By BRIAN REED-BAIOTTO, Sports Editor Who: St. Francis at Cathedral When: Friday, Oct. 28 at 7:00 p.m. Location: 1253 Bishops Road, Los Angeles, 90012 Records: St. Francis (8-0 overall, 3-0 in league); Cathedral (8-0, 3-0) It would be difficult to overstate the importance of Friday night’s Angelus League showdown when St. Francis travels to Cathedral. […]
By BRIAN REED-BAIOTTO, Sports Editor
It would be difficult to overstate the importance of Friday night’s Angelus League showdown when St. Francis travels to Cathedral.
It’s so big that Fox Sports will be there streaming the game.
The Golden Knights and Phantoms are undefeated, and both have wins over La Salle and Salesian in common.
The winner earns at least a share of the Angelus League title.
But it will almost certainly decide the outright crown, because after Friday, both schools have one regular season game left, and their opponents combined league record is 1-5.
St. Francis has a solid resume of turning a prolific offense into a shell of itself.
The Golden Knights have held Buena Park and Salesian to more than 30 points less than their season average, and picked off six passes in those two games.
Gabriel Grbavac (37 tackles, 9 sacks), Will Mudie (56 tackles), Maxx Jakeway (52 tackles, 3 sacks), Daniel Scott (46 tackles, 4 interceptions), Bobby Gazmarian (41 tackles, 3 interceptions) and Gavin Campbell’s 27 tackles, including 3 sacks will be just part of a defense looking to shut down a lethal Phantoms offense.
Andrew Monarrez also had a pick in the end zone to close out Salesian two weeks ago.
Cathedral has scored 28 of its 37 touchdowns this season through the air, and they use a two-man quarterback system.
Senior Andrew Tovar and freshman Bryce Young have split time behind center, and both have almost an even number of pass attempts.
Tovar has thrown 17 TD passes, and Young has 11. They’ve been picked off a combined nine times.
“Cathedral is an extremely athletic team with great team speed,” St. Francis coach Jim Bonds said. “They spread you out on offense and make you run sideline to sideline, while punching holes up the middle with their run game. They also have good size and strength as a team and are able to put tremendous pressure on opposing offenses.”
St. Francis quarterback Michael Bonds is playing his best football, and has not thrown an interception since Sept. 23.
What might go unnoticed, though, is Bonds does not turn the ball over, he does not take risky chances and right when you think you have the Golden Knights’ offense covered, Bonds takes off and runs for timely first downs.
Bonds has completed 64-percent of his passes for 1,510 yards. He’s thrown 18 TD passes and just 3 interceptions.
“I don’t see any weaknesses, so we’re going to have to play our best game to win,” Michael Bonds said. “Just like any other week, our coaches will have us prepared and we’ll be ready to rise to the occasion.”
The running game combo of Elijah Washington and Jace Harrick has been an enormous reason St. Francis is still undefeated.
Their 1,000-plus yards and 10 TDs have kept opposing quarterbacks biding their time on the opposing sidelines, as the Golden Knights always seem to control the time of possession battle.
Both teams have a solid receiving core, but the Phantoms are especially loaded.
While the Cathedral rushing game averages just 79 yards per game, the Phantoms throw for 340 yards each week.
Jamire Calvin is the X-facor.
Calvin has 63 receptions for 1,056 yards and 10 TD catches, while Arex Flemings had 8 TD catches and 600 yards receiving.
“I think we’re more of a passing team and they’re more of a running team,” Cathedral coach Kevin Pearson said. “St. Francis is very disciplined, well coached, and they’re not going to give us anything. We’ll have to be more disciplined, and the game will likely come down to a turnover or being able to steal a possession.”
Daniel Scott is the Golden Knights ‘do-everything’ player. Scott has team-highs with 10 total touchdowns and four interceptions.
He’s scored 8 times on passes from Bonds, another on the ground and he brought back a punt in the La Salle game for a score.
Will Mudie, Greg Dulcich and Gabriel Mathews have a combined 8 TD catches, and have been a few of Bonds’ top targets as well.
“We have to play together as a team, like we’ve done all year,” Daniel Scott said. “If we all buy into the game plan our coaches have set for us, and play unselfish like we have the last 8 games, we will be successful.”
While both teams are incredibly talented as their records would indicate, St. Francis has proven to be a much more disciplined team all year.
We spoke to La Salle coach Russell Gordon about the match up. La Salle is coming off a 16-14 victory over St. Paul, and has dropped competitive games against both St. Francis and Cathedral.
“This is a tough one. I feel Cathedral is more athletic, but St. Francis is more disciplined,” Gordon said. “Both teams have good quarterback play. St. Francis runs the ball more efficiently and Cathedral throws the ball more effectively. I feel the game can go either way, it truly comes down to who wins the time of possession and who has the least amount of turnovers.”
What very few seem to talk about, though, is the Golden Knights special teams.
Punter Matt Bazarevitsch and kicker Dulles Hanula have outplayed their counterparts for eight consecutive weeks.
In its 17-0 victory at La Salle two weeks ago, Cathedral had an eye-popping 20 penalties, including 7 on their first drive of the game.
St. Francis is on a three-game win streak over Cathedral.
And if their defensive front can put pressure on Young/Tovar, and Harrick/Washington control the clock, the Golden Knights will not only have a fourth consecutive win over the Phantoms, they’ll win the Angelus League championship.
Quotables:
Daniel Scott: “We have to play together as a team like we have done all year, whether that’s being a stout defense or a well-balance offense. If we all buy in to the game plan our coaches have set for us, and play unselfish as we have down the past 8 games, we will be successful. I think for myself, I need to just do my roles for the team, whether it’s calling the coverages for the defensive secondary, or blocking for the Jace and Elijah or just running clean routes for Michael. I have to make an impact on the field.”
Michael Bonds:”It’s exciting to be playing for a league championship in my first year at quarterback. I kind of expected that, because St. Francis has a great tradition, and we have a good team. They (Cathedral) are extremely athletic and fast and have many athletes that will impact the game. I don’t see any weaknesses, so we’ll have to play our best game to win.”
Gabriel Mathews: “I don’t think it puts anymore pressure on the defensive backs more than any other position. Everyone on the team is going to have to do their job for us to win this game. To limit their points, I think we have to limit their big plays and continue our “bend don’t break” attitude in the red zone. Playing a full 48 minute game is most key to beating them, because we know they’re going to make a big play here and there. That is just the kind of team they are. But if we continue to play our style of game through the good and the bad. I think we will come out with the win.
Jace Harrick: “This game is important to us as seniors, because we want to represent our school as league champs and have something to remember for 30 years down the road. I’ve also played with some of the kids in Cathedral back in Pop Warner, and it would nice to give them a brotherly (butt) whooping.”
Andrew Monarrez: “Most key to beating Cathedral is playing as a team. Individuality will cause emotions and can affect our play. What concerns me the most would be their threat as a passing team. However, if we communicate on defense, and come up with stops, our offense will take care of business.”
By The Numbers:
CIF-Southern Section Division 3 Poll:
1) La Mirada
2) Edison
3) Cathedral
4) St. Francis
5) Oak Hills
6) Villa Park
7) Rancho Verde
8) Buena Park
9) La Serna
10) Palos Verdes
Maxpreps State Rankings:
St. Francis 31; Cathedral 26
Point Differential:
Cathedral 284 points scored, 106 points allowed
St. Francis 270 points scored, 123 points allowed
Angelus League Standings:
St. Francis (8-0 overall, 3-0 in league)
Cathedral (8-0, 3-0)
La Salle (5-3, 1-2)
Salesian (5-3, 1-2)
St. Paul (3-5, 1-2)
Harvard-Westlake (3-5, 0-3)
St. Francis Schedule/Results
9/2: St. Francis 42, West Covina 7
9/8: St. Francis 35, Pasadena 0
9/16: St. Francis 24, La Serna 21
9/23: St. Francis 34, Dorsey 28
9/30: St. Francis 29, Buena Park 19
10/7: St. Francis 38, La Salle 28
10/15: St. Francis 20, Salesian 13
10/21: St. Francis 49, Harvard-Westlake 7
10/28: St. Francis at Cathedral
11/3: St. Francis at St. Paul
Cathedral Schedule/Results
8/26: Cathedral 40, Santa Fe 15
9/2: Cathedral 51, Burroughs 7
9/9: Cathedral 50, Lynwood 6
9/16: Cathedral 21, Loyola 19
9/30: Cathedral 28, Palos Verdes 23
10/7: Cathedral 40, St. Paul 0
10/14: Cathedral 17, La Salle 0
10/21: Cathedral 37, Salesian 36
10/28: St. Francis at Cathedral
11/4: Harvard-Westlake at Cathedral
Opponents In Common:
Cathedral 17, La Salle 0
St. Francis 38, La Salle 28
Cathedral 37, Salesian 36
St. Francis 20, Salesian 13
