FOOTBALL
St Francis at Lompoc
(Huyck Stadium, Lompoc, CA)St. Francis
About St. FrancisSt. Francis HS is an all-boys college prep Catholic school sponsored by the Capuchin Friars of the Western American Province of Our Lady of Angels. The school is located in La Canada Flintridge. La Canada Flintridge is a small city (c 20,000) next to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Enrollment for Placement: 1342 (doubled, since all boys). Colors: Brown/Gold Nickname: Golden Knights
The Football Program
Their Football team, started in 1949, was an early/mid 1960's powerhouse, including CIF Championships in 63 & 64 as part of a 29 game win streak. Part of that streak was a 45-0 defeat of Lompoc at Huyck near Halloween in 1963 - the 1st game my dad saw after his arrival in Lompoc.
The program later fell on hard times, but was revived in 1992 by the hiring as Head Coach of Bill Redell from Crespi. If that name seems familiar he was later hired away to jump-start a new program at Oaks Christian HS in Westlake. When Redell left after the 1999 season, the program was turned over to his Offensive Coordinator Bonds, Jim Bonds.
Bonds, a Hart graduate, was a 2-time All-CIF QB, Player of the Year as a senior, and winner of the 1986 CIF Northwestern Conference title. This was the same division as the old Northern League, including the Braves - AG won the title in '87. He later played, sparingly, at UCLA - mostly behind Tommy Maddox. Now in his 13th season, Coach Bond has compiled a record of 94-56, going to the playoffs 12 times, reaching the semifinals 3 times (last time in 2005). He is assisted by an experienced and long-term staff.
Last year the Golden Knights went 9-3, falling to the Arroyo Grande Eagles 49-28 in the Western Division Quarterfinals.
This Season
Date H/A Opponent 2012 2011 Division Result
Fri 08/31 H Arcadia 4-6 9-3 Southeast (VII) W, 49-10
Fri 09/07 A Righetti 3-7 7-4 Northern (III) W, 29-22
Fri 09/14 A La Mirada 8-1 8-5 Southeast (VII) L, 28-21
Fri 09/21 A West Ranch 2-8 5-5 Northern (III) W, 38-30
Fri 09/28 H Monrovia 8-2 11-3 Mid-Valley (XI) L, 17-13
Fri 10/05 A Cathedral* 8-2 3-7 Western (IV) L, 42-40
Fri 10/12 A Hvrd-Wstlke* 6-4 5-5 Western (IV) L, 41-36
Th 10/18 H Serra* 8-2 8-3 Western (IV) L, 42-6
Fri 10/26 H Chaminade* 9-1 10-3 Western (IV) L, 42-14
Fri 11/02 H St. Paul* 1-9 7-3 Western (IV) W, 34-14
Fri 11/09 A Lompoc 10-0 14-0 Western (IV) 7:30pm
The team and the Offense is led by [#4] QB Jared Lebowitz, a 6-3, 195 lb, senior, who accounts for 70% of their offense. They are primarily a passing team. After an aberrant opener versus Arcadia (40 rushes, 348 yds, 6 TDs), they have passed for more than 2.5 times as many yards (2337 to 903) as rushing, and have never been over 150 yards rushing.
Lebowitz is their leading passer (98 % of yards, all 22 TDs), and the second leading rusher (57 att - 219 yds, 3TDs). The primary RB is [#11] Daniel Kawamura (5-9, 180, Sr) who had 220 yards and 2 TDs of his 688 yds (121 att) and 4TD in the 1st 2 games. Backup RB [#6] Joe Mudle (5-11, 170, Jr) has 25 carries for 132 yds and 1 TD. Both backs are also used as receivers. The rest of the team has 58 attempts for 176 yards and 6 TDs, mostly on short yardage runs. RB [#31] Zachery Washington (5-6, 205, Jr) is 15-34 yds, 4 TD and [#60] RB/LB Austin Finton (6-0, 205, Jr) has 2 TDs on his 5 carries (8 yds).
The receivers seem like a steady, but not very electric bunch. They are:
WR #22 Tommy Scheper (6-0, 175, Sr) 48-840 17.50 ave 5TD
WR # 3 Evan Crawford (6-2, 180, Jr) 28-347 12.39 ave 3TD
WR # 2 Matthew Gonzalez (5-9, 155, Jr) 18-252 14.00 ave 5 TD
TE # 5 John Carroll (6-2, 200, So) 37-398 10.76 ave 3TD
RB # 11 Daniel Kawamura (5-9, 180, Sr) 20-209 10.45 ave 1TD
RB # 6 Joe Mudle (5-11, 170, Jr) 16-238 14.88 ave 4TD
FB # 44 Nathan Clark (5-7, 190, Sr) 11-115 10.46 ave 1TD
the other receivers account for 7 rcptns for 66 yds and no TDs.
Defense: Has been a bit suspect, allowing 41-42 points in each of their 4 league losses, but DB Joey Velledao (5-9, 170, Sr) has been a tackling machine. He has 96 stops on the season - the next closest are 2 LB with 52 & 50 tackles. That could be part of the problem - too many ball carriers in the secondary. The team has recorded 18 sacks, 5 picks, 22 passes defensed, and 4 caused fumbles, but 6 sacks, 2 picks, 6 pdef, and 1 caused fumble were in game 1 against Arcadia.
Special Teams: Looks solid if unspectacular. Punter [#17] Forrest Ascarrunz (6-1, 155, Sr) has averaged almost 36 yds per punt; Kicker [#99] Mark Verso (6-1,190,Sr) has 36 touchbacks on 44 kickoffs, 10 FGs, and 16 PATs. The low PAT #'s are because the team has attempted a bunch of 2PT conversions -making 14.
Lompoc
About LompocIf I need to explain much about Lompoc, you might be reading the wrong blog. For those of you unfamiliar with the area, Lompoc is a city of about 45,000 located between Vandenberg AFB and La Purisima Mission SHP. It is also close to various forms of agriculture, mining, and many other interests, and is about 10 miles from the ocean in two different directions. The current high school campus was built in the early 60's and is located in the middle of town. Enrollment: 1425 Colors: Blue/White, Nickname: Braves
The Program
The Football program was established in 1921, but didn't do much until the early 1960's under Bob Leck and Jim Spruill. Mike Warren took teams to 4 consecutive CIF finals in the late 1970's, before leaving to coach at UCSB. He was followed by Dave Reynolds and Dick Barrett, Robin Luken (who became the winningest coach in program history). All three helped maintain a streak of CIF playoff appearances that ran from 1974 to 1990. In fact, from 1970 to 2005, the Braves missed the postseason only 8 times (72, 73, 91, 01, 06, 07, 08, 09). Since 1970 they have also been CIF Finalists 13 times, including back-to-back Championships twice in the last 10 years.
Lompoc has sent many players on to college, and pro carreers, but the most well known is probably Napoleon Kaufman who helped the Braves win a CIF Championship, the Washington Huskies a National Championship, and played for the Oakland Raiders.
Currently, the Braves are led by Andrew Jones, who was the QB on the 2002 Championship Team, defeating Serra in the final. Since taking the helm, Jones' squads have compiled a record of 35-3 and 2 CIF Titles (They are favored to win another). All 3 losses came fairly early in the first year and each of those teams have subsequently been beaten twice by Lompoc.
The Braves have won 30 straight games - the current longest winning streak in both the CIF & the State of California -19th best in the US.
The Series
Lompoc has played St. Francis 4 times, compiling a 1-3 record. Two of those games were in the late 70's when Lompoc made 4 consecutive appearances in the CIF Finals. 1956: 7- 26. 1963: 0-45. 1977:19-2 1978: 8-22.
This Season
Date H/A Opponent 2012 2011 Division Result
Fri 08/24 H Arroyo Grande 8-2 13-1 Northern (III) W, 31-0
Fri 08/31 H Frontier (Bak.) 7-3 5-6 1 [Cntrl Sect] W, 21-14
Fri 09/07 A Pioneer Valley 2-8 5-5 Northern (III) W, 42-3
Fri 09/14 A Dos Pueblos 7-3 3-8 Western (IV) W, 31-14
Fri 09/21 H Morro Bay* 7-3 1-9 Western (IV) W, 49-14
Fri 10/05 A Templeton* 7-3 7-5 Western (IV) W, 42-3
Fri 10/12 A Santa Maria* 1-9 1-8 Western (IV) W, 49-0
Fri 10/19 H Santa Ynez* 1-9 5-6 Western (IV) W, 56-7
Fri 10/26 A Nipomo* 2-8 4-6 Western (IV) W, 58-13
Fri 11/02 H Cabrillo* 4-6 11-3 Western (IV) W, 66-0
Fri 11/09 H St. Francis 4-6 9-3 Western (IV) 7:30pm
Offense: The greatest asset the Braves have is depth - especially at the skill positions. Pac-12 signee out for 5-6 games - not a problem. Starting QB gets hurt? Bring in the guy who was 14-0 and won a CIF Title to run things. Lompoc RUNS the ball!! Then they run it some more. They can throw it too, but often do so seemingly just for the novelty of it. They currently average a bit over 300 yds rushing a game, at a shade under 7.5 per carry. 14 guys have toted the rock this season, 4 have 500 or more yards, 8 are averaging at least 6.25 yards per attempt, 9 have a TD. The rushing totals in their last 3 games were - 388, 415, 467, Total = 1270. Usually, the Braves alternate RB's on each play, and it is a rare occasion when one gets more than 20 carries in a game (Nikko Hayes hasn't had 20 in a game).
RB: Att Yds Ave Lg TD
# 1 Lavon Coleman (6-0, 210, Sr) 76 647 8.51 72 6
# 5 Taylor Cornejo (5-7,165, Sr) 75 500 6.67 66 9
#21 Nikko Hayes (6-0, 190, Sr) 57 770 13.76 79 11
WR
#25 Rafael Arellano (5-10, 170, Sr) 23 207 9.0 91 6
RB: Mop-up
#23 A.J. Florez (5-8, 165, Jr) 80 500 6.25 52 7
#22 Austin Hayes (5-9, 160, So) 25 219 8.76 64 2
#27 Brandon Fronteres (5-7, 150, Jr) 36 93 2.58 14 -
WR: Mop-up
# 6 Chris Westbury (5-8, 175, Sr) 6 26 4.33 10 1
The QB's - while not really a running threat as a group - Backup [#9] Luciano Lopes (6-3, 215, Sr) runs like the LB he is and has scored a TD. In the same general category is TE/DL/FootballMonster [#35] Ainuu Taua (6-1, 285, Jr) he may be the best athlete on the team, and has been used in short yardage situations. Then there are the late 4th Quarter guys [#14] Antoni Droulliard (5-6, 150, Jr) & [#16] Jonathan Garrett (5-7, 145, Sr) who have combined for 11-65 5.9 ave. . This listing doesn't even include guys like Keith Joseph, or Quentin Cayabyab, or Derrick Portis, or ....
The Passing attack
The QB's are mostly asked to hand off, but when they do throw they tend to go big - even if they throw short, because their receivers can bust it the distance at any time. The Braves have 12 TDs on just 47 completions (better than 25%). [#4] Tyler Ornales (5-10, 200, Sr) is the starter, with [#17] Jordan Pickles (5-9, 160, Jr) often getting in for 'mop-up duty' - a.k.a. the second half..
When Ornelas went down with an injury, however, the staff pulled Luciano Lopez back over to offense. He did play the 1st quarter against AG, and has had regular, though not abundant 'reps' in practice. He was a bit rusty, but he does have that 14-0 record as a starter and a CIF Championship from last year. In addition, Lompoc has called up Frosh Phenom [#12] Torey Simms (5-10, 145, Fr) who can run and pass, and, perhaps most importantly, think while both running and passing.
The receiving corps is not huge - mostly consisting of
[#25] Rafael Arellano 16-371, 23.19 ave, 58 yd Lg, 5 TD and
[#15] Greg Mitchell 11- 332, 30.18 ave, 63 yd Lg, 3TD, with
[#24] Ivan Rodriguez 3-26, 8.67ave, 13 yd Lg, 1 TD on in limited relief. Backup TE
[#42] Vincent Raya 3-22, 7.33 ave, 15 yd Lg, 1 TD usually sees time in the 4th quarter.
If the deep routes aren't open, the ball can always be dumped off to Coleman, Cornejo, Hayes, Hayes, or Taua who have 4 TD's on 7 receptions. Or there are the FB's, who we have not mentioned yet. [#31] Anthony Gonzalez (5-10,190,Sr) and [#34] Willie Iribarren (6-3,220,Sr) alternate at FB, and sometimes #2 TE, with occasional work from [#32] Alex Gonzalez. (5-9,170,Jr). Those three have 7-108, 15.4 ave, 31 yd Lg, 1 TD.
The O-Line has been outstanding, although not real deep, and is led by [#77] Samuel Wellmaker (6-4, 290, Sr) and [#51] Josh Powers (6-3,270,Sr).
Defense: Not really scary looking, you just can't score until they take their foot off the throttle. If you do (i.e. Santa Ynez) they get riled up and punish you for your audacity. They have allowed 68 points in 10 games, often as the result of a late score against the 3rd/4th/5th team. The front line of [#35] Ainu Taua, DL/FB [#45] Maurice Kirby (5-8,220,Sr), and [#52] Brian Piemme (6-4,200,Sr) have gotten a lot more active as the season has progressed, and now spend much of their time in the opponents backfield. LB's Lopez (the leading tackler), Gonzalez, and Iribarren fly to the ball, and will thump you when they get there. The secondary consists of interchangeable parts, all of whom can play.
Special Teams: K [#80] Jose 'Pepe' Morales (6-0,200,Sr) is a weapon, and his relief man [#19] Ricky Reyes isn't bad either. QB Tyler Ornelas has also been the punter, providing some interesting moments for opposing coaches, and averaging over 38 yard a kick. Morales is also a more than adequate punter and also has thrown a 20 yard pass. Buckup QB/FB/PutMeOnTheField [#7] Aaron Greene handles the holding duties, the plethora of RB/WR types serve the return functions, though it is often Arellano back deep.
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