Mack Looks for Picture-Perfect Ending

St. Bonaventure High football Coach Jon Mack has watched more videotape than a Blockbuster clerk with time on his hands since last Saturday, when the Seraphs beat Orange Lutheran to advance to tonight’s Southern Section Division X final against Nordhoff.

And as Mack has studied the television mounted high in a corner of his office, he has snuck a peek or two at a black-and-white photograph on the wall.

The picture is from a 1990 game against Nordhoff--Mack’s first victory as a head coach--and shows Seraph cornerback Gino Nucci intercepting a pass with no time remaining and the score tied, 8-8.

“The kid returned it 65, 70 yards for a touchdown,” Mack said. “That win kind of set the rivalry in tone. Our games often turn on a big play.”

Top-seeded Nordhoff (12-0-1) and third-seeded St. Bonaventure (11-1-1) play for the 23rd time at 7:30 tonight at Nordhoff. The Rangers lead the series, 11-9-2.

The 22nd meeting was Sept. 28, and a 14-8 Nordhoff victory was decided in the fourth quarter when Ranger receiver Ben Harrold waltzed by fallen cornerback Shaun Twyman to catch a 36-yard touchdown pass for the winning points.

The game was an intriguing preview. Nordhoff committed four turnovers but controlled the game by running on 56 of 66 plays and monopolizing the clock.

Meanwhile, the Ranger defense rattled St. Bonaventure quarterback Teohua Sanchez. Nordhoff applied pressure with its defensive line, dropped five backs into coverage and was never forced out of that scheme.

Sanchez completed 26 of 44 passes for 193 yards and a touchdown but 10 of his completions were of four yards or fewer.

“We invited them to run but they hardly even tried,” Nordhoff linebacker Russell Farrar said after the game.

Much has changed since then but tonight’s prospects are no less interesting. A look at the units on each team:

St. Bonaventure offense: A one-back, no-huddle attack that makes adjustments at the last possible second to accurately read the defense.

On a good day, Sanchez is the region’s most composed quarterback. He has thrown for 2,822 yards and 25 touchdowns while completing 70% of his passes. Receiver Pepe Villasenor, nursing an injured shoulder, leads the state with 103 receptions.

Whether the receivers touch the ball depends primarily on Seraph tackles Andrew Jones and Robert Winson, who struggled early but have improved.

The threat of a running game should help as well. Tailback Andre Pinedo (1,262 yards and 15 touchdowns) was hurt in the teams’ first meeting but is healthy now.

Nordhoff defense: An undersized but aggressive unit that is allowing 9.4 points per game.

“On other teams guys stand around if the quarterback doesn’t throw to their area,” Nordhoff Coach Cliff Farrar said. “Our guys turn and sprint to the ball.”

End Mike Sedlak is a big hitter who starred against St. Bonaventure. He and tackle Jesse Barnett are second-year starters.

Russell Farrar has seen limited duty at linebacker after injuring an ankle in week five.

But his replacement, third-year starter Shane Barrett, has played with a controlled fury and leads the team with 105 tackles.

Free safety Jim Musick has made 104 tackles and strong safety Harrold is a second-year starter.

Nordhoff offense: Executing the Delaware wing-T to perfection, the Rangers pass about as often as a clunker in the slow lane.

Nordhoff relies on superb blocking and the hard running of Farrar (1,507 yards, 11 touchdowns) and tailback Kevin Zielsdorf (863 yards, 14 touchdowns).

“Watching them gives me nightmares,” Mack said.

St. Bonaventure defense: The Seraphs, allowing 9.9 points per game, must key on the run while not surrendering the big pass play as it did in September.

Tackle David Bernal (6-foot-1, 310 pounds) is a standout and his ability to shrug off double-team blocking will be crucial.

Middle linebacker Todd Therrien has made 139 tackles and ends Brian Carr and Brian Miller use speed and savvy to smother outside runs.

Other factors: St. Bonaventure, never the most level-headed of teams, was penalized 10 times for 115 yards in the first matchup, including two personal fouls and a facemask penalty.

Nordhoff was penalized once for 10 yards.

Should Sanchez be injured, his backup is freshman Chris Lombardo, who has thrown 14 passes in varsity play.

Nordhoff quarterback Musick is backed up by Matt Cresto, who started the first seven games before breaking his collarbone.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

TALE OF THE TAPE

SOUTHERN SECTION DIVISION X CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

ST. BONAVENTURE VS. NORDHOFF 7:30 Tonight at Nordhoff High

OFFENSE

* QUARTERBACKS: St. Bonaventure’s Teohua Sanchez (6 feet, 170) has passed for 217 yards and 1.9 touchdowns per game. Nordhoff’s Jim Musick (5-11, 167) has averaged 47 yards passing in five games but is not asked to do more. Each is an adept scrambler. EDGE TO: ST. BONAVENTURE

* RUNNING BACKS: St. Bonaventure’s Andre Pinedo (5-9, 173) has rushed for 1,262 yards and 15 touchdowns. Nordhoff fullback Russell Farrar (5-9, 186) has 1,507 yards and 11 touchdowns and tailback Kevin Zielsdorf (5-9, 161) has 863 yards and 14 touchdowns. EDGE TO: NORDHOFF

* RECEIVERS: Nordhoff uses its receivers to block. St. Bonaventure’s have blisters on their hands. Pepe Villasenor (5-7, 153) leads the state with 103 catches for 1,192 yards and 13 touchdowns. Tight end Joe Byrum (6-3, 202) has 56 catches for 671 yards and five touchdowns. EDGE TO: ST. BONAVENTURE

* LINE: St. Bonaventure averages 6-1 and 234 pounds and primarily pass-blocks. Nordhoff averages 6-1 and 222 pounds and run-blocks almost exclusively. St. Bonaventure’s combined experience is slightly higher but Nordhoff’s execution has opened eyes. EDGE TO: NORDHOFF

DEFENSE

* LINE: The Seraph front four averages 6-1 and 227 pounds. Nordhoff’s front five averages 5-11 and 198 pounds. Nordhoff end Mike Sedlak (5-10, 180), third on the team with 94 tackles, is an emerging star. St. Bonaventure tackle David Bernal (6-1, 310) remains a force despite double-team blocking. EDGE TO: ST. BONAVENTURE

* LINEBACKERS: Seraph Todd Therrien (6-2, 247, 139 tackles) and Nordhoff’s Shane “Orca” Barrett (5-9, 225, 105 tackles) are fiery men in the middle. Russell Farrar was one of county’s best at this position before an ankle injury and will see spot duty. EDGE TO: NORDHOFF

* SECONDARY: Free safety Jim Musick has 104 tackles and four interceptions for Nordhoff. St. Bonaventure is comparatively weak at the corners with Ben Sassen (5-4, 135) and Shaun Twyman. Safety David Chapparro has four interceptions. EDGE TO: NORDHOFF

* KICKERS: Freshman Chris Lombardo has made 18 of 20 extra points and kicked three field goals for St. Bonaventure. Matt Cresto, Nordhoff’s kicker, has made 25 of 27 extra points and three of eight field-goal attempts. Sedlak has a 36.7-yard punting average for Nordhoff compared to Byrum’s 34.3 average for St. Bonaventure. EDGE TO: NORDHOFF

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

FLASHBACK

Nordhoff 14, St. Bonaventure 8

Sept. 28, at Ventura High

KEY PLAYERS

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Passing N SB Cresto Sanchez 5-6-1 26-44-0 87 yds., 1 TD 193 yds., 1 TD

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Rushing N SB Farrar Pinedo 27-93 7-39

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Receiving N SB Harold Villasenor 2-49 9-78 1 TD 1 TD

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TEAM TOTALS

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N SB Passing 87 193 Rushing 159 193 Total Yards 246 236 Penalty Yards 1-10 10-115 Turnovers 4 0

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BIG PLAYS

After a short punt by St. Bonaventure’ Joe Byrum gives Nordhoff the ball at the Seraph 31-yard line, the Rangers run eight consecutive times, resulting in a one-yard touchdown run by Russell Farrar. Nordhoff 7, St. Bonaventure 0

Midway through the fourth quarter, Pepe Villasenor catches a nine-yard touchdown pass from Techua Sanchez to cap an eight-play, 44-yard drive. Villasenor completes a halfback pass for a two-point conversion. St. Bonaventure 8, Nordhoff 7

On third down at the Seraph 36, Nordhoff quarterback Matt Cresto hits Ben Harrold with a short pass after Seraph cornerback Shaun Twyman falls down at the line of scrimmage. Harrold breaks a tackle for the winning score. Nordhoff 14, St. Bonaventure 8.

Nordhoff 0-0-7-7--14

St. Bonaventure 0-0-8-0-- 8

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

DIVISION X: NORDHOFF VS. ST. BONAVENTURE

Southern Section Division X

7:30 p.m. tonight at Nordhoff HS

St. Bonaventure (11-1-1) vs. Nordhoff (12-0-1)

Directions to Nordhoff: Highway 101 to Hwy. 33 north. Continue on Hwy. 33/Ventura Ave. for 15 miles to Maricopa (still Hwy 33). Left on Maricopa Hwy. Go two blocks. School parking is on left.

Ticket information: Adults/students $7; children under 12, $4.

Nordhoff (12-0-1, 4-0)

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41 Fillmore 0 14 Santa Ynez 6 14 St. Bonaventure 8 42 Oak Park 13 14 Bishop Diego 14 15 *Santa Paula 12 17 Carpinteria 9 10 *Calabasas 6 38 *Santa Clara 0 21 *Moorpark 7

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PLAYOFFS

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26 Fillmore 7 32 Brethren Christian 26 21 St. Monica 14

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Home Site: Nordhoff High

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Nordhoff Opp Avg.yds./game 292 206 Rushes-yards 579-3063 377-1076 Net yards passing 734 1594 Passing 100-65-3 277-151-16

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PASSING

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Player PA PC I Pct Yds TD Matt Cresto 57 42 2 .736 467 4 Jim Musick 39 22 1 .564 234 1 Kevin Zielsdorf 2 1 0 .500 33 1 Ben Harrold 1 0 0 .000 0 0 Russell Farrar 1 0 0 .000 0 0

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RUSHING

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Player Att Yds Avg TD Russell Farrar 221 1507 6.8 11 Kevin Zielsdorf 171 863 5.0 14 Ben Harrold 54 190 3.5 4 Jim Musick 32 176 5.5 2 Mike Sedlak 44 153 3.5 1 Matt Cresto 32 75 2.3 1 Tom Gonsalves 14 38 2.7 0 Tyler McCormick 6 34 5.7 0 Josh Brousseau 4 27 6.8 0 Isi Guzman 1 0 0.0 0

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RECEIVING

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Player Rec Yds Avg TD Ben Harrold 19 219 11.5 2 Kevin Zielsdorf 11 113 10.3 0 Jeff Lyon 6 93 15.5 1 Russell Farrar 6 88 14.6 0 Forrest Mashburn 3 70 23.3 2 Andrew Merritt 4 62 15.5 0 Jesse Allen 1 47 47.0 0 Jim Musick 1 28 28.0 0 Mike Sedlak 1 7 7.0 1 Josh Brousseau 2 2 1.0 0 Team 11 5 0.5 0

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SCORING

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Player TD XP1 XP2 FG Pts Kevin Zielsdorf 14 0 2 0 88 Russell Farrar 11 0 0 0 66 Matt Cresto 1 25 0 3 40 Ben Harrold 6 0 0 0 36 Mike Sedlak 3 0 0 0 18 Jim Musick 2 1 0 14 Alex Garcia 0 8 0 1 11 Jeff Lyon 1 0 0 0 6 Forrest Mashburn 2 0 0 0 12 Tim Denne 1 0 0 0 6 Buck Bakken 1 0 0 0 6 Team 1 0 0 0 6

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PUNTING

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Player No Yds Avg Lng Mike Sedlak 46 1,674 36.4

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INTERCEPTIONS

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Player, Team No Jim Musick 4 Andrew Merritt 2 Josh Brousseau 2 Ben Harrold 2 Shane Barrett 1 Mike Sedlak 1 Russell Farrar 1 Kevin Zielsdorf 1 Forrest Mashburn 1 Tim Denne 1

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St.Bonaventure (11-1-1, 3-0-1)

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39 Paraclete 19 43 Bell-Jeff 8 8 Nordhoff 14 36 St. Joseph 7 39 Harvard-Westlake 12 10 *Bishop Diego 6 36 *Fillmore 13 16 *Carpinteria 16 31 Calabasas 3 56 *Oak Park 0

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PLAYOFFS

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32 Verbum Dei 8 20 Calabasas 6 21 Orange Lutheran 17

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Home Site: Ventura High

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St. Bon. Opp Avg.yds./game 354 173 Rushes-yards 410-1765 NA-1498 Net yds. passing 2881 754 Passing 364-251-7 NA

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PASSING

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Player PA PC I Pct Yds TD Teohua Sanchez 349 243 6 .696 2822 25 Chris Lombardo 14 7 1 .500 39 0 Pat Devericks 1 1 0 1.000 20 0

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RUSHING

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Player Att Yds Avg TD Andre Pinedo 235 1262 5.4 15 Teohua Sanchez 91 270 3.0 9 Joe Byrum 10 80 8.0 0 Brian Conley 26 75 2.9 0 Mike Chase 21 69 3.3 1 Brian Miller 4 25 6.3 0 Pepe Villasenor 4 15 3.8 0 Ben Sassen 7 6 0.9 0 Pat Devericks 1 -2 -2.0 0 Chris Lombardo 11 -35 -3.2 0

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RECEIVING

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Player Rec Yds Avg TD Pepe Villasenor 103 1192 11.6 13 Joe Byrum 56 671 12.0 5 Bryce Johnson 41 424 10.3 3 Kirk Macias 15 230 15.3 3 Andre Pinedo 23 164 7.1 0 Mike Chase 7 63 9.0 0 David Chapparro 1 27 27.0 0 Shaun Velasquez 1 20 20.0 0 Chris Elliott 2 17 8.5 0 David Bernal 1 9 9.0 0 Team 1 64 64.0 0

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SCORING

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Player TD XP1 XP2 FG Pts Andre Pinedo 15 0 4 0 98 Pepe Villasenor 14 0 7 0 98 Teohua Sanchez 8 0 2 0 52 Joe Byrum 5 0 1 0 32 Chris Lombardo 0 18 0 3 27 Bryce Johnson 3 0 2 0 22 Kirk Macias 3 0 1 0 20 David Bernal 2 0 0 0 12 Shaun Velasquez 2 0 0 0 12 Mike Chase 1 0 1 0 8 Todd Therrien 1 0 0 0 6

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PUNTING

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Player No Yds Avg Lng Joe Byrum 23 789 34.3 NA

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INTERCEPTIONS

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Player, Team No David Chapparo 4 Pat Devericks 3 Ben Sassen 3 Shaun Velasquez 2 Todd Therrien 1 Shaun Twyman 1

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