Cardinal Newman Coach Tom Bonfigli joins five other Bay Area coaches with 700 career victories
Back in early December, and shortly after Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa head coach Tom Bonfigli notched career win No. 675, Prep2Prep sat down with the wily 33-year veteran for a two-and-a-half hour dinner/interview at his favorite restaurant in Santa Rosa.
At the time, Bonfigli’s Cardinals were 2-0 after his boys posted a 60-51 victory over North Bay Catholic school rival Marin Catholic-Kentfield, and the wily veteran was contemplating the unfolding season and his thoughts about another potential run like his 2012 CIF Northern Regional Division IV champions.
Now, 26 wins and a 15th career league title later, Bonfigli has Newman (28-2) into the semifinals of the CIF North Coast Section Division IV playoffs, and in quest of a third NCS title after a 69-39 rout by the top-seeded Cardinals over visiting Cloverdale.
It seemed like the whole town of Cloverdale had made the 35-mile drive south on Highway 101, and with the Newman fans packing their sections the place was busting at the seams for the second half of the Saturday night double-header.
In the first game the Newman girls made their way into the NCS D4 semis with a 59-30 trouncing of defending CIF Northern Regional Division IV champion Justin-Siena-Napa.
The raucous Cloverdale fans roared as their boys jumped out to a 5-2 lead, but then Bonfigli jumped up from the bench like a guy half his 61-years, and after a timeout and stern lecture his charges went on the 25-4 run.
Three minutes into the second quarter it was 27-9 and the only thing that remained a mystery was what would be the final score of career coaching win No. 701 in Bonfigli’s career.
Win No. 700 came in 69-43 NCS D4 opening round win over cross-town Roseland Prep, and the local press gave him a little fanfare, but what the locals don’t know is exactly what kind of company their local coaching legend has joined.
According to the Cal-Hi Sports State Record Book only 15 coaches in California history have won 700 games, and only six are from the Metro Bay Area.
Of those six only Bonfigli and Don Lippi of defending CIF Division V state champion St. Joseph-Notre Dame-Alameda (775 current wins) are still active.
Mike Phelps (843 wins St. Joseph-Alameda, Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland) is the Bay Area leader. He’s followed by Elio “Abe” Abrami (802 wins at Emery-Emeryville), Lippi, legendary Frank LaPorte (742 wins at Bishop O’Dowd and St. Joseph), who coached Jason Kidd, Joe Chappell (717 wins at San Leandro and Salinas), and then Bonfigli.
“This has been 33-years of my life and that’s a long time, and when you work your whole life for something the numbers start to mean more than when I was younger,” Bonfigli told Prep2Prep. “To be mentioned with those coaches is truly a tremendous honor and I’m blessed.”
An interesting twist to win No. 701 was it came with 1983 and 1984 Cal-Hi Sports Division IV State Player of the Year Craig McMillan in the stands watching his sons John McMillan and Jayson McMillan on the court for Cloverdale.
The elder McMillan was not only the divisional player of the year in those two seasons, he also led Cloverdale to back-to-back CIF Division III state titles back in the years when there were only three enrollment divisions for state championships but Cal-Hi Sports gave out divisional awards based on five enrollment divisions.
Senior John and sophomore Jayson looked decent but they were no match for the firepower of Newman.
Junior 6-foot-3 forward Connor Rubattino led all scorers with 16 points. Sophomore guard Damian Wallace looked sharp and should be a key both for the remainder of the playoffs and in the next two years. He added 12 points. Senior 6-foot-5 forward Justin Botteri played sparingly but chipped in with a solid 10 points and a game-high eight rebounds.
Now it’s on to the semifinals where the Cardinals meet No. 4 seed St. Mary’s-Berkeley at home Wednesday night.
“Back in December I didn’t dream we’d be 28-2 at this point and the No. 1 seed ahead of three Tri-County Rock (League) teams,” Bonfigli remarked.
It’s a long way to go to get to the Division IV state title game later this month at Cal’s Haas Pavilion, and the Newman boys still have a lot to prove.
“We don’t have the same pieces we had on the 2012 team,” Bonfigli said. “No superstar players but our kids play really well together.”
Is there any hint of retirement Coach?
“I love it now more than when I started. I still get excited about games, but I love practices. It’s almost more fun to me than games. I get to see the kids put into action what we are teaching. I have no plans to retire. By the grace of God I’ve got good health and as long as I’ve got good health and energy I’ll be coaching awhile. ”
Will his boys get their coach another NCS title and then a trip to the state championships?
If they do Bonfigli will have a couple of additional pegs on the 800-win milestone – and after two previous bridesmaids finishes perhaps a long overdue state championship.
