Koen Glover’s big rushing night leads St. Bonaventure to rout of Bishop Alemany
Wearing a white long-sleeve dress shirt, black tie and brown pants, Joe Goyeneche never stands still while reviewing his football players during pregame drills. He’s like a general before battle wandering the field, making sure everyone is focused and confident. He began his fourth season as coach at Ventura St. Bonaventure on Thursday night with a 40-16 win over Mission Hills Bishop Alemany at Ventura College.
There’s a real connection between Goyeneche and the magical era of St. Bonaventure football under the legendary Jon Mack from 1990 to 2006, when the Seraphs went 164-47-1 and won seven Southern Section titles.
In fourth grade, Goyeneche was the St. Bonaventure ball boy. Mack gave him MVP honors after a game for somehow keeping the ball dry during a rainstorm. For two years, Goyeneche was Mack’s manager.
He couldn’t play because of a kidney condition.
“He taught me everything,” said Goyeneche, 38.
On Thursday, Mack roamed the sideline as an observer. His wife is a teacher and daughter is a counselor at St. Bonaventure. “I’m so proud of him,” Mack said.
The Seraphs are going to make some noise this season. It starts with a terrific offensive line that features a late-blooming star in 6-foot-4, 285-pound tackle Shaun Torgeson. He played on the freshman and junior varsity teams his first two seasons. He was the best blocker on varsity last season after transforming his body.
He’s bulked up from 210 pounds and looks the part of Thor with his long hair. He even carries a hammer coming onto the field. He’s the grandson of the late Gary Torgeson, who was the football coach at Cal State Northridge, then a successful softball coach.
“Shaun is crazy,” running back Koen Glover said. “On the field, he’s always angry and aggressive. He takes everything personal in a good way. My O-line is the best in the county, maybe the best in the state.”
Glover made an impressive debut replacing All-Southern Section running back Delon Thompson, rushing for 134 yards and three touchdowns. He had a 63-yard run in which he ran away from a Bishop Alemany defender.
“I feel a lot of the biggest questions about St. Bonaventure running backs is speed and if they can run,” Glover said. “Last year Delon showed he can run. Hopefully this game I showed I can run.”
St. Bonaventure lost starting quarterback Anthony Wolter to a collarbone injury at the end of the first half, but 6-7 sophomore Kaden Glover, younger brother of Koen, stepped in and performed well. It was the first time he’s handed off the ball to his brother.
“It was unbelievable. It was unreal,” said Kaden, who completed a 22-yard touchdown pass to Max Peters, another star in the making as a free safety.
St. Bonaventure should get stronger next week with the expected clearance of receiver Dajon Doss, a transfer from Antelope Valley who has been receiving rave reviews during practices.
Overall, opening night for the Seraphs was an exciting start that even produced a crowd-cheering response when Alana Barlow, the sister of last season’s star linebacker, Jared Barlow, did a backflip on the sideline.
Having her do backflips after every victory could be the start of a new St. Bonaventure tradition.
Newbury Park High School quarterback Brady Smigiel discusses his goals for the new season after his breakout freshman campaign.
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