The annual Valentine’s Day Photos are here. Thank you to every one who participated.
-Story by Edison Weik
-Photos by Mr. & Mrs. Horan
St. Bonaventure vs. Garfield at Garfield High School August 24, 2012
The St. Bonaventure Seraph football team kicked off its 2012 season in East Los Angeles against the Garfield Bulldogs with an impressive 48-0 victory. Without Head Coach Todd Therrien, who was suspended for violating a CIF policy, the Seraphs were directed by Offensive Line coach/Athletic Director Jon Muller.
Led by sophomore quarterback Ricky Town, in his first ever varsity start, the Seraphs dominated the game throughout the night. Junior tight end Bryce Dixon had a 43-yard touchdown reception within three minutes of the game and sophomore wide receiver Nick Rodriguez had 2 touchdown catches of over 20 yards each before halftime. Needless to say, standout Arizona commit Zach Green ran for 90 yards on nine carries, including a 54 yard touchdown run in the 3rd quarter. This senior running back, Green, exclaims, “We’ve put in our time. The defense came out and they were spectacular.” And spectacular they were as they held Garfield to only 108 yards of total offense the entire game. The defense also forced 3 turnovers, two of which were interceptions returned for touchdowns by Paul Thompson and Davonte Nunnery, and another interception brought into the red zone by senior linebacker Michael Baham.
St. Bonaventure hosted the always good Corona Centennial Huskies football team at Moorpark College the following week.
St. Bonaventure vs. Corona Centennial at Moorpark College August 31, 2012
The Seraph sideline stood speechless as they watched their 19-point lead slowly dwindle on live television in the fourth quarter. With 2 minutes left in the game, the Huskies, just after capitalizing on a Zach Green fumble with a touchdown to bring the game within 5 points, recovered an onside kick. Defensive Back/Special Teams coach Andrew Gibson (aka Gibby) challenged his defense to just one more stop in a night when offense was the theme of the game. Senior linebacker Patrick Kenney answered that challenge, when on fourth down and five he tacked the Husky running back for only a three-yard gain to ensure the Seraph victory.
Back at home and led by Head Coach Todd Therrien in his debut after being suspended last week, the Seraph offense dominated the Centennial defense both through the air and on the ground. Junior tight end Bryce Dixon caught 7 passes for 183 yards and 2 touchdowns, including a 95-yard touchdown catch, as he physically tore through the Centennial defensive backfield. Sophomore quarterback Ricky Town impressed as he went 16 of 23 with 340 yards and 4 touchdowns (3 passing and 1 running). “The offensive line did a great job giving me time to throw, and all around our receivers are great; so I just tried to get the ball to them,” Town says after the game. The offensive line, manned by (left to right) Jack Scanlon, Garrett Schirber, Edison Weik, Dakota Dosch, and Nic Capella, played physically and consistently all game long as they both kept the pressure on Town at bay and opened up gaping holes for running backs Zach Green and Marcus Chambers; each had a touchdown.
Not everything was picture perfect for the Seraphs on this night though, especially on defense, where they gave up a total of 454 yards of offense. One bright spot on the defense, however, was senior defensive end Dalton Rocha having 2 sacks and another couple of tackles as he matched up against Cal-commit Cameron Hunt, Centennial’s left tackle.
The Seraphs then traveled to Redlands to take on Redlands East Valley high school as they prepared to put their perfect season on the line.
St. Bonaventure vs. Redlands East Valley at Redlands High School September 7, 2012
Down 7-0 at halftime, the St. Bonaventure Seraph football team was able to pull it together and escape with an 18-7 victory over the Redlands East Valley Wildcats football team. “It was tough. We just didn’t come out with the energy we needed to have in order to play well,” says all-CIF left guard and senior captain Garrett Schirber. After averaging 44 points a game during the first two games, the Seraph offense didn’t play well at all as they were held to 215 yards of total offense by a tough Wildcats defense led by USC-bound defensive end Kylie Fitts.
Feeling the pressure most of the night, sophomore quarterback Ricky Town went 11 of 17 for 85 yards and 2 interceptions. Arizona-bound running back Zach Green carried the ball 20 times for 105 yards for the Seraphs.
Fortunately, in a night when offense wasn’t clicking very well, both special teams and defense stepped up to plate. The Seraph defense limited the Wildcats to only 148 yards of total offense. Senior safety Paul Thompson scored on a fumble recovery in the endzone to tie the game in the 3rd quarter and junior cornerback Davonte Nunnery also got an interception later. Sophomore Lavan Alston Jr. blocked a punt in the 1st quarter, and junior kicker Jesse Kelly had a PAT and a field goal late in the game to ensure the Seraph victory.
St. Bonaventure next took on the Atascadero Greyhounds to continue their long road journeys.
St. Bonaventure vs. Atascadero Greyhounds at Atascadero High School September 14, 2012
The St. Bonaventure Seraphs football team showed off its offensive firepower as they routed the Atascadero Greyhounds football team 56-23 on Friday night in a convincing victory. The Seraphs were able to score via both offense and special teams.
Senior running back Zach Green and junior tight end Bryce Dixon each supplied a plethora of touchdowns as the Seraphs got off to 42-8 lead by halftime. Senior wide receiver Montre Lee returned a punt for a touchdown in the first quarter and had a 24-yard touchdown reception in the 2nd quarter. Although plagued by plenty of penalties, the Seraphs were still able to produce. Junior safety Stevie Torres picked the ball off in the 3rd quarter.
Junior kicker Jesse Kelly capped off all of his PATs. However, unlike his normal self that puts balls in the endzones during kickoffs, he let two balls escape him; each of which were unfortunately brought back for touchdowns in the second half. Given that reserves for in for starters during those kickoffs, it is evident that Seraphs are going to have to bring all they have if they want to win next week against Santa Margarita High School, the number 1 ranked team in the state and current defender of the Division 1 State Title.
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2012 Volleyball Team
- Story by Gabby Wipper
- Photos by Jim Aguirre
Over the season, the volleyball teams have been working very hard in order to put the best they have on the court. They’ve each had many wins and few losses; however they stay positive and together throughout trials and tribulations.
On Tuesday, October 9 the Saint Bonaventure Seraphs took on the Bishop Diego Eagles. Frosh/Soph started it off by taking the first win of the night. This was shortly followed by JV winning as well. Lastly, Varsity took home the final victory in a very exciting game.
Thursday, October 11 the Seraphs played against the Oaks Christian Lions. Unfortunately, each team lost in very close, suspenseful games.
This week on Tuesday, October 16 the Seraphs had taken on La Reina’s Regents. Frosh/Soph and JV lost in well-fought for matches. This however was followed by Varsity’s greatest game of the season! The score wobbled back and forth in a battle of will. The Seraphs stayed strong though and brought home a rather impressive victory.
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Freshman Retreat
- Story by Gabby Wipper
- Photos by Mrs. Dugan
September 27 marks the day of the class of 2016’s first retreat. The class was thoroughly excited about the retreat. Yet, as excited as everyone was, nobody was really sure of the emotional and spiritual impact the day would have on them.
The freshman were first greeted through a series of fun icebreakers and relays that were huge in bringing the class together. The games were a great way to start off the activities. Later, the class was given valuable life lessons through the teachings of Mr. Boczek, Ms. Gelinas, etc… They truly did touch the hearts of the students, one of them saying, “When I listened to what they talking about, I felt that I needed to talk to more of the people in my class, because four years is really just not enough.” Like this student, many others held a new perspective on how to treat their fellow classmen.
The retreat was ended by a Eucharistic Adoration and a final lecture about high school and life after it. Through reverent worship and eager listening, the students truly learned a lot from each of these two experiences; many coming out with new ideas about how to make the next four years memorable in the best of ways. In a way, the class is a lot closer than the beginning of the school year. Every day it seems, new and unlikely friendships are formed and strengthened as time passes. The students may not realize it, but they really are fulfilling the message in which the retreat was created to give.
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Deacon Banda
-By Alec Hamrick
Deacon Banda is new to Saint Bonaventure High school this year. He is a sophomore religion teacher and is in charge of the Christian Service Department here at Saint Bonaventure High school. He is a Deacon at the San Buena Ventura Mission in downtown Ventura.
Deacon Banda has been a Deacon for five years. He was ordained on June 16, 2007, after five years of formation and education. Deacon Banda felt that he was called to come teach at Saint Bonaventure as his “his desire to give back to the Catholic educational community and a genuine desire to help .” Before coming to Saint Bonaventure he was a Sales, Technical and Management executive at IBM for over thirty years and it encompassed a good deal of international experience and working with top corporations in the United States.
For his education, Deacon Banda attended Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts and had a dual of Majors in Management and Marketing. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the Sawyer Business School.
We Are Glad To Welcome Deacon Banda to the Saint Bonaventure Family!
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Mock Trial Team Wins 6th Place Overall
Months of hard work paid off on the evening of March 1st, when the St. Bonaventure Mock Trial team headed to Finals to compete in the top six of the county. Flash back to earlier that afternoon, and if you entered room 503, you would have found a clamor of activity: attorneys practicing their opening statements, attorneys working with their witnesses on direct examinations, and students consulting stellar coaches Ms. Monica Hiranandani, Mr. Guy Parvex, or Mr. Steve Slyker with last minute questions. There was a definite aura of exhilaration, yet they knew that it was time to put on a game face.
In the Mock Trial program, students study a hypothetical case and go through the motions of the legal system. On any given team, both witnesses and attorneys, and defense and prosecution must work together in order to ensure that their trial preparations are the best that they can be. Judges and attorneys eagerly volunteer their time to serve as judges for the competition at the County Courthouse.
The first two rounds, which took place on the evening of February 27th, threw a bit of a curveball to the team. Because the first round was randomly matched and the second was ”power matched” according to scores of the former round, the Defense Team wound up going two rounds in a row, first against Buena High School and then against Newbury Park. “I’ve never had a round where the same team went twice” said Senior Kyle Aggarwal, who has been on the Mock Trial team for four years. Despite this unexpected event, the team dealt adeptly with the situation.
On February 28th, it was the Prosecution’s time to shine. They already knew they would be going twice in a row, and they were ready. In the first round, they went up against Simi Valley, and later that evening they were up against Oak Park.
The next day, the team greeted the competition with relish. “Making it to the finals was definitely a highlight because we worked so hard for months and months to be the best we could be” said Senior Jordan Parvex. That night, the Defense was up first against the formidable competition of La Reina’s Prosecution team. Next, the last round of finals consisted of the St. Bonaventure prosecution team versus Santa Susana’s defense team.
But the victor was not to be announced until the following evening of March the 2nd at a special awards ceremony at California Lutheran University. The Saint Bonaventure Mock Trial Team went home with medals signifying they won sixth place. Also, some Seraphs took home awards for individual excellence. Seniors George Ioannidis and Nicolette Rosales each took home first place awards for best prosecution expert witness and best courtroom artist, respectively. Sophomore Porter Brandt went home with a second place award for best bailiff. Nicolette will go on to represent Ventura County at the state mock trial competition. This was the first time that the Saint Bonaventure Mock Trial team has gone to finals in school history. Kyle Aggarwal also says that when he found out that the team was in the top six, it was “the validation of all time spent working on questions, opening statements, and reading the case“. It is clear to see that everyone who participates in the Mock Trial program is zealous about it. In fact, there was a waiting list for judges who wished to participate in Finals. “I like it because it’s something you can be passionate about and invested in” asserted Senior James McDermott.
Indeed, the collective dedication on part of the coaches and students paid off enormously. Junior Lilliana Martinez says of the team’s preparation, “[it] was just repetition over and over again and trying to perfect things.” It can be agreed that the hard work definitely paid off. “We were really focused this year, but we had fun!” says Kayla Viesca. “I am proud to say that we were in the same category as the incredible schools we competed against …It definitely completed my senior year.”
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Valentine’s Day Photos
Thank You to everyone that stopped by Mrs. Horan’s room last week to get their picture taken. Happy Valentine’s Day. The Valentine’s Day edition was a tradition started years ago by the founder of Seraph Scrolls Mr. Johnson.
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Besant Hill Theater Festival
This Saturday, the Saint Bonaventure Drama Department attended the Besant Hill Actors Festival in the hills of Upper Ojai. Seven high schools from Ventura County attended the festival including St. Bonaventure, Simi Valley High School, Buena High School, Ventura High School, Ojai Valley School, Nordoff High School, and Besant Hill.
Participants spent the day performing and conversing with professionals from the film and theater industries. These “Guest Artists” included Troian Bellissario, known for her role as Spencer Hastings on ABC Family’s “Pretty Little Liars”, Patrick Adams who was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild award for “Best Leading Actor in a Television Series” for his work in “Suits” on USA, Rick Cleveland, known for his production and writing work for shows such as “The West Wing” and “Mad Men”, Caroline Thompson, known for her screenwriting work for “Edward Scissorhands” and “The Nightmare Before Christmas”, and her husband Steve Nicolaides, known for his production work in “A Few Good Men” and “The Princess Bride”.
The Guest Artists spent time observing and guiding the participants’ performances in a “comforting and accepting environment where would inspire each other and share their talents” said Tayler Drew, a junior at Saint Bonaventure and participant in the festival. In a remark to the Guest Artists, Savannah Rodriguez, a sophomore at Saint Bonaventure, said, “It was such an inspiration to see people out living their dreams and coming to help us find our own”. Gabriel Meade, a junior at SBHS, said, “I completely enjoyed all the feedback I got [from the Guest Artists] and I learned a lot from the experience. I think I have grown as an actor”. Aria Ellett, a junior and sole attendee from Ojai Valley School and newcomer to the festival, spoke on the communal aspect of the day, “Within ten minutes I was “adopted” into a larger high school and was talking to people from all over Ojai. I learned a lot from the guest speakers, and really appreciated and valued the experience. It helped me grow as an actress, and make friends who are just as odd as me”. At the end of the day, the schools gathered in Besant Hill’s Zalk Theatre to perform their works in the “Best of Fest”.
Saint Bonaventure, as well as Besant, performed admirably, showing off their skills in a refined and entertaining manner. As the caravans of vans and cars departed the hills of Upper Ojai, the young artists left with a sense of community, new friendships, valuable lessons, and most importantly a pride in their profession.
By Charlie Strickland
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