It was an emotional journey for the Bonita Vista High (BVH) varsity football team as they played their last game of the season on Friday, April 16, 2021 at Chula Vista High (CVH). The Barons ended strong with a win of 21 to 3. Friday’s game put BVH in second place in the South Bay league with a record of 2 wins and 2 losses in their four game season.  

“[Going into Friday’s game], my hope was to end the season on a positive note, to send the seniors out [feeling satisfied] and to build momentum for the following season,” BVH Athletic Director and Head Football Coach Tyler Arciaga said. 

Arciaga’s goals were achieved, starting when receiver, safety and junior Malosi Iuli (3) caught a pass and rushed the ball into the endzone making it the first touchdown of the game. After a successful conversion, the score was brought to 7-0 with Bonita in the lead and 1:30 left on the clock for the first quarter. 

“As a team, we didn’t make that many mistakes and we didn’t put each other down when we did make mistakes. We just had some intensity,” Iuli said. 

This showed when linebacker, running back and senior Cody Woronicz (11) put the Barons on the board again with another touchdown in the second quarter. Woronicz has played on BVH’s varsity football team for three years.

“I felt like I did my best. I prepared myself by watching film, studying our opponents and practicing hard every day before the game,” Woronicz said. “And that just translated to me playing well on Friday.”

CVH made their only scoring play in the third quarter, when they made a 21 yard field goal, changing the score to 14-3. The Barons got multiple penalties on them throughout the game which allowed the Spartans to get closer to the endzone and score. 

“I definitely want to improve on the amount of penalties that we received because in games that are really tight [towards] the end, those are going to make a big difference,” Arciaga said. 

Even though the Barons sustained quite a few penalties throughout the game, they ended with a respectable win as Iuli scored the last touchdown in the fourth quarter followed by another victorious conversion. 

“It feels good knowing I helped win. It makes me happy,” Iuli said. “We got to play, we didn’t go out on a losing season and we sent the seniors out on a win […] It felt good because we came into this season losing zero and two, and then we came out winning two and two.”

While reflecting on the season overall, Arciaga stated that he is proud of the players for persevering and for having a “no quit attitude” when the circumstances made it very tempting to give up. 

“As a team, I felt that was probably our best game we played. We played together as a group — as one. Offense played their part, defense played their part,” Woronicz said. “We all just clicked together and had fun at the same time.”  

Woronicz ended his high school football career on a positive note with a rush of 51 yards for a touchdown on offense and nine tackles on defense. He plans to keep working hard and try to play football for Southwestern College next year. 

“[Knowing Friday was my last game] just [makes me] reflect on all the time I spent playing football with my seniors and my teammates,” Woronicz said. “I’m happy for my seniors, we all did good. I’m happy for myself, I never gave up and I’m ready to move on, ready for college.” 

As a junior, Iuli ended his first varsity football season offensively with 27 yards rushed, three catches for 108 yards and two touchdowns in Friday’s game. He also did well defensively, contributing four tackles and two interceptions to the game. For more individual stats or team stats, one can visit MaxPreps. 

In addition to decreasing the number of penalties the team receives, Arciaga aims to work on situational awareness in a game and plans to take full advantage of the traditional offseason and longer season next year.  

“I’m hoping that this upcoming year, we can do more team bonding activities that allow us to get to know the kids on a deeper level than just out on the field, so we can all interact with each other in a setting off the football field,” Arciaga said. 

This piece was updated on April 21, 2021.