By james art COVINA – For those who doubt Bonita’s undefeated record and the strength of the Bearcats’ schedule, you can sit back.
Bonita turned one of the most anticipated games of the year against Charter Oak into its own party.
Bonita started with haymakers and kept its foot on the gas, cruising to a 49-21 victory after taking a 28-point halftime lead.
Bonita quarterback Travis Lippert threw for 197 yards and three touchdowns, and Joseph Lara, Noah Michael and Cole Parra each scored two touchdowns to pace them. Lara finished with 177 yards.
Bonita coach Steve Bogan talked about their 49-21 victory over Charter Oak to remain undefeated pic.twitter.com/cWftst9uOB
— Fred J. Robledo 👨🏻💻 (@SGVNSports) October 26, 2024
Lara talks about people doubting them because of their schedule.
“It was disrespectful,” Lara said. “Nobody can say that now. That’s the motivation we came here with.”
Bonita improved to 9-0 and 4-0 to earn at least a share of the Sierra League title and can clinch the title outright with a win next week against Colonia. The win could also propel the Bearcats into the CIF-SS Division 3 playoffs, as they were on the fringes of Divisions 3 and 4 in the Calpreps computer rankings before Friday’s game.
Bonita dominated up front, holding the Chargers to 12 yards.
“That’s football, it was a special start and things went our way,” Bonita sophomore coach Steve Bogan said. “We’re working hard and the momentum is going our way and our defense has been solid.”
Bogan also addressed questions about their schedule.
“I totally understand that,” Bogan said. “It was a good test and we passed it well.”
For Charter Oak (7-2, 3-1), it was a humbling defeat after coming into the game with plenty of momentum and with some big wins on their resume over Chino Hills, Muir and unbeaten Colony last week.
The Chargers were pushing for the Division 3 playoffs before Friday’s loss, but there’s a good chance they’ll fall to Division 4 after that, especially given how lopsided the loss was.
Charter Oak quarterback Corin Berry, a Boston College commit, threw for 225 yards and a touchdown and also scored. Marquis Bradley scored two touchdowns, one on an interception and another on an eight-yard reception. Bradley caught seven passes for 99 yards.
But it was over as soon as it started with Bonita’s stars showing up early.
After Bonita committed to Texas A&M, Michael sacked Berry to force a punt on the Chargers’ opening possession, the Bearcats wasted little time capitalizing.
On the Bearcats’ first offensive play, Lippert threw a lateral pass to Dylan Robinson and the Washington commit raced all the way to the end zone for a 75-yard score and a 7-0 lead.
Michael’s dismissal set things off.
“The main thing is that we did our job and we did it as a team,” said Mikhail. “Charter Oak is a great team and we played a great game against them, so now it’s on to the next one.
The Bearcats put the Chargers in a bigger hole after Joseph Lara picked off Berry and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
It got better for Lara.
After Lara’s 23-yard run to midfield, he scored a few plays later, dropping in for a 48-yard touchdown to extend their lead to 21-0 with just over a minute left in the first quarter.
The second quarter was no better for the Chargers.
Bonita extended its lead to 28-0 when Cole Parra took a short pass and ran 56 yards for a touchdown.
Charter Oak finally showed some life with a fourth-and-goal touchdown from the eight. Berry hit Marquise Bradley in the corner as he pulled it in to cut the Bearcats’ lead to 28-7 with 4:31 left in the half.
But the Bearcats just kept coming.
After completing two fourth down runs to fuel their drive, Lippert hit Mikhail over the middle and he scampered 34 yards for a touchdown to push their lead back to 28 points at halftime.
Bradley scored his second Charter Oak touchdown, picking off Lippert on the Bearcats’ opening drive of the third quarter and returning it 37 yards for a touchdown to cut their lead to 35-14.
Mikhail answered with his second touchdown and three yards and the Bearcats came back by 28 and that was it.
Bonita’s Noah Mikhail, a Texas A&M commit, scored two touchdowns and had a big sack in their 49-21 rout of Charter Oak pic.twitter.com/prQYeb4wOi
— Fred J. Robledo 👨🏻💻 (@SGVNSports) October 26, 2024
Bonita’s Joseph Lara rushed for 177 yards and a TD and also scored on an INT return pic.twitter.com/L4xbQq0RAO
— Fred J. Robledo 👨🏻💻 (@SGVNSports) October 26, 2024
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