St. Bonaventure rally goes dark against Oaks Christian

Ventura St. Bonaventure mounted a furious second-half rally, but the Seraphs still had 99 yards left to march before they could steal a fourth-quarter lead from Westlake Village Oaks Christian on Friday.

Then, because of an apparent power failure, the lights at Oaks Christian’s field went out.

When they finally came back on and play resumed after a 22-minute delay, St. Bonaventure’s first play ended up being a turning point in its 36-24 loss in the Marmonte League showdown.

The Seraphs (2-1, 1-1) were called for a holding penalty in the end zone, resulting in an automatic safety that gave Oaks Christian two points and a 29-24 lead with 6:42 left in the fourth quarter.

Then, when the Lions received the ball back, quarterback Brandon Dawkins — starting in the place of Luke Falk, who started the Lions’ first two games — threw a 59-yard-touchdown to Chris Davis with 5:22 left.

That sealed the solid win for the Lions (2-1, 2-0), and Dawkins, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound sophomore, more than impressed, finishing 16 for 20 with 168 passing yards and two touchdowns— one rushing, one throwing.

A big star for Oaks Christian was junior nose guard Marcus Jones, who forced and recovered two fumbles and had three sacks. Lions senior running back Carlos Mendoza, at 6-2, 220 pounds, bulldozed for 103 yards and a touchdown in 21 carries.

Oaks Christian went into the locker room with a 20-3 halftime lead.

St. Bonaventure’s Shaun Wick cut that lead to 20-10 with a one-yard touchdown run with 6:04 left in the third quarter, but Oaks Christian’s Ishmael Adams, who rushed for 77 yards and two touchdowns, scored from five yards out on the Lions’ next drive.

Then the Seraphs responded with two touchdowns, the first on a one-yard run by quarterback Marc Evans (12 for 22, 158 passing yards) with 10:25 in the fourth, and the second when Evans found receiver Montre Lee wide open for a 55-yard touchdown with 9:11 left.

baxter.holmes@latimes.com

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