On Sept. 15, near the south end of Southwestern College’s DeVore Stadium, the Bonita Vista High (BVH) Barons ran drills with rigorous intent in preparation for their matchup against the Mar Vista High (MVH) Mariners. Last season, the Mariners beat the Barons 49-14, placing a chip on the Barons’ shoulder and motivating them for their rematch this season.
“[Because of what happened last year] we knew that we had to get our getback [on MVH], and in order to do so we carried a certain mentality throughout the week. We had to put our foot in their neck,” defensive back, wide receiver, captain and senior Jayden Peterson (5) said.
Contrasting the vengeful emotions that cloud the field are the high hopes and plentiful festivities in the stands. The homecoming season created a spirited atmosphere that BVH Head football coach and Athletic Director Tyler Arciaga views as a somewhat challenging distraction that the players have to overcome.
“I’m proud of the way that [the team] played despite the many distractions such as the upcoming dance and the halftime show, but they did a great job at putting that all aside and taking care of business,” Arciaga said.
The first quarter started with the Barons defending against the Mariners and quickly disabling their drive. Before MVH could get a first down, BVH forced a punt and turned the ball over to their offense. Once on the field, the offense continually charged the ball forward until running back, inside linebacker, captain and senior Caden Ada-Tannehill (22) followed the juggernaut offensive line into the endzone for the first of his three touchdowns of the night. Offensive lineman, captain and senior Kelly Brown (75) attested to the cooperative ability and subsequent success of Ada-Tannehill and the team’s offensive line.
“I’m grateful to block for [Ada-Tannehill] because he’s humble and he does a great job at giving us offensive lineman respect for our work in the trenches,” Brown said.
The first quarter continued with BVH’s defense playing to the gold standard, preventing MVH from stepping onto their side of the field. Having a tough time moving forward, MVH choosed to play on fourth down rather than punting. MVH quarterback and junior Peter Thomas (7) threw the ball to his receiver, but BVH defensive back, wide receiver and senior Austin Snook (14) swatted down the pass before it could reach the Mariner’s hands. Possession of the ball was then turned over to BVH, who scored once more. The quarter ended with the Baron’s defense entering the field once again and defensive back, wide receiver and senior Elijah Goulbourn (42) blitzing Thomas for a sack.
“Our defense played to the stakes and all of us succeeded in the roles that we were given. We communicated and connected with each other on another level and killed it as a result of that,” defensive end and senior Diego Bustamante (51) said.
The second quarter opened with MVH attempting a fake punt on a fourth down and failing. Obtaining possession of the ball, BVH quarterback and junior Isayah Luna (4) passed to wide receiver, defensive back and senior Julian Cota (25) in the endzone, bumping the score up to 20-0 in favor of BVH all within the first twelve seconds of the quarter. Following up the offense, BVH’s defense continued to dominate in both the defensive line and secondary units. At the whistle, Bustamante and the other three trenchmen stampede and applied pressure to the quarterback, facilitating sacks and tackles. At the same time, Peterson flew at any thrown balls, racking up pass deflections while leading the secondary.
“We have a great defensive [coaching] staff,” Arciaga said. “[Our staff] does a great job at preparing our players for success and putting them in the right positions to make their plays. Our players themselves also do a great job at making all of the plays that they can when they’re in the right position to do so.”
The second quarter came to a close as the halftime show began, featuring a variety of BVH performing arts clubs as both teams retreated to opposite ends of the stadium. The third quarter only continued BVH’s vengeful performance against MVH. BVH kicker, punter and junior Richie Rojas (33) increased the Barons’ lead by slamming the ball for a 41-yard field goal, making the score 37-0. Once they had the ball, MVH was immobile due to the BVH defensive line who continually forced fumbles in the Mariner backfield. At one point, the unit pushed the Mariners to their own one yard line. BVH got their final score of the game at the end of the quarter when wide receiver and senior Xavier Bravence (10) ran the ball past the goal line and solidified BVH’s 44 point lead.
“You can tell by the scoreboard that it was not only our defense but our offense turned up as well. 44-0 doesn’t come out of nowhere. As a team, we stuck by what we said we were going to do in beating MVH. This was our get back game and we got back,” Bustamante said.
The fourth quarter was played to a stalemate with neither team scoring. Although BVH failed to score in the final quarter, none of the players were upset about it.
“Everyone [on this team] helps one another. [Football] isn’t an individual sport, it is a team game that depends on everyone playing their role in order to achieve success. You can tell that we have achieved such success with that scoreboard, 44-0, what more is there to say,” Bustamante said.
