St. Bonaventure Takes DIII Title with Flair

By Mitch Stephens

MaxPreps.com

CARSON, Calif. - The play call came in and St. Bonaventure-Ventura senior Darrell Scott, considered the best running back in the country, couldn't believe it.

A halfback pass?

"What?" Scott said. "Are you kidding?"

The CIF Division III State Championship Bowl Game was on the line and Scott hadn't thrown a pass all year.

"Calm down Darrell," St. Bonaventure quarterback Casey Serna said. "It will work."

And it did.

Scott swept right and with two defenders approaching fast, he lofted a wobbler back to Serna, a former receiver who hauled it in, avoided one tackler and scooted down the left sideline for a 16-yard touchdown with 1 minute, 19 seconds remaining.

The touchdown not only secured St. Bonaventure's 35-21 victory over a game Central Catholic squad at the Home Depot Center on Saturday, but  it perfectly reflected its fast and fun style of play. .

St. Bonaventure head coach Todd Therrien preaches smiles and he swings for the fences. He hit a round-tripper in his first season with the state's ultimate prize.

In a terrific, evenly-matched game, St. Bonaventure (14-1) broke a 14-14 tie with three fourth-quarter touchdowns and got 150 yards rushing (17 carries) and two touchdowns by Scott, the 6-foot-2, 217-pound specimen rated the No.1 tailback in the country by CSTV's Tom Lemming.

Nursing a tender ankle, Scott overcame a tentative start to rush for touchdowns of 48 and 10 yards but it was his first touchdown pass as a prep that everyone was talking about.

"They were over-pursuing to the ball so we went for it," Therrien said. "We've never run it in a game but had a lot of success during practice. Just seemed like the right time."

Said Serna, who had another outstanding game, throwing for 193 yards and two touchdowns including a 70-yard bomb to junior Drew Gibson with 10:35 left that put St. Bonaventure up for good: "One way or another Darrell is going to help us win,"

It was a perfect ending of a high school career for Scott, who had a rough beginning of the season after transferring from neighboring school Moorpark.

The transfer drew a lot of scrutiny and criticism throughout Ventura County and the Southern Section. Scott tried to avoid the topic all season like he side-stepped tacklers.

After losing back-to-back section title games at Moorpark, Scott ended his prep career with Southern Section and State Bowl Game crowns. 

"There were kids I played with (at Moorpark) since we were in grade school," he said. "They thought I abandoned them and that hurt. But I was welcomed (at St. Bonaventure) with open arms. The players and coaching staff both. I can't express how good this feels now."

Central Catholic coach Mike Glines couldn't imagine a better send-off himself.

Except winning of course.

Glines announced two weeks ago that this, his 35th year in coaching, would be his last.

Central Catholic, which got 196 yards rushing on 24 carries from Louis Bland, didn't prevail but it definitely put a scare into the heavily-favored Seraphs, ranked eighth in the state (by MaxPreps) and 66th nationally.

The Raiders (11-2-1) came in unranked nationally and No. 39 in the state.

"I couldn't be prouder of their effort," Glines said. "We really competed and we were just a couple of plays from winning the game. It was a win-able game."

That's for sure.

Central Catholic had more first downs (20-18), held the ball longer (26:22 to 21:38) and was outgained just 393-390. This was an even game, except for the final quarter when St. Bonaventure outscored the Raiders 21-7.

"That was a heck of squad and well-coached team we just beat," Therrien said. "And that Bland might be the best football player we faced all year."

Bland had mutal respect for St. Bonaventure.

"They've got a lot of Division I prospects on that team, but their also disciplined," he said. "They hit hard and played well.

"But I think we surprised them. We gave them all they wanted."

No arguments there.

A terrific first half ended in a little controversy as Bland scored on a 2-yard run with 40.9 seconds left to tie the game at 14-14.

Bland, however, was hit hard by cornerback Troy Hill right at the goal line and the ball popped loose. The linesman immediately signaled touchdown but replays showed that the ball appeared to be coming out before he crossed the line.

No matter, Central Catholic deserved to be even at halftime or even in the lead. The seemed more passionate from the start while the heavily-favored Seraphs appeared flat.

Scott, who has Texas, Florida, Colorado and LSU on his short list of possible colleges, looked gimpy and tentative from the start as St. Bonny went 3-and-out on its first possession.

"It just took me some time to warm up," Scott said.

Bland, a two-time state wrestling champion, looked like he didn't want to be the "other" back in the game as he ripped off a 21-yard run on his first carry and the Raiders moved quickly to the St. Bonaventure 23. But on first down, Max Nelson fumbled and Loren Powers recovered.

"Even though we didn't score, I think we kind of showed them we came here to play," Bland said.

Central Catholic didn't fumble on its second possession and moved 58 yards on four plays capped with a 12-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Dylan Swartz to Alex Young.

The play wasn't particularly spectacular, but considering it was Swartz' first varsity pass it was more than noteworthy.

Glines said he went to Swartz, just called up from the junior varsity in Week 9, to stretch the field. The 6-2, 180-pound sophomore had an impressive debut, especially considering the circumstance, going 10 of 14 for 116 yards and no interceptions.  

"We needed to stretch them out to open up our running game and (Swartz) could do that better than our other guys," he said.

With Bland and Nelson in the backfield, Swartz' burden wasn't that great.

The 6-foot, 205-pound Bland set up the touchdown with a jaw-dropping 48-yard run. Bland, resembling an old Earl Campbell clip, absolutely ran over a defensive back 10 yards down field, and then sprinted the rest of the way until being stopped at the 15.

"Bland is a stud," Therrien said.

Two plays later, Swartz found Young, a 6-6, 205-pound tight end, over the middle after play action for the touchdown.

"(Swartz) has a strong arm but he puts the ball right on the money too," Glines said. "He sure didn't hurt us today." 

St. Bonaventure responded, going 69 yards in just four plays finished off with a 21-yard touchdown pass from Serna to Isiah Burton. A 48-yard inside screen from Serna to Nolan Rodarte set up the score.

On the touchdown, Serna fired a quick out to Burton, who avoided a couple defensive backs, scooted down the left sideline and dove in the end zone, tying the score at 7-7 with 3:16 left in the first quarter.

The Seraphs took a 14-7 lead when Scott got outside and sprinted virtually untouched for a 48-yard touchdown midway through the second quarter.

On a third-and-5 play, Serna pitched to Scott who got a terrific seal block on the outside and was gone.

"That speed is hard to simulate at practice," Glines said. "That's the best team we've faced in a long, long time."

Central Catholic came right back with the best and most sustained drive of the half, going 80 yards in 10 plays, capped by Bland's controversial touchdown.

The halftime score reflected the statistics as Central Catholic had 203 yards and St. Bonaventure 190. Bland had 11 carries for 108 yards and Scott seven carries for 79 yards. Swartz was 4 of 6 for 52 yards and Serna 5-for-8 for 97 yards.

Following a scoreless third quarter, the athleticism of Serna proved pivotal in giving the Seraphs a 21-14 lead early in the fourth quarter.

On a 3rd-and-22 play from his own 30, Serna avoided a big rush, stepped up in the pocket and off one foot lofted a beautiful spiral to Gibson 50 yards down field.

Gibson hauled in the pass, two defensive backs ran into each other and he waltzed in the final 20 yards untouched, completing a 70-yard touchdown giving St. Bonaventure the lead with 10:35 remaining.

Scott picked up the blitz with a big block.

"I was so jacked up in the first half I missed some open guys down field," Serna said. "Coaches told me at halftime that the deep ball was open. (Gipson) was open and I just got it to him."

Said Gibson: "I was the No. 1 option on the play. (Serna) put the ball right there all night and he did on that play. Once I caught it all of a sudden there was no one in front of me. That's the biggest touchdown I've ever scored."

Scott put St. Bonny in command with a pretty 10-yard TD run with 4:56 left after a quick pitch from Serna. Scott followed his blockers on a short-side sweep and dove into the end zone, making it 28-14. The TD was set up on a dropped punt snap.

"My adrenalin was just kicking in by then," Scott said. "This was for the state championship."

That thought didn't escape the Raiders, who went right down the field and scored on a 34-yard touchdown run by Nelson.

Bland had a 20-yard run to set up the score that came with 3:48 remaining and keyed a 63-yard drive that took only 1:08.

"There was no doubt we came here to win," Bland said. "We weren't backing down."

After recovering an onside kick, the Seraphs put it away as Scott ripped off runs of 9, 6 and 15 yards. Three plays netted nine yards so on fourth-and-1 Therrien decided to go for broke with the trick play. .

Scott reluctantly accepted the challenge and Serna made the catch, move and touchdown.

"It wasn't the best pass but Casey always makes plays," Scott said. "He's just an awesome athlete."

When Serna, headed to Oregon on a baseball scholarship, got past one defender, there was nothing between him and the goal line but grass. When he got to the end zone, Serna did a swan dive with a twist, drawing a 15-yard excessive celebration penalty.

"I had to do it," Serna said of the celebration. "I was so happy. I knew we had the game...had the championship. It was the best feeling I've ever had."

E-mail Mitch Stephens at mstephens@maxpreps.com.