CIF Small Schools Bowl preview: Brookside Christian vs. Bishop's

SMALL SCHOOL: Brookside Christian (Stockton) 12-0 vs. Bishop's (La Jolla) 13-0 at Home Depot Center (Carson), 4 p.m. Friday.

FACTS AND STATS
Rankings — Brookside Christian: State, No. 299. Bishop's: State, No. 129.

Leading Rushers — Brookside Christian: Robert Fernandez (98-1,098-17 TD). Bishop's: Alec Fisher (1,599-25 TD), Austin Fisher (174-1,223-15 TD).

Leading Passers — Brookside Christian: Tony Rodriguez (151-216-3,284-46 TD). Bishop's: Joey Moreno, (1,976 yards, 17 TD).

Leading Receivers — Brookside Christian: Larry Fullard (44-1,018-15 TD), Shaquille Hill (37-1,124 -17 TD). Bishop's: Adam Malkiewicz (42-889- 7 TD).

Points per game (allowed): Brookside Christian 53.6 (15.6), Bishop's 35.9 (16.5).

OVERVIEW
The two teams in the Division IV matchup, The Bishop's School (La Jolla) and Brookside Christian (Stockton) have several similarities. Both teams' mascot is the Knights and both teams are undefeated on the season - Bishop's at 13-0 and Brookside Christian at 12-0.

Both teams are also making their first appearance in the state bowl games, and that fact alone could have a profound effect on the future of the two programs.

"It means the world to this team," said Brookside Christian coach Late'F Grim. "It's the realization of a dream that they set as a team last November. It is the finale of all the practice, hard work, sacrifice and drive that each of our players has dedicated themselves to. For our school, this game puts us on the map. It tells everyone that the size of the student body does not dictate our success."

Brookside Christian is in the midst of the best season in school history. After falling to Bradshaw Christian in last year's Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI championship game, the Knights have won 12 in a row and captured the school's first football section title with a 28-6 win over Bradshaw Christian.

Bishop's, meanwhile, has experienced great success in its history. In fact this year's team probably isn't the best in school history. That might be the 1997 team that went 13-0 and was ranked No. 1 in the state by Cal-Hi Sports. Or maybe it was the 2007 team that went 12-0 and finished the year ranked No. 4 in the state. Then there is the 1999 team that went 12-1 and finished ranked No. 2 in the state.

"What this game does is give an opportunity to reward a group of kids who have worked hard for a really long time," said Bishop's assistant Dustin Sniff. "It is great for our team to be able to play in such a high profile game to show the amount of hard work our kids have put in."

Bishop's has put together those impressive seasons despite playing in one of the state's toughest small school leagues. Christian (El Cajon), Santa Fe Christian, Horizon and last year's Southern California Division IV representative Parker join Bishop's in the Coastal League to form a potent circuit. Santa Fe Christian, Bishop's and Horizon have all had teams finish ranked No. 1 in the state by Cal-Hi Sports in the last decade while Parker just missed out on a state championship last year.

"I'm not sure people understand just how tough a small school league the Coastal League is," said Sniff. "These are five really good schools where all of the kids on every team have really bought into their program."

Yet despite the impressive competition, Bishop's has been able to navigate unscathed through a league that featured no team with less than six wins. Bishop's averaged 43 points per game in league play. Bishop's also had a 21-10 win over Bishop, the Southern Section Northeast Division champion.

BROOKSIDE OFFENSE/BISHOP'S DEFENSE
It's not a mystery. Brookside likes to throw the ball and not many small school quarterbacks have done it better this year than junior Tony Rodriguez. Throwing out of the spread-option offense, Rodriguez has thrown for 3,284 yards and 46 touchdowns with just four interceptions.

Rodriguez has thrown at least five touchdowns in a game five times including nine touchdowns in a 68-21 win over Elliot Christian. He has also thrown for more than 300 yards seven times, including a high of 448 yards in a 74-6 win over Millennium.

Rodriguez also throws to a pair of 1,000-yard receivers in Larry Fullard (44 catches, 1,018 yards) and Central California Athletic Alliance MVP Shaquille Hill (37 catches, 1,124 yards).

However, after averaging close to 23 attempts per game through the first eight games of the season, Rodriguez had just four attempts against Stone Ridge Christian, eight against Big Valley Christian and 19 against Bradshaw Christian in the Sac-Joaquin Section championship game.

The reason for the change in game plan was the improved play of running back Robert Fernandez. After rushing for just more than 600 yards through the first eight games of the season, Fernandez added 215 on just seven carries against Stone Ridge Christian and 210 against Big Valley Christian. Thus Bishop's won't be able to solely shut down Rodriguez to effectively shut down the Knights' offensive attack.

The Bishop's defense has good genes on its side. Defensive end Micah Seau (6-3, 225, 122 tackles) is the nephew of NFL great Junior Seau and has been an all-league player for the Knights the past three seasons. He's one of five all-league players on the Bishop's defensive side of the ball along with junior defensive back Dominique Love, senior defensive lineman Kyle Gantz (43 tackles, 6 sacks), junior linebacker Kohl Simonds (53 tackles) and senior defensive back Robby Stiefler. Meanwhile all-league running back Austin Fisher (113 tackles) excels on defense at outside linebacker.

"We've seen a lot of spread offense in our league," said Sniff. "Parker and Horizon both run it. It's a great offense for small schools that might not have big linemen but have a lot of good backs and receivers."

BISHOP'S OFFENSE/BROOKSIDE CHRISTIAN DEFENSE
Running back Alec Fisher earned player of the year honors in the Coastal League while rushing for 1,599 yards and 25 touchdowns. He was part of a potent backfield that also included all-league running back, and twin brother, Austin Fisher, who racked up 1,223 yards and 15 scores.

Sniff says the Knights' deceptive Wing-T offense is balanced with head coach Joel Allen just as likely to pass the ball with quarterback Joey Moreno as he is to run it with the Fisher twins.

The Knights have a strong line, anchored by Gantz, who has only played football since his junior season but has been the most improved player on the team, according to Sniff. The line also boasts all-league junior Greg Chisholm and senior Kevin Quigley.

For Brookside, George Evans, although small in stature at 5-7 and 155 pounds, has been a wrecking crew. The CCAA defensive MVP has racked up 154 tackles on the season including a high of 21.

Other leading tacklers include senior defensive back Chris Gowans (101 tackles), senior linebacker Eddie Leon (96 tackles) and Fernandez (93). Gowans also leads the team in interceptions with seven while Tumboura Hill and Kenny Sharp each have seven sacks.

"We will swarm to the ball on defense," said Grim.

EXTRA POINTS
The Bishop's School has more than 500 students, which is the cutoff point for Division IV Bowl Game participants; however, since Southern California only had one Division IV qualifier, the smaller Division III qualifiers were considered for the Division IV bowl game... The Bishop's School has won 87 section championships in all sports, the fourth highest total in San Diego Section history... Bishop's has won three San Diego Section football titles... Both Brookside Christian and Bishop's were the runner-ups in their respective sections last year... Tony Rodriguez's nine touchdown passes in a single game ranks second in state history according to Cal-Hi Sports... Rodriguez's 46 touchdown passes on the season rank third all-time in Sac-Joaquin Section history... Bishop's is the second straight team from the Coastal League to appear in the state bowl games. Parker (San Diego) lost in the Division IV finals to Modesto Christian last year.