Nick Pichota and Ryan Ramirez lean into another tackle.

Bonita could never get out of the slow lane against the tough Bulldogs. Not even these tricycles helped. Football photos by Eric Davis will be posted this evening.

Bonita Coach Eric Podley opted for a balanced attack on Friday night at Glenn Davis Stadium, and to a certain extent that strategy played out as he called 34 runs and 28 passes.

While the running game was productive, with Cameron Griffin and Reggie Turner combining for 175 yards on the ground, the passing game never left the hangar, netting just 67 yards.

“You can’t win when you only complete 5 percent of your passes,” Podley said. Actually, Bonita completed passes at a 24 percent clip (9 of 38). It just felt like just 5 percent to Podley and Bonita fans as they watched the Bearcats fall 38-14 to West Covina in a rematch of the two CIF finalists from a year ago.

The first half had a Nightmare on Elm Street feeling. The Bulldogs Joseph Rubio returned Bonita’s opening onsides kick 46 yards for a touchdown to put Bonita in a 7-0 just 11 seconds into the ballgame.

Despite the deficit, Bonita’s defense played well and the offense was marching as the first quarter ended.

To start the second quarter, Bonita had the ball on the Bulldogs 20-yard-line, but quarterback Tanner Diebold was picked off to end the scoring threat. Three plays later, West Covina was back in the end zone after a three-play 58-yard drive, capped by a 45-yard touchdown gallop by Jimmy Frazier.

In its next series, Bonita fumbled, and once again West Covina converted the turnover, booting a field goal to lead 17-0. The frustration only mounted as Bonita attempted a 52-yard field goal into the wind as time expired.

It was as if Bonita was competing on tricycles against a team that brought their 10-speeds. Indeed, Bonita featured a tricycle race at half-time, which might have been the operative metaphor for a night of football futility.

Yet on a night of increasing strangeness, Bonita’s Austin Venegas returned West Covina’s kick-off 91 yards for an electrifying touchdown to put Bonita back in business.

West Covina fumbled in its first offensive set of the second half, and Bonita struck a second time, featuring six straight punishing runs from Griffin and Turner. On the sixth, Griffin punched it in from the 1-yard-line, and just like that Bonita trailed by just a field goal 17-14 midway through the third quarter.

Then the ghosts came out – or maybe it was just a superior team lining up on the other side – as West Covina scored 21 unanswered points. Just as Bonita was getting to sniff a comeback, the game turned into the Chris Solomon show. He gathered in a long pass and ripped off two long running plays to complete a three-play 72-yard drive and give the Bulldogs a 24-14 lead.

After one first down by Bonita and a short punt, West Covina went right back to work, needing only two plays – a 15-yard run by Solomon and 23 yard run by Frazier — to score again and take a commanding 31-14 lead.

After the game, Podley summarized Bonita’s hopes for a playoff bid.

“Our backs are against the wall,” he said.

How well a cornered Bearcat plays will be determined next week when Bonita meets Los Altos at Glenn Davis for homecoming. The season is on the line, as spooky as that sounds.

Cameron Griffin sees a hole.

Austin Venegas kicks it in gear.

Reggie Turner is in the happiest place on earth -- the end zone.

Danny Esparza wraps things up nicely.

Bonita's best aerial show came at half-time.

Bonita and West Covina prepare for helmet to helmet warfare in the trenches.

The Bonita band had a blast, and came right back on Saturday for a key regional band competition.

PHOTOS BY ERIC DAVIS