Football | Deflected pass lifts Oaks Christian over St. Bonaventure
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Oaks Christian had played nearly 94 minutes of football against its Marmonte League foe this season and had yet to find the end zone.
Until Friday night’s miracle at Redell Field.
Sophomore Christian Butler pulled in freshman quarterback Niko Bladow’s deflected pass behind the defense and raced 82 yards for the game-deciding score with 2:06 to play as Oaks Christian edged St. Bonaventure 16-13 in the first round of the CIF-Southern Section Division 4 playoffs on Nov. 7.
“We were just so blessed and so grateful that moment happened,” said Oaks Christian senior Deshonne Redeaux. “That was a beautiful moment.”
The USC-bound running back then raised his hands to his head and yelled, “Man, what?!”
That was the reaction of a St. Bonaventure defense that had held Oaks Christian to 147 yards of total offense and three Sonny Jones field goals, after shutting out the Lions 19-0 in Marmonte League play on Oct. 17.
“It’s hard to beat a team twice,” St. Bonaventure senior Matt Perez said. “But we were in the film room watching nonstop. … It just (stinks) it comes down to this.”
Oaks Christian had completed just one of its previous 14 passes for 6 yards.
The game — and Oaks Christian’s season — had just been extended by a defensive holding flag on a fourth-down incompletion.
But Bladow’s third-and-10 pass glanced off a defender and found Butler behind the St. Bonaventure defense that had provided such an obstacle for nearly eight quarters, altering the trajectory of two seasons.
“I saw it go off his hands,” Butler said. “I was like, ‘I’ve got to make a play.’ ”
Oaks Christian (5-6) advances to play Paraclete (9-2), which beat Long Beach-Wilson 54-48, on the road in this Friday’s quarterfinals.
“This season means so much for me,” Redeaux said. “I love these guys too much to play just one more game with them. We’re going all the way.”
St. Bonaventure, which had won Division 3 and reached the Division 4 finals the previous two seasons, respectively, ends its season 5-6.
With the Seraphs in the rearview mirror, Redeaux likes the Lions’ chances of making a run in Division 4.
“They’re a great team,” Redeaux said. “They’re the hardest team in this Division 4 bracket.”
Bladow completed 8 of 22 passes for 145 yards, one TD and — importantly — no interceptions.
Davon Benjamin, the star senior committed to Oregon, caught a team-leading four passes for 21 yards and also set up two field goals with punt returns into the red zone.
After missing the first game between these two teams, Redeaux, the four-star running back committed to USC, ran for 84 yards on 19 carries.
Perhaps his most impactful play came on defense. His sack of St. Bonaventure quarterback Jaxson Carper on third-and-short helped end the final Seraphs drive.
“I wanted to do something and bring it home for my team,” Redeaux said. “That was a surreal moment.”
Carper completed 11 of 23 passes for 124 yards, one TD and one interception.
With their season on the line, the sophomore drove the Seraphs 65 yards in 11 plays, putting St. Bonaventure ahead 13-9 on a 10-yard TD pass to freshman Wyatt Barlow with 4:34 to play.
Senior Jeremiah Barrios ran for 83 yards on 18 carries and caught three passes for 35 yards to lead the Seraphs offense.
The 18th meeting between the area’s two private school football superpowers was just their second playoff showdown.
Oaks Christian won the previous meeting in the 2011 CIF-SS Northern Division semifinals, 27-24.
St. Bonaventure drove 81 yards on 15 plays on its first possession to take a 3-0 lead on Oscar Orozco’s 26-yard field goal with 3:17 left in the first quarter.
Benjamin’s punt return to the St. Bonaventure 20 set up Jones’ 36-yard field goal, which tied the game 3-3 with 4:59 left in the second quarter.
Jones’ 41-yard field goal with 2.7 seconds left in the quarter, set up by an interception return by linebacker Caleb Zeile, gave the Lions a 6-3 halftime lead.
Tony Dargan returned the second-half kickoff to the Oaks Christian 15. A horse-collar penalty moved the ball to the 8.
But St. Bonaventure still settled for a 32-yard Orozco field goal to tie the game 6-6 early in the third quarter.
Jones’ 33-yard field goal with 10:06 to play put Oaks Christian ahead 9-6 and set up the dramatic finish.
Joe Curley covers football for The Star. He can be reached at joe.curley@vcstar.com. For more coverage, follow @vcspreps on Twitter/X, Instagram/Threads, Facebook and Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Football | Deflected pass lifts Oaks Christian over St. Bonaventure
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