TOUGH LOSS TO HANDLE CANYON FUMBLE LEADS TO WINNING SCORE FOR ST. BONAVENTURE ST. BONAVENTURE 21, CANYON 14.

Byline: RAMONA SHELBURNE Staff Writer

CANYON COUNTRY -- They say it's the car you don't see that you need to worry about. In J.J. DiLuigi's case, it was the tackler he'd just juked out of his shoes.

As the third quarter was winding down Friday, the Canyon High senior running back was on his way to his third touchdown of the night. He took the ball from 16 yards out, exploded through the hole and made a slick move on Angel Morales, the last defender standing between him and the end zone.

But as he blew by him, DiLuigi felt a tug at the ball, then nothing. He didn't need to look back. The sounds of the St. Bonaventure players cheering behind him told him all he needed to know.

``I made a move and left the ball out, I didn't get it pinned and he got a hand on the ball,'' DiLuigi said. ``To me, that lost us the game, and I'm sorry to my teammates that I did that.''

Six plays later, the Seraphs made it sting as sophomore Patrick Hall scampered in from 11 yards out early in the fourth quarter, and St. Bonaventure held on for a 21-14 win over the host Cowboys.

For Canyon (1-2), it was the second heartbreaking loss in as many weeks. DiLuigi might want to shoulder the blame for the loss, but in many ways he was the reason the Cowboys pushed St. Bonaventure as far as they did. The BYU-bound back scored touchdowns on receptions of 22 and 9 yards, but carried just 14 times and finished with 77 yards.

St. Bonaventure's victory sets the stage for a showdown next week with Oaks Christian of Westlake Village. The teams bring a combined 60-game winning streak into next week's game. St. Bonaventure has won 27 straight, its last loss Sept.24, 2004 to Lakewood.

Oaks Christian has a 33-game winning streak, the longest in the state. Its last loss was Nov.4, 2003 to Oak Park.

``I didn't think about that until right now, right after this game ended,'' said St. Bonaventure running back Michael Lee, who finished with a game-high 208yards on 29 carries. ``We were focused on Canyon because we knew they were a great team. We knew the seriousness of this game.''

Now, the Seraphs (3-0) can focus on Oaks Christian.

``I guess we'll see what kind of team they really are,'' said Lee, who has scholarship offers from Fresno State, San Diego State, Washington and UNLV. ``They're a great team, too. But I know this -- nobody can stop us but ourselves.''

Canyon led 14-7 on DiLuigi's second touchdown reception at 7:16 of the second quarter. The Seraphs evened the score when Casey Serna intercepted a pass from Canyon quarterback Ben Longshore and returned it 23 yards for a touchdown.

Both defenses stepped up in the third quarter. Canyon appeared to catch a break when St. Bonaventure punt returner Michael Williams fumbled at his own 26-yard line and Canyon's Anthony King recovered it. But three plays later, Morales stripped DiLuigi from behind.

``It's difficult being the losing coach, but this was a great high school football game,'' Canyon coach Harry Welch said. ``(St.Bonaventure) is a great team. They've got superior size, speed, athleticism, and they're well-drilled.''

[e-mail]

[phone]

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) St. Bonaventure's Casey Serna fights into the end zone for a touchdown against Canyon on Friday.

(2) Canyon's J.J. DiLuigi, left, avoids the St. Bonaventure defense on a run in Friday's game.

Alex Collins/Special to the Daily News