St. Bonaventure Aims For Perfect Capper to Season

St. Bonaventure High wrapped up an undefeated regular season with a 43-0 victory over Calabasas last week, winding up as one of only two teams in the region--Hart is the other--to go 10-0.

But that was then.

Now, the Seraphs would like to go 4-0 in the so-called second season.

“About Week Four or Five was when we really jelled,” Coach Jon Mack of St. Bonaventure said. “After that we knew we could go 10-0.

“But now it’s a whole new challenge. We’ve done well, but we still have to play.”

Mack this week reminded his players about the 1997 playoffs, when St. Bonaventure was 9-1 and top-seeded in its division but lost to Calabasas in the first round, 30-14.

However, Mack doesn’t expect a repeat of that as the Seraphs head into a Division XI first-round playoff against Ontario Christian at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Ventura High.

“That’s one of the good things about this team. They really try to focus and do all the little things that we ask them to do,” Mack said.

St. Bonaventure is vying to surpass the school record for wins in a season.

The 1996 team that won the Southern Section Division X championship went 12-1-1.

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Mack is hyping Adrian Ayala more and more.

The 6-foot-6, 300-pound senior offensive tackle has impressed his coach--and apparently college recruiters--with his physical play.

“He’s just overpowering people,” Mack said. “I had an Arizona coach here [Wednesday], and he said he’s never seen a more physical player.”

Ayala took an official recruiting trip to Arizona State last week and has others to Michigan and San Diego State lined up in January. According to Mack, Arizona has also offered Ayala a trip and Notre Dame is another possibility.