CIF State Bowl Championships
Division III: St. Bonaventure 28, Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa) 6
SB Stars: DB Joe Luna (10 tackles), Devon Blackledge (89 yards rushing, 1 TD), QB Logan Meyer 140 yards passing, 1 TD.
Storyline: St. Bonaventure wins second straight title…Seraphs don’t allow touchdown against team that averaged 42 ppg. … Junior QB Meyer poise is key.
Other Bowl Game Stories: Open, D1, D2, D3, Small Schools.
Game previews: Open, D1. D2, D3, Small schools.
Final MaxPreps National Rankings: 6. Centennial (15-0), 14. Grant (14-0); 15. Long Beach Poly (14-1); 19. De La Salle (12-2); 20. Bellarmine (12-1); 22. St. Bonaventure (14-1); 23. Tesora (13-1).
Final California rankings: Click here.
By Mitch StephensMaxPreps.com
CARSON, Calif. – It was mid-September and St. Bonaventure assistant Andy Gibson was driving head coach Todd Therrien a little bonkers.
“We’re better than last year,” Gibson kept singing at practice. “We’re better than last year.”
Said Therrien: “I wanted to kick him in the shins. Can you just let us play it out?”
With a thorough 28-6 victory over a very good and previously unbeaten Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa) squad, the Seraphs played it out all right, to their second straight CIF State Bowl Division III crown at the Home Depot Center on Saturday afternoon.
A fast and physical defense kept a team that averaged six touchdowns a game out of the end zone while getting four different players to score.
This was truly a team effort.
USC-bound Patrick Hall (53-yard run), Marcus Langkilde (2-yard run), Devon Blackledge (25-yard run) and Drew Gibson (14-yard pass from quarterback Logan Meyer) all tallied touchdowns for the Seraphs (14-1) who made a serious claim that they are one of the top 20 teams in the country.
Their only defeat was 12-7 to Long Beach Poly, a unanimous top 5 team nationally.
Afterward, Therrien was ready to finally harmonize with coach Gibson.
“I have to give it to (Gibson), he knew it all the way,” Therrien said.
Therrien had a hunch too, largely based on a terrific defense that allowed just 28 points its final four games.
Newman (13-1), making its second state bowl appearance in three years, had a plethora of weapons, came in averaging more than 400 yards per game but mustered just 254, mainly on what Therrien called “dinks and dunks.”
The Cardinals moved the chains, especially in the second quarter when Randy Wright, also the team’s standout quarterback, drilled field goals of 22 and 36 yards.
But the Seraphs secondary of J.B. Dock (five tackles, forced fumble), Troy Hill (five tackles), Tim Bennett (seven tackles) and Joe Luna (game-high 10 tackles) gave up next to nothing after each catch.
Wright, who came in with 2,557 yards passing, 30 touchdowns and a gaudy 15.7 yards per completions, completed 19 of 31 but for only 127 yards. That’s 6.7 yards per reception.
“You can only go so far doing that,” Therrien said. “But once you get into the red zone you can’t dink and dunk any more.”
Newman coach Paul Cronin, a truly innovative offensive coach, knew a truly fast team would give his team troubles. And after watching a week’s worth of film on the Seraphs Cronin cracked, “You wish you drew someone else, someone a little slower. Speed exposes some errors pretty quickly.
“Runs (against teams Newman normally faces) that go for 20 or 30 yards go for 5 or 6 against St. Bonaventure. Completions that normally we get five yards plus five more yards after the catch you just get five yards against St. Bonaventure.”
It just took one breakaway run by Hall to give St. Bonaventure all the points it would needed.
The talented back, who didn’t start on either side of the ball - he’s being recruited as a defensive back – broke through a large hole off the right side, then burst past the Newman secondary for a 52-yard TD run with 2:56 left in the first quarter.
Hall, who started for St. Bonaventure as a freshman, didn’t take his benching to heart.
“I just wanted to help my team win,” Hall said. “(On the TD) It was all blocking.”
A short punt led to a shore field, just 20 yards and the Seraphs needed just three plays to get back to the end zone to take a 14-0 lead. Blackledge ran twice for 18 yards and Langkilde power it home from the 2, giving St. Bonaventure a two-touchdown edge with 21 seconds left in the first quarter.
“We just didn’t play very well in the first quarter,” Cronin said. “That’s going to happen in a game like this. “We played hard and battled back.”
But they couldn’t finish. They went 76 yards to start the second quarter, but like they did all week, the Seraphs tightened up and Wright settled for a 22-yard field goal.
“We don’t like to ever be in that position but once teams get in the red zone, we don’t bend,” St. Bonny senior linebacker Xavier Ramos said.
The Seraphs took control on 25-yard yard touchdown around left end by Blackledge with 4:18 left in the third quarter.
After St. Bonaventure held on downs, the cemented with a 67 yard drive in eight plays capped by a beautifully designed 15-yard inside screen to Gibson for a touchdown with 10:15 remaining.
It was the second touchdown in two years for Gibson, who scored on a key 70-yard touchdown catch in last year’s 35-21 title-game win over Central Catholic (Modesto).
“I had to get in the end zone again,” Gibson said. “This was my last game in high school. To win two state titles is amazing. I couldn’t be prouder of my team and coaches.”
Meyer, an impressive 6-foot-1, 210-pound junior, was particularly sharp hitting 10 of 15 passes for 140 yards and a touchdown. The quarterback spot was wide open but Meyer, the JV starter last year, emerged last spring and was named the starter just before the first game.
Last year Meyer suited up for the state championship game last year, but never imagined playing such an integral part in the 2008 game.
“I just wanted to earn the starting job (in 2008),” Meyer said. “It was a big responsibility and I took it serious. But it was a game-by-game thing. I never even thought about doing this. I’m just glad I could contribute.”
Said Therrien: “Logan’s developed all year long. He doesn’t whine, he doesn’t pout, he just responds and has been a great quarterback all year. I think he has a chance to earn a scholarship.”
As good as Meyer and the offense were, Therrien is clear what the 2008 team will be remembered for.
“Our defense was lights out,” he said. “The secondary is one of the best in school history. The linebacking core is outstanding and the under-rated group is the linemen. From the front to back it’s a great unit. They play hard and together. They’ve been a lot of fun to coach.”
E-mail Mitch Stephens at mstephens@maxpreps.com.
St. Bonaventure 28, Cardinal Newman 6
Cardinal Newman 0 6 0 0 - 6
St. Bonaventure 14 0 7 7 - 28
First quarter
SB – Hall 53 run (Kirk kick), 2:56
SB – Langkilde 2 run (Kirk kick), :21
Second quarter
CN – FG, Wright 22, 7:19
CN – FG, Wright 36, 0:00
Third quarter
SB – Blackledge 25 run (Kirk kick), 4:18
Fourth quarter
SB – Gibson 14 pass from Lo. Meyer (Kirk kick), 10:15
Team Statistics
First downs: CN 19, SB 17
Rushes-yards: CN 40-127, SB 26-196
Passing: 19-31-0-127, SB 11-16-1-147
Total yards: CN 254, SB 343
TO: CN 0, SB 3
Penalties: CN 2-10, SB 5-40
Time possession: CN 30:06, SB 17:54
Individual Statistics
Rushing
CN, Badger 16-79, Ferguson 13-57, Wright 11-(-9). SB, Blackledge 10-89, Hall 7-78, Schouder 3-21, Langkilde 3-9, Rodart 2-1, Team 1-(-2).
Passing
CN, Wright 19-31-0-127. SB, L. Meyer 10-15-1-140, Kirk 1-1-0-7.
Receiving
CN, Amaral 10-69, Miller 3-32, North 2-19, Badger 2-9, Ferguson 2-(-2). SB Rodarte 4-58, Gibson 3-51, Z. Meyer 1-19, Langkilde 1-7, Ledesma 1-9, Hall 1-3.
Tackles
CN, James 7, Stout 5, Steele 4. SB, Luna 10, Gremaud 9, Bennett 7, Frazier 7, Davis 7.
