Football: Good morning, St. Bonaventure

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Ventura St. Bonaventure players must enjoy the smell of coffee in the morning, because they’re probably the only football team practicing at 6 a.m. on a Tuesday.

Coach Todd Therrien might be a little crazy, but then how crazy is the sportswriter who gets up at 4:30 a.m. to verify that the Seraphs really are practicing at 6 a.m.?

It’s true. The players show up in virtual silence, as if they are walking zombies. I saw one player in his pajama bottoms. But once they got onto the field, their focus was on practice, and it’s easy to understand why St. Bonaventure is 11-1 and playing Westlake Village Westlake in Friday’s Northern Division semifinals.

Therrien, 31, is organized and dedicated. He lives off Coke Zero, which should sponsor him because that’s what he was drinking when I arrived. The team gets the afternoon for study hall, which is a good deal. But I doubt 6 a.m. practices are going to be adopted for the entire week.

-- Eric Sondheimer