Bonita loses 16 starters but has 190 to choose from
Bonita has a lot to live up to after last season's run to the CIF-SS Southeast Division championship game. With 190 players out for football, the most in coach Eric Podley's 12-year tenure, the Bearcats may do it. They'll have to deal with the loss of quarterback Garrett Pendleton, who threw for 2,000 yards, 22 touchdowns and five interceptions despite missing the first four games of the season.
In all Bonita is replacing 16 departed starters but the most interesting battle for a starting job is at quarterback between talented sophomore Tanner Diebold and the experienced senior Aaron Burgett.
Receiver Garrett Horine, a preseason All-Valley selection who will play safety as well, leads a formidable group of skill players that will surround the quarterback to be determined.
The largest question mark remains who will block in the spread offense as the Bonita offensive line returns just one starter in center Nick Pichotta.
The afterglow of a 12-2 season capped by an appearance in the CIF title game hasn't worn off yet. It may have raised expectations but it also increased the level of interest in football at Bonita.
"We have more kids out for football than we've ever had," Podley said. "What we need to do is replace that senior leadership. Quarterback is the biggest position to fill but we're not going to do that in one game. That is going to take time to build toward what we had last year."
About Clay
Clay Fowler has been covering high school sports for six years in California and Texas. He was born in Dallas, attended the University of Texas and worked in Central Texas before joining the Daily Bulletin staff in 2006.
Email Clay here
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