Knights rout Rio Mesa
LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE — Shortly after last season concluded, Justin Posthuma found himself seeking advice.
The St. Francis High quarterback often appeared in Coach Jim Bonds’ office ready to soak up any information about the art of signal calling.
Posthuma had an inkling that he might be the next starting quarterback for St. Francis. He also knew that Bonds would be a suitable mentor, as Bonds was a former quarterback at Hart High and UCLA.
Those visits have paid immediate dividends for Posthuma.
That proved to be true on Friday night, as Posthuma threw three touchdown passes and rushed for one to power host St. Francis to a 41-0 nonleague victory against Rio Mesa at Friedman Field.
“I feel real comfortable now after meeting with him all this time,” said Posthuma, who completed 13 of 23 passes for 260 yards. “He and I think like quarterbacks, and I think the team and I are getting better every week.
“If the guys are open, then I’ve got to deliver.”
He delivered plenty for the Golden Knights, who improved to 4-0 and are ranked second in the CIF Southern Section Western Division behind Mission League rival Alemany.
Posthuma, a senior, started his big night on St. Francis’ first possession. He scored on an 18-yard run to give St. Francis a 7-0 lead with 9:40 left in the first quarter.
Then Posthuma got comfortable in the pocket on St. Francis’ nest possession. He fired a 54-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Dietrich Riley to extend the lead to 14-0 with 56.9 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.
Bonds, whose team posted its second shutout and put up its biggest point total of the season, said Posthuma has soaked up his advice.
“I’ve had some good quarterbacks come through here,” Bonds said. “He’s good with decision making and he’s got such a great feel for the game.
“We have a mature group of players. We were able to get up early and take away Rio Mesa’s will.”
Riley, the reigning All-Area Player of the Year, scored on a 16-yard run to make it 21-0 with 9:47 left in the second quarter.
St. Francis wide receiver Austin Nieves then caught a 54-yard touchdown pass from Posthuma on St. Francis’ next possession to make it 27-0 with 3:04 left in the second quarter. Nieves caught seven passes for 119 yards.
Posthuma then tossed a three-yard touchdown pass to tight end Keith Enterante to make it 34-0 with 3.6 seconds left in the first half. St. Francis reserve quarterback Ian Hamilton capped the scoring with 8:20 left in the game when he threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Nieves.
Tight end Travis Talianko caught six passes for 110 yards for St. Francis, which will next face visiting El Rancho in a nonleague game at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
