It’s a tough call on St. Bonny-Hart, even for a coach

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At the Southern Section football championship press conference and luncheon on Monday, I had three reporters ask me who I thought would win the Northern Division title game between top-seeded St. Bonaventure and second-seeded Hart.

I told them I really had no idea, and that I was leaning a hair’s breadth toward Hart at this time. But maybe that’s because I still haven’t wrapped my head completely around St. Bonaventure’s impressive 55-36 triumph over Saugus.

So I decided to get the impartial opinion of defending Division I state bowl champion Coach Harry Welch, who was at the luncheon representing Northeast Division finalist St. Margaret’s. OK, maybe Welch is a little biased after coaching for parts of three decades with Canyon in the Santa Clarita Valley, but he made some great points about the game.

“If I were thinking very prejudicially, I would go with Hart with its experienced coaching staff and motivation,’ Welch said. ‘However, the young men at St. Bonny’s are terrific. Even though [Todd Therrien] is the new head coach at St. Bonny’s, he been there for years and he’s part of the community. He’s seen a lot and fought in the trenches with them before.”

So what’s Welch’s verdict on the game:

“I’m not sure who’ll win, but it’s going to be a dream matchup.’

My sentiments exactly. Still, I wouldn’t be my foolhardy self if I didn’t make a prediction on this one. Check back in a couple days when I blog my picks.

-- Austin Knoblauch