First published in the Sept. 8 print issue of the Pasadena Outlook.
In a game some high school football aficionados considered an upset, the La Salle College Preparatory varsity football team notched its first win of the season by defeating visiting Bonita High of La Verne, 30-22, in a nonleague game last Thursday.
“It’s not over until it’s done and we said if you’re a junkyard dog, you’re going to bite until you get some food, so we didn’t have food yet; we were still hungry,” La Salle head coach Ben Buys said. “I told them, ‘Look, guys, I don’t care what happens. The only people that matter is us. The noise, the distractions, everything else people saying we’re bad and we can’t play with [Bonita], none of that stuff matters right now.’ We’re going to bite those ankles until we get some meat for dinner.”
The huge victory was propelled by senior quarterback Will Clougherty, who started his first game in the pocket since his freshman campaign at St. Francis High School. He was 12-of-14 passing for 90 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 56 yards on 10 carries with a touchdown on the ground.
“Clougherty hasn’t played quarterback in three years and he played absolutely lights out,” Buys said. “He had three days of practice at quarterback in the past three years and that was Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. He came and said, ‘Coach, I’m going to put this team on my back.’ He’s just a phenomenal young man.”
Facing a 7-0 deficit with 44 seconds left in the first quarter, Clougherty connected with freshman Drew Ward on an 11-yard touchdown and senior Mak Hadziosmanovic’s PAT tied the game.
With just a second left before the end of the opening quarter, a botched pass by Bonita resulted in a pick-six for La Salle’s Jack Seibert. The pick gave the Lancers their first lead of the game, riding the momentum to the finish line. Seibert finished with three tackles in addition to his interception.
“Yeah, it was a big momentum shifter but from the very first snap since we started running the football and scoring that first drive, all of a sudden we said, ‘Look, we can play with these guys,’” Buys said. “We didn’t schedule this game just to give in.”
Hadziosmanovic went 3-for-3 in PATs while adding a field goal as the only scoring play for either side in the second quarter. Ward finished with two catches for 29 yards and a touchdown while tacking on a pair of tackles on defense.
Bonita threatened in the fourth quarter, scoring a pair of touchdowns and a two-point conversion, but a crucial 15-yard rushing touchdown by senior Anthony Balurdi with 5:15 remaining to make it 30-14 secured the Lancer victory. He rushed 15 times for 86 yards and a touchdown while adding one reception for one yard. He also had four tackles and a sack on defense.
Juniors Aidan Leyland and Mauricio Pavon made seven catches for 49 yards and one reception for 14 yards, respectively, while each added five tackles and an interception on defense.
Junior David Vanden Bosch rushed for 17 yards on four carries and had one tackle on defense.
Senior Andrew Boecking made one catch for two yards with five tackles and a sack on defense
Junior Thomas Gomez led the defense with seven tackles, sophomore Daniel Arroyas Jr., freshman Christian Alarcon, freshman Chris Cardenas, Mario Cassina and James Nolan each notched two tackles, and senior Ian Truitt had one tackle.
“I couldn’t be happier for the kids. I’m just so proud of them; they fought, they were hungry and to see and hungry to that’s not going to give in when things get hard is just — it’s an amazing experience,” Buys said. “They deserve it.”
The previous week, La Salle had lost at Village Christian High in Sun Valley, 30-20, on Thursday, Aug. 25. Junior quarterback David Mysza tallied 15 completions for 178 yards and a pair of touchdowns while adding 17 yards on three carries.
Leyland and Pavon each made five catches for 120 and 42 yards, respectively, while both recorded a touchdown. Meanwhile, Gomez tallied a pick-six with a team-high 12 tackles and a sack on defense.
La Salle (1-2 overall) will host Rosemead in a nonleague game on Friday, Sept. 9, at 7 p.m.
