. Congratulations on a great game and remember the lessons learned.
Go Bearcats!
December 14th, 2010 at 9:07 pm
Being a Bonita alumnus, I really enjoyed following the Bearcats through your great articles and also the great pictures from Eric! What an exciting season for the Bearcats!
Way to go BHS!
Kristi Hines Karns