Oaks Christian uses last-minute stand to wrestle Marmonte League from St. Bonaventure
As 47 minutes of control threatened to collapse in a final minute of chaos, the Oaks Christian defense knew it was capable of one more stop.
“We huddled up together and said, ‘It’s on us to get this win,’ ” said linebacker Christian Knoos. “It comes down to this series.”
Oaks Christian held fast to a 13-10 win over visiting St. Bonaventure in the Marmonte League championship game Friday night at Redell Field, ending its five-year wait for a league title.
“Defense wins championships, we always say that, right?” Oaks Christian coach Charlie Collins said. “The defense actually saved us this game.”
Protecting a 14-game Marmonte League winning streak, including title-clinching wins over Oaks Christian to end the two previous seasons, two-time defending champion St. Bonaventure threatened to climb out of a 10-point hole in the final three minutes.
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Koen Glover’s 2-yard touchdown run pulled St. Bonaventure within 13-10 with 2:54 to play and, following an errant punt snap, the Seraphs took possession on the Oaks Christian 21-yard line with 1:02 to play.
“The only way to describe it would be chaotic,” Knoos said. “It seemed like something straight out of a movie about their comeback.”
St. Bonaventure receiver DJ Doss appeared to pull in a TD pass from Anthony Wolter on the first play of the series, but the pass was ruled incomplete. Doss disputed the call.
“I grabbed it and put it right here,” said Doss, cradling an invisible football. “(The referees) said I dropped it.”
Wolter moved St. Bonaventure inside the Oaks Christian 10 with a pass to Jack Cunningham, but consecutive sacks pushed the Seraphs back and, following a penalty, they missed a potential game-tying field goal with 11 seconds left.
“It stinks,” St. Bonaventure coach Joey Goyeneche said of the end of his team’s league reign. “That was our goal. But that’s one of many goals. One of our primary goals, along with winning the championship, is to win a playoff game. … Hopefully we’re in a better position to do that now.”
Bolstered by the return of dominant defensive end Hayden Lowe, Oaks Christian ended St. Bonaventure’s league run by winning the red zone, holding the Seraphs to one touchdown on five red-zone trips.
“They’re a great defense,” Goyeneche said. “When you get into the red zone, it gets compacted and you let their athletes who can play in space play in less space.”
Leading 6-3 after three quarters, Oaks Christian delivered the one offensive shot it needed midway through the fourth quarter.
Senior receiver Chase Farrell noticed he wasn’t getting the defensive attention he had previously drawn.
“They were shifting to my side, wherever I went (in the first half),” Farrell said. “I noticed they weren’t putting a safety over me (in the second half).”
Farrell told Collins “If you want to put this one away, I know how to do it.”
The Stanford-bound speedster got behind the St. Bonaventure defense on third-and-8 for a 36-yard TD pass from Nate Bennett, pushing the Lions lead to 13-3 with 6:09 to play.
“Nate put the ball on the money,” Farrell said.
Playing without running back Deshonne Redeaux and receiver Justice Williams, Oaks Christian turned the opening kickoff into a 3-0 lead. Running back Mckenzie Parks carried seven times on the nine-play drive.
St. Bonaventure tied the score 3-3 on a 23-yard George Mann field goal with 17 seconds left in the half.
The Seraphs threatened to take the lead late in the third quarter, when Wolter’s 19-yard pass to David Montes and Doss’ 13-yard run moved them to the Oaks Christian 19.
But Wolter was intercepted in the end zone by safety Davon Benjamin. His 80-yard return set up Noah Laberge’s 35-yard field goal, giving Oaks Christian a 6-3 lead with 1:34 left in the third quarter.
“It was a defensive battle on both sides,” Farrell said. “They stopped us. We stopped them. At the end, it was a matter of who executed the most on defense.”
Oaks Christian was held to 172 yards of total offense. Bennett completed 11 of 19 passes for 157 yards and a touchdown. Parks ran for 61 yards on 19 carries.
Wolter completed 18 of 28 passes for 205 yards and an interception. Glover had 95 yards from scrimmage, 48 yards rushing on 12 carries and 47 yards receiving on four catches.
Both teams have earned automatic playoff berths. The CIF-Southern Section will announce its pairings Sunday morning.
Oaks Christian and St. Bonaventure are expected to be seeded in Division 2 and Division 3, respectively.
“I’m looking forward to playoffs to see who we have, but more importantly, seeing if we can play much better,” Collins said. “The only disappointing part is I thought we waited for our last game to play our worst game, in terms of execution and what not.
“But they played us hard. We have better football ahead of us.”
Despite the loss, Goyeneche was proud of his team’s performance.
“We expect to play with these guys, regardless of the personnel they have,” Goyeneche said. “We take pride in being gritty and believing in our culture. That’s going to keep us in every game.”
Joe Curley covers high school, collegiate and professional football for The Star. He can be reached at joe.curley@vcstar.com. For more coverage, follow @vcspreps on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Oaks Christian uses late stand to wrestle title from St. Bonaventure
