It’s not often the Buena Colts are in the playoffs, let alone hosting a postseason game — potentially two — down in Sierra Vista.
The third-seeded Colts (8-2) will host 14th-seeded Casa Grande on Friday for the opening round of the Class 5A state playoffs. The winner will face either No. 6 seed Buckeye Verrado or 11th-seeded Scottsdale Notre Dame Prep the following week.
“It’s amazing that we were able to accomplish this,” said Buena senior running back Andres Bonilla. “A lot of people doubted us, but everyone on our team didn’t doubt we could win the games we played. Overall, the way we’ve been playing, it’s a good season we’re having.”
Buena punctuated its regular season with a 32-15 win over Cienega, with Bonilla rushing for a season-high 225 yards and a touchdown. Bonilla has 1,199 yards and 13 touchdowns this season. In his four-year career at Buena, Bonilla has rushed for 4,065 yards and 40 touchdowns on 528 carries.
Bonilla is the Star’s final high school football player of the week this season. We caught up with him ahead of Buena’s highly anticipated home playoff game. Here’s what he discussed:
Why do you think this year was a breakout year for Buena?
“The bond we’ve built throughout the last four years — and even before that. Everyone on our team has played together since pee-wee football, so it was bound to come eventually.”
How would you summarize your career at Buena?
“It’s definitely been a good one. My worst year was probably my junior year. I had a little knee injury, which set me back a lot. I think I bounced back my senior year, and hopefully we can make that state playoff run. I think this is a good time to step up my game more than I have.”
What did you learn when you were sidelined with an injury?
“The biggest thing that I learned is my biggest ability is to be available, so I learned how to not take unnecessary hits and to also be elusive out there instead of hitting everybody. Just taking care of my body more.”
How thrilled is the team to host a playoff game?
“It’s super-exciting. I knew before the season that we’d be getting to a playoff game, but I couldn’t have imagined hosting one, so it’s a big surprise. It makes me excited to know that our hometown is going to bring people to the game here instead of us going away. ... Most of us haven’t really grasped the situation that we’re in yet, hosting a playoff game. We’re taking it to the next level, but we also have the mindset of just winning and winning.”
What did Buena learn in the two losses to Tucson High and Marana earlier in the season?
“The big thing with Tucson High, we needed to learn about our pass coverage. Since then, we definitely fixed stuff and have gotten better. With Marana, that gave us a boost in confidence that we can hang with these teams. They’re the No. 1-ranked team in the state and we were hanging with them the whole game. That showed that we can’t underestimate ourselves, and if we dig deep, we can beat these Phoenix teams and Tucson teams that we have to travel to.”
Did you grow up in Sierra Vista?
“My dad is in the military, so we moved a lot. I spent most of my years in Texas, in El Paso and San Antonio. I’ve been playing since I was 4 years old. When I moved to North Carolina, I made the decision to move to running back. I was probably 11 or 12 (years old), then I started playing running back and doing good at it. When I moved to Sierra Vista, I kept playing running back and got better and better.”
What led you to start playing football?
“I have two brothers (Adrian Bonilla and Jacob Bonilla). ... I had my brothers and my family always pushing me to play football.”
What’s it like growing up in a military-influenced household?
“It’s definitely tough sometimes because my dad is always holding me to higher expectations, which inevitably pushed me to get better and better. He always told me, ‘There’s always someone that’s better than you and there’s always someone who’s faster than you, but you have to be the best you and keep pushing yourself to better than what you can be.’ Even though it was hard with my dad in the military, he’s always been pushing me more and more no matter how good I think I’m doing.”
What’s your favorite football team?
“Chicago Bears. ... I was born into it. My dad and his whole family are big Bears fans, so I grew up watching the Bears.”
Who’s your all-time favorite player?
“Matt Forte.”
What would a first-round playoff win mean for Buena and Sierra Vista?
“It would mean everything. It would show that even though we’re a small town, we can still compete with anybody. I think it’ll also show the other sports, like basketball and baseball, that just because we’re a smaller school, that doesn’t mean we can’t go out and win.”
