Notre Dame (4-1) is ranked fourth in the Pac-5 Division and 28th in the state by Maxpreps.com. And, traditionally, the Knights have gotten the better of St. Francis in the past, defeating the Golden Knights, 33-6, in 2007 when the teams last clashed and when they were Mission League foes, Notre Dame bested St. Francis four times in 2004 and ’05 with league and CIF semifinals wins in each of those seasons.
Thus, Bonds contends his team has great respect for its opposition, but isn’t about to concede anything to Notre Dame.
“We want to convey to our kids that we have just as good a chance to win this game as they do,” said Bonds, whose team is ranked No. 1 in the Western Division. “This is a different group than I’ve had in a while.”
Thus, while league play awaits in two weeks’ time, Bonds assures nobody is looking to simply get past or through this week.
“Our entire focus has been on this week,” Bonds said.
And that focus centers around the talented Knights offense, keyed by much-ballyhooed quarterback Ryan Kasdorf (1,317 total yards, 13 total touchdowns), running back Kenneth Boggs (561 yards rushing, nine touchdowns) and receiver Tyler Thomas (552 yards receiving).
“They’re very balanced and they’re big up front,” Bonds said. “It seems like [Kasdorf] has forever to throw and [Boggs] has big holes to run through.”
Longtime Notre Dame Coach Kevin Rooney sees St. Francis as much the same makeup.
“They’ve got some outstanding offensive players,” Rooney said. “Obviously, Dietrich Riley’s an outstanding player. Their quarterback’s a threat to run and pass, they have several receivers to go to and they have a big offensive line. They present a big challenge for us.”
