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GAME OF THE WEEK
No. 3 Oaks Christian (7-2) at St. Bonaventure (6-3), Thursday at Ventura College, 7 p.m.
Last year, Oaks Christian hosted St. Bonaventure in a winner-takes-all Marmonte League title game in Week 10 and the Lions were upstaged by the Seraphs, who coasted to a 34-14 win thanks to 157 yards rushing and two touchdowns from Delon Thompson.
It wasn’t even close. The win also closed out a perfect 9-0 season for St. Bonaventure.
This trimmings for this year’s rematch have a different tone. And it could produce a different outcome.
Oaks Christian started last year’s campaign 0-5 before sneaking into a CIF Southern Section Division 5 championship game where the Lions lost to Valencia in a rematch of a Division 2 final a few years prior. The new Calpreps.com rankings essentially rewarded Oaks Christian’s mediocre season by dropping the Lions into a subpar division compared to the standards the program holds itself to.
Senior Jalen Lewis wasn’t exactly proud of a Division 5 final appearance last year.
“This is a Division 1 or 2 program,” Lewis said earlier this year at the Marmonte League media day.
The Lions have played like it this season.
Oaks Christian’s only two losses this season are to Chaminade and Serra – two Mission League teams – and have beaten Sierra Canyon, Regis Jesuit (Colorado) and Loyola before four straight league wins.
More impressively, the team has done it with backup quarterback Nate Bennett since starter Devin Tate went out with a shoulder injury in the second game of the season. Bennett has thrown for 1,166 yards and 14 touchdowns in eight games. But the go-to weapon for the Lions is running back Johnny Thompson, who’s tallied 798 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground this year. Junior wideout Justice Williams has broken out with 10 touchdown receptions in nine games.
Oaks Christian’s Matt Erhart looks on against Chaminade August 19, 2022.(Photo by Andy Holzman, Contributing Photographer)
The defense is much improved compared to last year, too. Christian Knoos and Michael Erhart are stellar at linebacker. Jalen Lewis and Davon Benjamin are playmakers in the secondary. And the team got a midseason boost when Dylan Hampsten became eligible after transferring from Saugus. Hampsten has 28 tackles and four sacks in four games.
St. Bonaventure still has reigning league MVP Delon Thompson, who’s already up to 2,001 yards and 22 touchdowns this season. But added Alemany transfer quarterback Anthony Wolter, who creates a much bigger passing threat than last year’s team. Wolter completes 60% of his passes. Wideout Joaquin Johnson is Wolter’s favorite target (52 receptions for 764 yards, 5 TDs).
Defensively, Jared Barlow (114 tackles) and Anthony Albanez Jr. (97) anchor the Seraphs defense.
Prediction: Oaks Christian. The Lions get revenge, but in a close one.