High School Football - Ventura (CA) St. Bonaventure at Long Beach (CA) Poly

Each level of football provides a different thrill.  In the NFL, that thrill is the overwhelming perfection of star players and teams.  For college, it's the idea that every game is crucial - even the ones against Appalachian St. - because even one loss could lead to a disappointing season.  And then there's high school.

High school football gives fans the up-close and personal feel that only the rich and famous can experience at the other levels.  Every seat is a good one.  And although the quality of play may not be as fine-tuned as that shown on Saturdays or Sundays, the excitement is still there.  Crazy things happen in high school football, either because the coaches are idiots, the players are idiots, or both have the perfect combination of guts and luck.

The feature game of this week puts top-tier programs Ventura St. Bonaventure and Long Beach Poly together on the same field.  The two schools have had very successful teams in the past, as both grabbed section championships in 2008 and 2009 (St. Bonaventure would go on to win the Div. III state championship in '08 and '09 as well).  According to the Los Angeles Times' rankings, Poly is currently #5 in SoCal and St. Bonaventure clocks in at #7.  However, due to the spread-out nature of high school rankings, Poly is ranked as high as #18 nationally by Maxpreps.com and #10 nationally by rivals.com (St. Bonaventure is unranked in both polls).

This meeting between the Poly Jackrabbits and St. Bonaventure Seraphs will be the third in as many years, as the 'Rabbits won 12-7 in '08 and the Seraphs took the prize 27-7 last season (both victors had home-field advantage). So beside the building rivalry between the schools, the other headline of this game is that both teams are coming off of poor 2009-10 records.  Poly had its first rebuilding year since the early 90's last year and ended up with an on-the field record of 6-6.  St. Bonaventure, however, went through their whole season with an ineligible player, and despite winning 12 of 13 on the field, had to forfeit 11 of their wins, including the one over Poly.

This should turn out to be a great battle between two powerhouses, as both showcase good defenses and offenses.  Those accustomed to seeing the traditional rushing-centered attack from Poly should expect to see a change, however.  Junior quarter back Chaiyse Hales threw for five touchdowns and over 300 yards with no interceptions in the season-opener against Bakersfield (CA), which was evidence enough that Poly has changed their offensive approach, at least for this season.  On the other end of three of those TD's was WR Richard Smith, whose speed was simply too much for the Bakersfield secondary.  For St. Bonaventure, the challenge will be containing Smith, but with a defensive history as good as theirs, they shouldn't have nearly as much trouble as Bakersfield.  This will be the Seraph's season opener, so it is all predictions and no concrete results for them so far this year.

I'll go ahead and close this article with my pick for this year's matchup: St. Bonaventure. The Seraphs will go home happy after this one, leaving the Jackrabbits asking many questions about an underperforming defense and incapable rushing game. Just kidding. The previous two sentences were flat-out lies with their only purpose being to terrorize the Poly fans that compose of most of my following.  The real pick is Poly - I'm agreeing with the LA Times on this one, not because they are a credible source, but because Poly is back, and ready to take another season all the way to the state championships.  Beating St. Bonaventure will be no easy task, but the Jackrabbits will be able to come out of this one with a victory.