San Dimas: 46 – Bonita: 0
Friday, September 21, 1984
The San Dimas Saints took the 1984 Smudge Pot game with a final score of 46-0 over the Bonita Bearcats. Bonita went into the game with a record of 1-1 with their new coach George King while the Saints had a record of 1-0 under coach Don Warhurst.
Starting off the game, the two teams had been evenly matched. San Dimas Saints’ quarterback Dennis Watson has been the focus of the Bearcats defense, causing him to only be able to complete 4 of his 12 passes. Warhurst disagreed after the game, ” I don’t think Watson was off target tonight as much as my play calling.”
But by the end of the first quarter, the Saints began to take control of the game, starting from a mistake made by the Bearcats with 14 seconds left. Bonita’s coach George King chose to have Bearcat QB Wayne Keller run down the time on the clock rather than going for a punt. Keller was sacked at Bearcat’s 29 yard line. The Saints immediately called timeout and quarterback Dennis Watson threw a touchdown pass to Shawn Clark.
Coach George King had later stated “I went for it (a first down) because they’d been putting on a good rush on our punter and I was afraid they might block it. And I thought Keller could run out the clock, but they caught him.”
Watson, the 5-11, 175 pound senior, completed 2 touchdown passes for touchdowns (29 yards to Clark and 20 yards to Mike Stanley). Watson also completed 2 passes for two point conversions and ran for another. The MVP of the game was Jesse Canada from the Saints, a tailback who scored three touchdowns of 44 ,50 and 14 yards for a total of 192 yards rushing. San Dimas coach Dan Warhurst stated that the Saints “[had] a lot of guns and were trying to fire them all off” and that “It’s tough to give everybody a chance when you have a lot of talent.”
The Bonita Bearcats ended with negative yards by the end of the game as a result of the tough Saints’ defense. The Bearcats defense was strong in defending against passing plays, but much like last year’s Smudge Pot game, the Bearcats struggled to deal with the running game of Jesse Can
Varsity Bearcats
Row 1: Tony Pipo, Joe Dominguez, Dominic Mistone, Chris Enriquez, Eric Johnson, Ric Slagle, Kevin Flora,
Row 2: Gary Allison, Jim Stanfill, Jeff Bernacchi, Mike Hamparsomian, Shawn Prince, Rick Kelly, Jim Trudeau, Joe Harchut,
Row 3: Steve Salomon, Clark Moses, Rene Carrillo, Gary Deal, Daryl Stephens, Ralph Agurre, Wayne Keller, Luis Marmol,
Row 4: Dave Burriss, Jon Coulson, Ron Palmer, Darin Riggs.
The Varsity Football Team, under the guidance of their new Coach, Coach King, improved their record this year of 4 wins and 3 losses. Bonita finished in 4th place this year in the Hacienda League. As ranked 2nd for the hardest-hitting team in the Hacienda League, team members will never forget their experiences and the excitement of the I984-85 football season. The team started practicing last spring with weight training every day after school. Then, over the summer, all players had to practice in the sweltering heat each day. Daryl Stephens and Ralph Aguirre, as team captains of the Varsity team, kept the responsibility of leadership and keeping spirits high throughout the football season. Our commendation goes out to the Bonita Football Team for its great performance throughout the season.
Echoes, 1984
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Varsity Saints
Row 1: Raul Mendoza. Danny Alvarado, Marcos Reynosa, Jesse Canada, John Bello, Tony Ash, Ken Lim, Chris Marshall Neil Recusado, Noel Zemla, Eli Mack, Tony Brown.
Row 2: Cary McCaslin, Jeff McDonald, Pat Rowe, Aaron Watson, Steve Robinson, Eddie Piercy, Robert Landreth, Keith Epsrein, Monte Smith, Mike Morgan, John Koncki, Rick Martin, Carl Sock, Lincoln Oro.
Row 3: Brian Winkler, Dennis Warson, David Lehr, Brandon Grether. Shawn Clark, Dushaun Franklin, Mike Stanley, John Gabor, Paul Alvitre, David Hill, Steve Dorsey, Eddie Arrozogaray, Brian Bunnell, David Misch, Robert Alo. Back: Justin Brunell, Kevin Allen, Bill Wuertz, Bren Nicolas, Kirks Waldo, Jon Troyano, John Moore, Roberr De Vee, Keith Gissel, Paul Davis, Tim Mercalfe, Tim James, Jim Spears.
With both starting running backs, a pair of all-league linemen and an all-league quarterback, there was good reason to be optimistic. The remaining positions were filled with players from the previous year’s undefeated J.V team. Defense. however, had only two returning starters. In the first three games the Saints outscored their opponents 119 to 0, including a 46-0 romp over rival Bonita. They suffered their first loss 18-13, in a diff hanger with Royal Oak, and in the succeeding week they were engaged in a donnybrook with Baldwin Park. Four more league wins took them to a third place finish and CIF again, where they forced the Cardinals of San Bernardino, a team highly motivated by their first CIF appearance in fourteen years. Despite their CIF loss, the Saints had a record-breaking year. With a lethal offense, they posted the highest average total yards per game ever in the school’s history. This outstanding offense featured Dennis Worson who passed for a record-holding 1,512 yards to his wide receivers Tim Mercolfe, who held the record for most yards received in one game; Tim James and Steve Dorsey. The offense included an awesome offensive line called the “Cabbage Patch Kids”: The trio Bob DeVee, Paul Davis, and Bill Wuertz opened up holes for All Leaguer Jesse Condo, who held the record for most yards per carry. Other All Leaguers were Shaun Clark and Lincoln Oro. Perhaps the most unexpected record of them all come from the defensive unit, which allowed the fewest points in the Montview League. With Robert Alo and Bill Wuerrz anchoring the defensive line, On the defensive line, tackles Paul Alvirre, Robert Landreth and Lincoln Ora continually held opposing ball carriers to no gain. Coupled with these efforts and the secondary, which was led by Jon Troyano and Eli Mods, the defensive unit chalked up a record four shutout games in one season.
