BONITA: 31 – SAN DIMAS: 21
Friday, September 23, 1988
Bonita High School won their first game under new coach Tom Martinez on Friday night at Bonita High School by beating previously undefeated San Dimas 31-21. The victory gave Bonita possession of the smudge pot trophy for the first time since 1982.
“This is sweet; real sweet,” said Coach Martinez. “I was saying the other day that it would be sweet to win my first game and the Smudge Pot at the same time. Give these kids credit – they played a heckuva game.”
Bonita scored first on a 1 yard touchdown pass from Chris Romero to Daryl Gonzales. The point after kick was wide and the Bearcats settled for a 6 to 0 lead. San Dimas went ahead at the end of the second corner on the swift running of Flex Badibanga who took a pitch and raced around the left end for a 76 yard touchdown. He would lead all rushers running for 153 yards on 12 carries. As half time began the score was a close six to seven with San Dimas ahead.
The turning point of the game occurred in the third quarter with Pratt’s explosive 85 yard kickoff return for touchdown that put Bonita ahead 13-9. “I saw daylight; my line did a great job,” Pratt said, concerning his 85 yard kickoff return for a touchdown, “Nobody touched me. All that was left was the kicker and that was it. We got real pumped up. We knew we were going to explode and it had to be against San Dimas.”
“Pratt’s kickoff return just ignited them,” Martinez said. San Dimas Coach Dean Bennet remarked, “It was a real emotion swing for them. From our side of the field, that’s the third touchdown return in three weeks. Emotionally, that really kicked us in the teeth”. Pratt also intercepted a pass to set up another Bonita touchdown and rushes for a team high 78 yards on 17 carries. He score twice.
San Dimas running game was strong, out rushing Bonita 298 to 162 yards but was hurt by mistakes. The Saints lost six turnovers and were penalized nine times for 95 yards. Two turnovers in the final five minutes of the game resulted in 14 additional points for the Bearcats. “Ball-handing mistakes really hurt us,” Bennet said. “It kind of showed itself last week a little bit. I thought we had done things to correct it: obviously not. I know of only one way to deal with this, and that’s to come back and work harder.”
Derek Balch gave Bonita a 9-7 lead early in the third quarter when he kicked a 42 yard field goal. However, the Saints came right back and drove 85 yards to regain the lead (13 to 9) before Richards Pratt’s dynamic return would seal the victory for Bonita.
Varsity Bearcats
Back: Coaches Mike Riggs, Tom Martinez, Ron Wealean,
Row 5: Andy Conriquez, Chris Gruwell, Chris Chester, Jeff Luna, Dane Hanson.
Row 4: Tito Waldo, Tony Collins, Darrell Gonzales, Rudy Garcia, Darren Doherty.
Row 3: Trevor Mason, Chris Nicely,Tony Mercado ,Mouthikar Long, Dominic Vinci, Benji Aquilera, Travis Simpson, David Simon, Elex Sy, Trent Mewlon.
Row 2: Sean Gillette, Derek Balch, Damon Quintana, Richard Pratt, Ed Marquez, Jeff Andrew, John Parisi, Donny Fuqua, Scott Simmerok, Alain uyidi,
Front: Tony Del Toro, Diego Galvez, Eric Gorman, Brian Phillips, Pat Duffy, Sergio Herrera, Chris Johnson, Micah Grauso.
Football season began early for the players. Summer practices were held almost everyday of vacation, with each practice lasting about 2 to 2½ hours. In addition to that, they were also required to visit the weight room twelve additional times outside of practice.In the end, all the hard work paid off. For the first time since 1982, Bonita defeated archrival San Dimas for the Smudge Pot, 31-21, which was the highlight of the season for the Bearcats.Individually, senior Richard Pratt rushed for 815 yards and made the Hacienda League First Team, while defensive player Sean Gillete also made the First Team. Seniors Jeff Andrew and Scott Simmerok both made the Second Team, while Derek Balch, DarrenDoherty, and Alain Uyidi earned Honorable Mentions. The season was not without its low points .Many members of the team suffered injuries, like Ed Marquez, fullback, who broke his leg in the Ganesha game, and Tony Collins, who injured his neck. When the season ended, the team had a record of 4-6, finishing in 3rd place.
-Echoes, 1989
The Smudge Pot: Back where it belongs.
As the night came upon Glen Davis Stadium, the overall atmosphere of the annual Smudge Pot game came into effect. The crowd on the home side was filled with anxiety.The question arose, can they win that beautiful hunk of a pot back? You bet!
The crowd’s eyes, full of faith for the powerful Bearcat team, assured the home players that they were there to support them 100% all the way. The first touchdown made by Richard Pratt got the crowd on its feet. The cheers of happiness echoed throughout the stadium. The Bearcats were the first to score in this game and made it known to all that they were out for a victory. As half time began the score was a close six to seven with San Dimas ahead. That changed quickly as Richard Pratt ran for an amazing 89 yard touchdown! If anyone could hear the crowd’s cheers of happiness it was the visiting team. If that wasn’t enough for the Saints, two more touchdowns were scored by the Cats giving them a 31 to 21 lead. Little did San Dimas know the last touchdown they made would leave them to their doom. The Saints definitely got a good dose of Bearcat medicine. No other team was well deserving of this honor. Bonita worked hard for this victory, and showed everyone they were the team to beat. As the countdown began, the stadium roared with excitement as students poured out of the bleachers congratulating the home team for their victory. The Bearcats brought the Smudge Pot to their side of the stadium showing true Bonita pride as they carried it high above their shoulders. The game was now over. It went by too fast to realize what had happened. All that hard work and time paid off, the Smudge Pot was theirs. For the seniors this was among the most exciting moments. In their four years at B.H.S. they had not seen the Smudge Pot, but with the strength and power of the Varsity Bearcat Football Team their dream was fulfilled. What a way to end the 1988-89 school year with the Smudge Pot in their hands! That night a lot of pride was felt at Glen Davis Stadium, the home of the Bearcats, a feeling that was overwhelmed with tears of jubilation. As the stadium emptied, the velvet black sky was illuminated with colorful fireworks congratulating the Bearcats for their well deserved victory.
–Echoes, 1989
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Varsity Saints
Front: Nick Paoletto, Ethan Malicki, Ed Marques, Pax Magallanes, Terry Jouzi, Randy Johns, Pablo Andreatta, Louie Vidaure.
Row 2: Kyle Davis, Fred Carreon, Sean Booth, Steve De Berry, Derrick Wilhite, Manny Valenzuela, James Avina, Eric Lane.
Row 3: Manager Tania Brenning, Steve Ritchey, Matt Harding, Coach Picket, Coach Alley, Coach Bennett, Coach Giannone, Coach Wiley, Dr. Feldsher, Bill Smith, David Duffey, Manager Rebecca Zemla.
Row 4: David Hernandez, Jeremy Crandall, Jon Reclusado, Vince Molitar, Jeff Trainor, Jeff Hritz, Matt Pouliot, Jason Coleman, Joe Sayegh.
Row 5: Brian Petree, Joe Keeler, Robbie Badar, Mike Perkins, Tommy Lowery, Jai Husband, Ricardo Miagany, Dominic Woods, Quang Bui. Back: Bill Hensche, Virgil Nelson, Robert Gale, Jim Miozza, Curtis Mahan, Tyson Stull, Matt Davis, Brian Murphy, Joel Amidon, Ernie S
Before the season had even started, the football players were already hard at work over the summer. With thirty complete weight workouts and nine passing league sessions required to make varsity, players had to keep themselves on strict schedules to make summer attendance. “I think the required workouts were good for us because it showed who was dedicated to playing, and who wanted to be the best.” said junior Brian Petree. It was a year of adjustment too. The players had to get used to the idea of a new head coach, Dean Bennett. “It wasn’t much of a change physically, but he made us work mentally harder than Shelbourne,” said junior Matt Pouliot. With this emphasis on “mental strength,” players were encouraged to strive for academic as well as athletic excellence. Tuesday and Wednesday study halls teamed with weekly Friday reports kept the team’s “strength” up. Having high pre-season rankings in league and CIF, all eyes were focused on the Saints. “We were ranked ninth in our division and first in the league, so it put the pressure on us to win games and show what we could do.” Though the team was well prepared, the season turned out to be one of ups and downs.”We sometimes played as individuals and not as a team.’ said junior Jon Reclusado. Early wins against Covina and Ontario boosted spirit, but a loss to arch-rival Bonita slowed the Saints’ momentum. “We’ve had the Smudge Pot all the time I’ve been here, it didn’t seem true when we lost.” said senior Norm Geurts. A win at home against Apple Valley in the new stadium picked up the pace, but back to back losses in league against Sierra Vista and Bassett burst hopes of a league championship. Even though it was a loss, the Sierra Vista game provided at least one strong memory for senior linebacker Landry Zimmerman. “I’ll always remember hitting a Sierra Vista player so hard he lay on the field for ten minutes before they dragged him off.” Coming back to win against Azusa and Gladstone kept a CIF hope alive, with only Pomona in the way; but despite a hard fought game, they came up short with their final loss of the season.
– Louis Vidaure, El Santo ‘89
Anti Green Week
Perhaps one of the most celebrated traditions was the Smudge pot game and assembly. The week of activities, known as anti-green week had many students and faculty sporting anti-bearcat badges. They were determined to unite our Saint blue and gold to make Bonita green with envy: but for only the fifth time in 19 years, we relinquished the Smudge pot to our rivals by a score of 21-31.
Smudge Pot Quotes
"“Pratt’s kickoff return just ignited them,” Martinez said (Richard Pratt Returned a Kickoff for 85 yards. )."
Coach Tom Martinez | Bonita Head Coach, 1988
