Bonita not looking ahead to West Covina: “I’m always scared to death whenever we play Walnut.” — Bonita coach Eric Podley

By Aram Tolegian, Staff Writer
Before the Bonita High School football team can start thinking about its showdown with West Covina in two weeks, it has a dangerous proposition to deal with in Walnut on Friday night. The Bearcats know all too well what Walnut is capable of, thanks to last year’s 30-15 loss to the Mustangs. That was when the teams were in different leagues. Now they’re both in the Hacienda League, and at 3-3 overall and 1-2 in league, Walnut is a desperate team.


“I’m always scared to death whenever we play Walnut,” Bonita coach Eric Podley said. “We have had a lot of bad things occur when we’ve played them. We’ve had some decent games, but others where we didn’t put our best football forward.”

Bonita has lots to lose if it’s caught looking ahead to West Covina. The Bearcats are 6-0, but still have games with the aforementioned Bulldogs, as well as Rowland and Diamond Ranch. A loss to Walnut, and the pressure’s really on Bonita to win its next three games or risk not only losing a league title, but missing the playoffs altogether.

Walnut, though, is in an even more precarious position. The Mustangs already have league losses to West Covina and Diamond Ranch, so a loss to Bonita all but eliminates the Mustangs from playoff contention.

“Their backs are to the wall, and those kinds of teams are often dangerous,” Podley said. “They certainly have the talent to be a dangerous team, and we expect we’ll see everything they have to offer and then some.”

Because the Bearcats and Mustangs were in different five-team leagues up until this year, the game was a natural fit as a stern late-season test that kept both squads sharp but didn’t hurt the loser in terms of league standing.

Walnut won last year’s game with ease and is 5-3 in the series since 2002.

Podley says a look ahead by his team probably won’t happen, if this week’s preparations are any indicator.

“To be frank, Walnut embarrassed us last year, and most of our kids are back from that team,” Podley said. “Our kids know we’ve always had a difficult time with them.

“That’s been the theme this week – getting the kids to realize the toughest part of the schedule is ahead of them. That means not reading the newspapers, staying off the blogs and bringing our hard hats to work every day.”

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58 thoughts on “Bonita not looking ahead to West Covina: “I’m always scared to death whenever we play Walnut.” — Bonita coach Eric Podley

  1. I think the pressure in this match-up falls more on Bonita than it does Walnut. The Hacienda League will get 4 teams into the play-offs. Bonita has to win because the toughest part of their schedule is still ahead of them. This game could basically be for that last guarenteed play-off spot. They are playing with a ton of confidence right now. If they lose this game they could go into the meat of the schedule mentally second guessing themselves. I’m pretty sure that those kids are still stinging from last years loss to Walnut, so I know Coach Podley has them focused and ready to play. Which makes it all the more devastating if they lose. For Walnut it’s really “simple”. All they have to do is beat Bonita and Rowland, to get in play-offs. On paper (and on the field)it looks like an uphill battle. But Covina did beat West Covina so you gotta play the game. Good luck to both teams.

    SGV430 Ouutt!!!

  2. bohi fever catch it?
    ok i set up my old election rocken & sockem football game.
    bonita openned up winning the coin toss,
    so with our #1 rated sgv defense we dicided to kick off,are red headed boy bombed one out of end zone,amat ball on 20 just where we wanted them.
    the play k.c huth blitz outside jalen turns backs in, runs straight into cif leading tackler mlb eric mikity.loss of two,
    2 and 12 ball on 18 yd line,
    rio fades back to pass again bonita blitzs outside there way too fast for amats tackle to handle, rio throws ball away.
    amat offense is already feeling the heat of bonita #1 d,
    3nd down amat quick kicks ball like santa fe did against us trying to get some breathing room,ball stops on bonita 45.
    first play garrett goes deep down into corner, nice catch matty g out on 3 yd line,next play johnson easy run around right side bonita kick is good.only 3 minutes off clock and bonita first to score,
    amat three and out ,bonita same, 1st quarter ends. bohi 7 amat 0. amat crowd is silent on amat side. ,thats a first,freds walking the side lines with pen stuck in hat,aram seems to be loving it,,breaks out second hot dog from back pocket,,,
    with 245 left before half,amat intro a fake punt pass from punter k.c. huth.it was a good pass but # 7 seem to let ball go right off his hands,,huh where have i seen that before,,,,amat runs ball back to the 20 yard line time out injurie on field,k.c. huth smoked db who intro his pass,kids ok carried off field,right in front of fred,first time fred and aram got to see why bonitais # 1 on defense with that hit ,,
    again rio running like the devil with smoke coming from his heels.4th and 2 with 23 seconds to go,time out amat.hags decides to put some points on broad before half,which would make only 9 points in last 5 games allowed for bonita d.
    on the line big harrimen and reggis all league guys are foaming from the mouth,with bungaurd mikity and huth coming after ball, harriman already with a blocked field goal to help bonita stay perfect on the season.the snap its low fumbled the kick BLOCKED harrimen again.k.c recovers fumble for #4 on the season.time runs out
    half time 7-0 bohi
    half time amats band kicks ass.
    bohi band a no show.s.f.band was wild and loud it almost cost us the game.
    it cost us beating s.h. last year,no band no action from the boosters.
    bonita gets kick off suaseie runs ball back to mid field.1st and 10 on amat47.
    gp opens up with a bullet to # 7 which holds on for 1st,gp eating up amat secondary,
    4th and 4 ball on 28 bonita opts for the points,here comes big red,hes like the candy machice sweet and to the point ,its good 3nd quarter runs out bonita 10 amat 0
    .amat runs kick off right passed bonita kick-off team.thats one of bonita weakness .except for # 6 seth ,hes should be speaical team first leaguer,dont know but if its me am getting some of my lb, saftey ,corners on that kick-off team if we want better results later when it counts..
    rio finnally completes pass for fisrt down to big wallace gonzo,love that kid, future big leaguer what ever sport he decides on,baseball brother you play every day,football sucks as a pro,life could be in a wheel chair every weekend,,,
    jalen break outside brought down from behind by the speedy matt gelhish.amat looks like there going in too score,not so easy to do on # 1 d in sgv.three runs up middle, mikety two more tackles,the cif leading tackler.
    amats on the broad fg 3 points.
    bonita 10 amat 3
    with 4 minutes to go bonita like last year in cif ,throws ball witch we all knows stops the clock,why not run the clock down run the ball,then punt , make team beat you with little time left on the clock.we need better clock and use of our time outs-,i guess when your getting beat like us last year clock better to keep going,
    not this year boys,watch the clock,use your time outs.dosent hurt to use a defense time out if there moving ball at will,stop there mojo.chill let d coodnator regroup,get boys some water,if your winning act like it control tempo of game.
    so back to game with 324 on clock rio throws pass up in end zone big wallace goes up and makes the catch amat crowd goes crazy freds jumping like stud web,hold on penelity ,theres a flag on the field.offenses pass interferance,wallace pushed off corner back matty g .
    no sroced.3nr and 35 now.with 124 left.
    amat trys to surprize bonita d with draw,guess whos home big mik stuffed jalen k.c. and boys finishes off that little guy got up and ran to bonita side lines,last play of the game,again rio opts for gonzo same results td bonita fans get real quite,
    amats going crazy freds hugging aram knocked hotdog # 3 out of arams hands,
    amat goes for 2 instead of tying game,a move hart did back in the early 80s trying to beat t.c. rams 47 game win streak ,well they failed t.c. held on the streak.
    no time left on clock rio from center snap pitches ball to jalen running at bonita strong side gets by harrimen to get leveled by olb k.c. huth good nite amat bonita goes on to win cif,and the state ,go bearcat

  3. Memo

    To: The BoHi Boys

    From: Myownself

    Re: Upcoming, forthcoming, and the future

    Coach Podley is correct, as usual, to not look past tomorrow’s Walnut contest while thinking about Los Dogos as the Mustangs may be the single most unpredictable team in the SGV. The Bulldoggies might be the second best team in the area, but the road to WesCo goes through Walnut. And then you get D Ranch, like deciduous trees, better in the fall than the summer.

    Second, the Bearcats for all of their success so far, need to start the next three games with a bit more intensity. (No K.C., I’m not talking to you, you’re good to go, just remember that focus thing we talked about.) The team, though, as a whole has seemed to begin games a touch, shall we say, laid back. Against the likes of Diamond Ranch, Walnut, and most certainly West Covina a slow start will mean you’re chasing two-three td’s and this is not a good plan going forward.

    So, plan on starting those games pumped and prepared; some type of focused ferociousness sounds good to me. I suspect a couple straight quarters of Bearcat defensive pressure ought to wear down most teams. You guys have an unusual combo for Bonita, size, talent and heart, (ok, the heart is usually there, but the rest?). Leave it all on the field.

  4. kh – that’s great. Bonita is playing Walnut has West Covina in the wings and you’re having Amat hallucinations. Flashbacks – they are a b!+#. How I know it was a hallucination ? – you said “half time amats band kicks ass.” Now I KNWO you’ve never been to an Amat game. HA!

  5. Wow KH, you are not obssessed with Amat are you? I honestly don’t know what to say to that hypothetical rant. Just tell me you are still sober…not sure any sober grown man would have written that.

  6. thats the good nature of a h.s. coach,
    to up his opponets and down play there own team.
    i disagree i want the other team so fired up to play us they play out of control.thats where the refs step in and start throwing the flags,i sure once we take command there hot head will be doing what he dose best,running his mouth,my son hasnt said one thing about walnut,so whats that tell ya,he talked about santa fe ,the game was close,couple calls on offense,we blow them away,santa fe.
    if there anything like there baseball team,laugh in the park……
    remember what whitey predicted w/c. l.a. beating bonita last week.this week hes quite. too many coors lights.
    don is right,come out on fire and stay lite,even if the wind blows dont let the fire stop burning guys……

  7. speechless in l.a.
    you probably dont know any sober men?
    raining days.i,am getting tired think i will take a nap then go watch the mighty bearcats play in the rain.

  8. Facts are Mr. Huth likes to have fun sometimes and that is him having fun so don’t get too absorbed into it unless you want to.

  9. The speech below was way more entertaining than anything Fred or Aram have said on here in years. If the SGV Tribune was smart, the would hire KH and create a 3rd blog (i still think its funny with the same article shows up in 2 separate blogs right next to each other). Do it….it’s a guaranteed money maker.

  10. What happened to Basic and all the coaching tips he had for Podley last year ?

    Seems he’s pressed the MUTE button until the Bearcats lose.

    Too funny !

  11. KH,

    Have a look at this video if you dare. This is where it all begins…a dream. I remember being 11 years old at St. John the Baptist School in Baldwin Park. I played flag football there which helped me develop my speed and agility. I had but one dream at that age. That dream was to play football at Bishop Amat High School. All of friends shared the same dream. As all these kids, share the same dream.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahSX9OiT__M

  12. at t.c.
    growing up we didnt watch videos
    we played jr. all americam football.
    thats where it all started boy/
    the dream to grow up and win a cif championship,thats the dream my friend,
    so like many in front of me i fallow my dream.
    played 3 season down on the farm leagues they 1 season my senior year,
    well thats all it took cif champs 1977-78 t.c.rams
    hey buddy ,we all have are own dreams..the bummer is when they turn into night mares,like your dream school as been ,last cif 1995.dont preach to the wrong choir.
    go bearcats

  13. Aaron: Do you remember when I told you the BoHi-Walnut series was 5-3 and that it was an they had played 8 times? Should you be saying “Sorry SGV430 my mistake, you were right. You’re the King”. Just kidding man. Hey I’m hoping to see a great game tonight. The winner of this game should will get one of the leagues’ automatic play-off births. Good Luck to both the Mustangs and the Bearcats.

    SGV430 Outtt!!!

  14. kh,
    You were doing fine with your dream of Bonita beating AMAT because you and I both know that is one far fetched dream but that last quote of someone’s dream turning into a nightmare of no CIF since 1995 is not your style. Afterall the last time the Bearcats won a title was 1999 so you are not that far behind us so no real reason to throw that slam in there. I don’t think decades mentioned what years he went to AMAT so he might have been on CIF championship team be it as far back as the stone age as is thought on the blog. But one thing I can say it is nice that you bypass all other fine SGV teams and especially ones that have kept the Bearcats out of a CIF title for so many years and compare your Bearcats to AMAT. For that I thank you because you get it , if your going to compare you might as well compare against the best , right kh . By the way did the outcome of that electric football and Gener not getting any sacks have to do with you controlling the on / off switch . I can just see you as Gener is about to sack Pendleton hitting the off switch.One thing you need to realize is AMAT is much much mre than Ruiz, Moore , and Gonzales. Our defense is tough as hell and our O line is doing the job and they are what has allowed AMAT to have such a fine season so far this year but you would not know that because you have never seen AMAT play and only know what you read in the Trib and as they rarely receive any ink how could you. Good luck tonight against Walnut and keep the boys focused because this is a key game to your season.

  15. amat73
    your dead right ,
    witch in right palm controlling the game,at least you and i have played the game,
    who ever has the controls makes it happen,
    amats the best of this area for years,thats why i used you guys,but as you can see lots of these bonita kids that hang with my son are finnally getting what i preach,
    a winner never quits,and a quitter never wins.

    joe in my early years of moving east to l/v/ people didnt understand me,plus at time i didnt either,
    coming from t.c. all we wanted was football cif.and you know we earned them.
    so saying that it started in l.l. with are mets team,two year mission to win championship,first season i drafted for the second year run,it worked all the big l/v/ boys kicked our butts,we went 1-19 didnt win intell 14 game,we party like we won the series,pizza and beers,great win,well the next season,boy did those kids believe in what we said would happen thru hard work and the parents played a big part of the big picture,we practice m-w-f- games t-th- sat i had them 6 days a week, the lord had them sunday,well joe 19-1 won city championship rode down streets in local parada.theres was no better feeling in the world seeing what we started out to do two years pasted.next thing you know everybody in l/v/ hated us for what we did.they went a far as to change the all star format,that was 47 years old.
    the winning manager is the allstar manager.
    took me off manager.you know why.because before me,baseball was just for fun joe,i disagree,if you suite up them be ready to show up.
    i got over it,life goes on.
    but what i am saying k.c. is a different kind of kid,plays to win and thats the only way,g.p. miteky johnson sassey hariman bungaurd c-horine matty g, these are kids k.c. hangs with pretty much,so not saying there soft at all but boy are they harding up, bonita always needed a fire cracker to spark this group,so thats what the huths bring to bonita,hes there firecracker.and there the sparks.
    together the firework show is # 1 as all you can see.
    joe cant believe your paper boy fred picked against his homeboys……looking for a four team parley tonight.
    going with the points on damein +5 1/2
    amat +4
    claremont +3 1/2
    bonita -12
    good luck all teams and glad covia qb only a night stay over,football crazy,this is my sons first full season with a broken bone,season still early.
    soph.broken anckle
    jr. broken foot
    sr, ? hopefully it will only be his heart if we dont win league then cif.
    go amat and bearcats.like amat more now freds off the wagon

  16. SGV for 30,

    I honestly had no idea Bonita played Walnut in 02 and 03. I was at the games as a pip squeek and then as a frosh sitting with my pops. But let’s just say 2003 was a very forgettable season.

  17. SGV For 30 Years said:
    Aaron: Do you remember when I told you the BoHi-Walnut series was 5-3 and that it was an they had played 8 times?

    The recent history is 5-3, however BoHi and Walnut played each other several times in the 1970s when they were both members of the old Hacienda League, before Walnut moved up. Walnut always had some BIG players, but the ‘Cats were quick and the games were always competitive.

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