ST. BONAVENTURE SURVIVES TEST BIG PLAYS IN SECOND QUARTER ERASE EARLY MOORPARK LEAD S.B. 29, MOORPARK 14.

Byline: Dave Shelburne  Staff Writer

VENTURA - Top-ranked St. Bonaventure of Ventura passed its first test Friday night in what the five-time Southern Section champion hopes will be another run to the Div. IV final.

St. Bonaventure (10-1) also likely exited its first-round 29-14 win over Moorpark hoping it won't face anymore teams as tough as the Musketeers.

For much of the first half, it was hard to tell which was the top-ranked, long-time section power and which was the fourth-place league finisher that got into the playoffs as an at-large team.

Moorpark (5-6), which lost three times in the Marmonte league, led 6-0 after the first quarter and dominated much of the first half.

But St. Bonaventure's speedy Matt Lee made Moorpark's lead disappear with two big second-quarter scoring plays - an 85-yard run and a 41-yard touchdown reception - and St. Bonaventure never trailed again.

``He's very good,'' Moorpark coach Tim Lins said of Lee, who finished with 227 yards rushing and more than 300 all-purpose yards. ``He's as good a back as we've seen this year and probably faster than we've seen.''

Lee's speed, well contained by a swarming Moorpark defense in the first quarter, showed up clearly on his 85-yard touchdown run an he flashed quickness. He displayed his elusiveness on his 41-yard touchdown reception just before halftime.

But for those two plays, it was pretty much all Moorpark in the first half. The team rode strong passing from Kyle Blum (11-23, 205 yards, two touchdowns), powerful running by Daniel Wolverton (156 yards on 24 carries), a sensational 40-yard reception by Conrad Meadows and good team defense to control the game.

St. Bonaventure kept Moorpark to just one touchdown in the first half thanks to a defense led by Cory Finnerty (four tackles for losses) and some untimely miscues by Moorpark.

After St. Bonaventure took a 15-6 lead on Lee's second touchdown, Wolverton dashed 56 yards before being pushed out of bounds on the St. Bonaventure 7-yard line as the first half expired.

St. Bonaventure dominated in the second half, driving 75 yards to score on its first possession, then scoring again two series later to build a 29-6 lead.

St. Bonaventure then intercepted Blum twice in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.

``We knew they were a good team, '' said Finnerty, who added 66 yards rushing to his strong defensive efforts. ``We knew it was going to be a dogfight throughout the whole game because they had some unfortunate losses when some of their key players were out.''

St. Bonaventure finished with 461 yards, getting 116 passing and two touchdowns from Evans.

``We had our opportunities in the first half, '' Lins said, ``But we didn't punch them in. That happens, they are a good team and they played opportunistic defense.

Dave Shelburne, [phone]

dave.shelburne(at)dailynews.com