Bonds, Scott draw high Angelus League football honors

Garnering all-league recognition is a memorable accomplishment no matter the league it comes from.

But for the 15 St. Francis High football players who were lauded with All-Angelus League accolades, it’s certainly of added satisfaction knowing they were among the best from a highly-regarded league that sent all six of his squads to the postseason in 2016.

Leading the way for St. Francis on the field and in the all-league haul were senior quarterback Michael Bonds and senior safety/receiver Daniel Scott.

Bonds was recognized as the Angelus League co-Most Valuable Offensive Player of the Year, while Scott was tabbed the Angelus League Most Valuable Defensive Player of the Year.

“It was just a great honor,” Bonds said. “[The league is] so competitive and there’s so many great players, even on our team, that could’ve won it.”

Said Scott of his accolade: “It surprised me a little bit. I think, overall, we had a successful season as a team and I had a good season, as well.”

St. Francis finished 9-2 on the season, taking second in the Angelus League behind Cathedral and falling in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division III playoffs to Palos Verdes. The Golden Knights’ two losses came by a combined eight points.

Cathedral senior Jamire Calvin and Salesian senior Deammodore Lenoir shared league MVP honors, while Bonds’ most valuable offensive player honor was shared with La Salle senior Amon Milliner. Most valuable lineman honors were also shared by seniors Hunter Echols of Cathedral and Myles Cecil of La Salle.

St. Francis seniors Matt Nixon, Jace Harrick, Gabriel Mathews, Dulles Hanula, Maxx Jakeway, Will Mudie and Matt Bazarevitsch, along with juniors Gabriel Grbavac and Bobby Gazmarian were named all-league first-teamers.

Scott was a dual threat as a safety with 70 tackles and five interceptions and as a receiver with 41 catches for 688 yards and 10 touchdowns.

“As we went through the league season, really on both sides of the ball, on offense they knew where [Scott] was and, on defense, they were gonna throw away from him,” St. Francis Coach Jim Bonds said. “Through the league year, he was one of those kids who built a reputation as one of the best players in the league.”

Michael Bonds, who transferred from Newport Harbor ahead of his senior season, threw for 2,201 yards and 25 touchdowns with 159 completions on 249 attempts (64%) and only four interceptions. Bonds added four touchdowns and 228 yards on the ground.

“I was extremely happy for him,” Jim Bonds said of his nephew Michael’s success and the Angelus League recognition. “Anytime you move … it’s challenging. You don’t know how you’re going to be received by the other players and how you’re going to be received by the coaching staff. It couldn’t have gone any better for him. He really became a leader right away and then he went out and performed beyond expectations.

“I thought it was an outstanding season for him.”

It was an outstanding season that began in the first days that Michael Bonds arrived at St. Francis.

“I think the transition couldn’t have gone better. I think it’s the coaching staff that made the transition so easy,” Michael Bonds said. “[My teammates] welcomed me with open arms.

“When everyone’s on the same page and when everyone has the same goal, I think that’s the biggest thing.”

Joining Bonds in the backfield was senior running back Harrick, who carried the ball 141 times for 754 yards and seven touchdowns, with four 100-yard rushing games.

“Just another outstanding program player,” Jim Bonds said of Harrick. “We loved having him at St. Francis. Just a really tough kid.

“He really did a good job running the ball, but he was also great in pass protection.”

Mathews, a receiver, garnered first-team offensive honors on the strength of 29 catches for 506 yards and seven touchdowns. He added 21 tackles and four pass break-ups on defense.

“He had a great year and that didn’t just start in the beginning of the season. He put in a lot of hard work before the season,” Michael Bonds said. “Gabe was a playmaker for us.”

A constant on the offensive line was Nixon at guard, as one of the team’s captains who didn’t miss a game and proved to be a force up front.

“Just an absolute stud,” Jim Bonds said of Nixon. “He just brought the toughness to that group. I don’t think he missed a snap all season.”

Wrapping up St. Francis’ first-team offensive selections was Hanula, as the kicker converted seven of 11 field-goal attempts with a long of 47 yards and made 47 of 48 extra points. Hanula also kicked 29 touchbacks out of 48 kickoffs.

“He packed a pretty good punch with his kicking strength and we were confident putting him out there,” Jim Bonds said.

Also on special teams, kicker Matt Bazarevitsch was a first-team defensive selection who averaged 33.4 yards on 25 punts.

“He’s a prototypical college punter with his size,” Jim Bonds said of the 6-foot-3, 190-pound Bazarevitsch. “He did what we asked him to do and he did it with a smile on his face.”

On the defensive line, Grbavac was a returning all-league recipient with 44 tackles, 11 for a loss, nine sacks and 28 quarterback hurries.

“His tenacity and just relentless pursuit of the quarterback was just fun to watch,” Jim Bonds said. “He’s probably the strongest kid on the team and that translated to the field, which doesn’t necessarily always happen.”

Another returning all-leaguer was Jakeway, who was a captain, a leader who played through injury and tallied 78 tackles in nine games with three sacks.

“His toughness is what made him so good. He was the heart and soul of our team,” said Jim Bonds of Jakeway, who missed time due to a bone bruise in his leg along with significant tears to his meniscus and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), but returned when he was told by doctors that no further damage could be sustained. “He’s exactly what you want as an inside linebacker and a leader of the team.”

Another first-team linebacker and captain was Mudie, who had 70 tackles.

“He did so much for us,” Jim Bonds said. “He kind of goes under the radar because he does so many things so well and so efficiently.”

Rounding out the Golden Knights’ first-team defensive selections was Gazmarian, who proved to be a phenomenal cover cornerback and tallied 55 tackles and three interceptions.

“He had the challenge of covering most other teams’ best receivers,” Jim Bonds said. “He had some tough jobs this year and answered the call.”

Senior linebacker Gavin Campbell was a second-team selection with 36 tackles and three sacks.

On the offensive second-team were junior receiver Greg Dulcich (30 receptions for 406 yards and four touchdowns), junior running back Elijah Washington (100 carries for 582 yards and six touchdowns) and junior offensive lineman Matt Barriga.