St. Bonaventure Blocks Verbum Dei’s Way, 32-8
Slip-slidin’ away, the St. Bonaventure High football team slogged past Verbum Dei, 32-8, in a Southern Section Division X first-round playoff game Thursday night.
On a field of mud and standing water at Ventura High, the Seraphs (9-1-1) used special teams and a solid ground game to reach next week’s quarterfinals against the winner of tonight’s Calabasas-Ontario Christian game.
The playing conditions and St. Bonaventure’s defense smothered Verbum Dei (7-4), which managed only 123 yards and two first downs.
St. Bonaventure gained 221 yards and 12 first downs. Tailback Andre Pinedo carried 31 times for 145 yards.
Twice in less than two minutes in the first quarter, Seraph linebacker Shaun Velasquez blocked a punt by Verbum Dei’s Adrian Metoyer and recovered the ball in the Eagle end zone for a touchdown.
The Seraphs failed on both conversion attempts and led, 12-0.
Quarterback Teohua Sanchez added a seven-yard touchdown run in the second quarter for an 18-0 halftime lead.
Another blocked punt, by Brian Carr early in the third quarter, led to the second of Sanchez’s three rushing touchdowns.
Get our high school sports newsletter
Prep Rally is devoted to the SoCal high school sports experience, bringing you scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
