Nico Barbone was one of the featured running backs under Coach Bill Zernickow’s Wing T offense who ran for over 4,000 yards during his time at San Dimas. He was a key reason why San Dimas won their Smudge Pot games against rival Bonita during his junior and senior years. In the 2007 game, which San Dimas won the Smudge Pot for the first time since 2003, Barbone rushed for a game high 152 yards on 23 carries. He broke a 35 yard run during the opening drive of the game which lead to the Saints first touchdown. Saints would win that game 24-10.
Barbone had an even larger impact on the Smudge Pot in 2008 where he rushed for 201 yards and five touchdowns in front of an estimated 6,000 fans at Bonita High School. He scored three times during the first quarter: a 9 yard TD run at 7:49, a 13 yard TD run with 42 seconds left in the quarter and he converted 2 points on the extra point conversion.
Barbone scored on a 2-yard run early in the fourth and then, after San Dimas got the ball right back on a turnover, he scored again less than a minute later on a 15-yard run with 11:42 left to give the Saints a commanding 43-25 lead. With 3: 31 left in the game, Barbone scored his 5th touchdown on a 8 yard run. The Saints would defeat Bonita 50 – 33 in the 2008 game. “This is the greatest feeling ever,” Barbone said. “You couldn’t ask for anything better than this.”
