Prep Football: Chargers run past Cyclones

BY NICK ST. DENIS

The Chancellor Chargers’ success Friday night was based on the simplest of formulas: Run the ball well, and stop the run.

Chancellor running back Dominic Kaopua rushed for 197 yards on 31 carries, and the Chargers defense held Eastern View to minus-16 yards rushing in a 35–2 Battlefield District victory over the Cyclones.

Chancellor stuck with the run throughout, even on third- and fourth-and-long downs. It paid off in the end, thanks in part to a defense that held up its end until the rushing offense broke through.

“You couldn’t ask for anything better,” Kaopua said of his defense.

Chancellor held Eastern View’s offense to minus-23 yards in the first half and didn’t allow a first down until early in the third quarter.

Eastern View was stout defensively before the break as well, forcing Chancellor into four turnovers on downs and one punt.

“I knew if we could hang with them in the first quarter and get used to their speed, because you can’t simulate [their speed] in practice,” Chancellor coach Bob Oliver said. “And thank goodness, because we’re struggling offensively right now.”

The Cyclones’ defense breathed additional life into the game with a safety early in the third quarter, but Chancellor went on to score 22 points in a span of less than six minutes.

“That was a great football game minus those six minutes,” Eastern View coach Greg Hatfield said.

A minute after the safety, Chargers receiver Chris Holmes hauled in a tough catch from quarterback Zander Roysten for a 24-yard score, and Kaopua found pay dirt on the team’s next possession.

Ethan Upperco then returned an interception 32 yards for a touchdown.

Not all was well for the Chargers, however, as they had a plethora of flags thrown their way for the third straight game, getting penalized 14 times for 120 yards on the evening.

Oliver attributed the penalties to players being “anxious to make plays,” adding that it’s been a difficult thing to fix.

“We’ve done extra exercises, we’ve done extra sprints, we’ve hollered and screamed, we’ve talked, we’ve varied snap counts,” he said. “We’ve done everything we know.”

The Cyclones host King George next Friday for their homecoming game.

Chancellor 3 3 22 7 — 35

Eastern View 0 0 2 0 — 2

First Quarter

Ch-J. Clemens 28-yard field goal

Second Quarter

Ch-J. Clemens 23-yard field goal

Third Quarter

EV-Safety

Ch-C. Holmes 24-yard pass from Z. Roysten (J. Clemens kick)

Ch-D. Kaopua 5-yard run (T. Morton from Z. Roysten)

Ch-E. Upperco 32-yard interception (J. Clemens kick)

Fourth Quarter

Ch-D. Kaopua 5-yard run (J. Clemens kick)

TEAMSTATISTICS

Ch EV

First downs11 3

Rushing yardage48-187 27-(-16)

Passing yardage108 46

Passes5-11-0 3-17-3

Punts-Avg.3-27.3 10-29.5

Fumbles-lost3-2 2-1

Penalties-yards14-120 5-45

INDIVIDUALSTATISTICS

Rushing: Eastern View—Kendrick Kube 11-20; Brandon Settle 4-3; Marlin Glascoe 2-1; Donte Christian 4-(-1); Josh Stallings 2-(-12); Brandon Layher 4-(-27). Chancellor—Dominic Kaopua 31-197, 2TD; Tyler Morton 7-3; Steven Coates 4-0; Nate Garrette 1-(-1); Zander Roysten 5-(-12).

Passing: Eastern View—Brandon Layher 3-12-2 46; Josh Stallings 0-1-0 0; Brandon Settle 0-4-1 0. Chancellor—Zander Roysten 5-11-0 108, TD.

Receiving: Eastern View—Shaquille Robinson 1-35; Logan Shurina 1-9; Donte Christian 1-2. Chancellor—Chris Holmes 2-50, TD; DeAndre Miller 2-41; Tyler Morton 1-17.

Nick St. Denis: 540/374-5440

sports@freelancestar.com

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