Orange Lutheran’s Upset Bid Falls Short

The opening kickoff gave a pretty good indication of what kind of night it was going to be for Orange Lutheran when Jon Talmage’s onside kick went all of eight yards.

The Lancers came close, but they just couldn’t get the job done.

It was perfectly understandable, of course, considering that Ventura St. Bonaventure running back Lorenzo Booker rushed for 363 yards and five touchdowns.

But Lutheran was its worst enemy for much of its 34-16 loss to the top-seeded Seraphs in the championship game of the Southern Section Division XI playoffs Saturday before 7,000 at Ventura High.

The third-seeded Lancers (11-3), heavy underdogs, were very much alive until late in the fourth quarter, when St. Bonaventure intercepted a pass by quarterback Jason Taylor for the fifth time. For the game, Lutheran had six passes intercepted and lost a fumble.

“Our turnovers and that Pac-10 [caliber] running back were too much for us,” Lancer Coach Jim Kunau said.

It was the second consecutive title for St. Bonaventure (14-0), which stretched its winning streak to 28 games dating to 1998.

“My goal is to go 42-0 in a St. Bonaventure uniform,” said Booker, a junior who is in his second varsity season.

Booker had rushed for 200 yards and two touchdowns by halftime, but many of his yards came after initial contact.

“There’s no question Orange Lutheran put a beating on Lorenzo,” St. Bonaventure Coach Jon Mack said. “Our whole offensive line took a beating but got the job done. Everyone knows how good Lorenzo is, now they know how good the rest of the team is.”

Taylor’s two-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter pulled the Lancers to within 21-16, but Booker scored on runs of three and 26 yards to put the game out of reach.

It didn’t take St. Bonaventure long to score in the first quarter. After Talmage’s failed onside kick, Booker ran up the middle as if in fast-forward mode for a 47-yard touchdown. Three Lutheran defensive backs had an angle on Booker but he simply outran them. The Seraphs’ two-point conversion attempt failed when quarterback Jack Swisher was sacked.

Lutheran trimmed the deficit to 6-3 late in the first quarter on Talmage’s 29-yard field goal.

But on the last play of the quarter, Booker cut outside and skirted the sideline for an 80-yard touchdown, and Swisher converted the two-point conversion by rolling out and into the end zone to make it 14-3.

The Lancers responded late in the second quarter when running back Ryan Cecil took a pitch and scored from four yards to cut the deficit to 14-10.

Lutheran quarterback Robby Hobbs and Taylor combined to throw four interceptions in the first half, but the Seraphs failed to score any points off the turnovers. The Lancers also failed to convert two fourth-down plays.

St. Bonaventure was penalized eight times for 73 yards in the first half.

St. Bonaventure increased its lead to 21-10 on its first possession of the third quarter when Booker cut outside for a 21-yard touchdown run.

After the game, Kunau gathered his team together and told his players how proud he was of their effort despite the loss.

Said Kunau: “They far exceeded any win-loss expectations we had for the season.”

It was Kunau’s third loss in a title game in eight years.

The last time the two teams played, St. Bonaventure defeated the Lancers in the semifinals in 1996.