CCS's Drew Bond (51)works for a sack against Notre Dame quarterback Cash Bandy. The Chargers won, 49-14, over the Irish.
photo by Greg Davick
A quick start and unstoppable first-half performance was all Chattanooga Christian needed Friday night in their 49-14 win over fellow Division-II AA East member Notre Dame.
The Chargers bolted out of the gate against the Fighting Irish as they totaled 28 points in the first 10 minutes of game time.
The CCS defense started things off strong as Devoris Havis forced a fumble just a minute in, and the offense kept up the quick work on their very first play with a 41-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Gile to AJ Wallace.
After a Notre Dame went three--and-out, Javoris Havis went to work on the ground. On the seven-play 58-yard drive, the star back rushed five times for 55 yards and punched in the score to make it 14-0. Another Notre Dame drive ensued, but this time CCS made their first mistake of the game. In their own territory, the always elusive, Boo Carter made a rare miscue and fumbled the ball giving Notre Dame great field position.
The defense, however, picked up the star on their very first play in the tough situation. Kaleb Bonastia got to the quarterback and forced a fumble that he then returned for a touchdown. Following the defensive touchdown, the Charger defense was stout once again and forced another three and out.
The offense quickly moved up the field and a 44-yard touchdown pass from Gile to Da’Rell Brown made it 28-0 with two minutes remaining in the first quarter.
CCS coach Phil Massey knew a quick start was what they needed and he was thrilled with his team’s execution.
“Notre Dame is the type of team that if you let them hang around, they can feed and get confidence off of that. We knew we needed to take care of business early and I was proud of them for doing that.” Said Massey.
Before the first quarter could end, Notre Dame went three-and-out again and thanks to the ensuing juke moves on offense from Boo Carter, the first quarter buzzer sounded with CCS at the two-yard line. Carter punched it in on the first play from scrimmage in the second to make it 35-0.
The five-star athlete, Carter, was late to the show, but in the second quarter, he reminded everyone why college coaches are salivating over the thought of having him on their rosters. Later in the quarter, Carter showed that all you needed to do was get him the ball. On a routine screen pass behind the line of scrimmage, Carter went sideline to sideline and made what seemed like the entire Notre Dame team miss on way to a 75-yard touchdown to bring the lead to 42-0.
The score would stay there for the rest of the half, and after the break, thanks to their hefty lead, most CCS starters came to the sideline out of uniform ready to support the reserves for the running clock half.
The Charger reserves did give up two touchdowns in the half to the Fighting Irish, but both were impressive plays from the visitors. Justin Baker showed off his speed as he sliced through the defense on a 45-yard end-around and Kenny Hammond Jr. had a good 27-yard catch and run for the other score.
CCS’ Owen Brown refused to go down on his 47-yard pick-six. Brown made a great play on the ball but looked like he was going to get stopped a few yards short of the touchdown. Instead, the defensive back refused to go down and dragged two Notre Dame players into the end zone with him for their final score of the night.
“I keep preaching that we’re a team. Everyone has a role and a job to do. I was proud of our defense and the way they played… I think our offense is feeding off our defense’s play and effort.” Said Massey.
CCS now looks to stay undefeated in district play in their matchup with CAK next week. Notre Dame will look to get a win on the board against Silverdale, 28-21, winners over Boyd Buchanan in another DII-AA contest.
SUMMARY
CCS 28 14 7 0 - 49
NOTRE DAME 0 0 7 7 - 14
CCS - Jordan Gile 41-yard pass to AJ Wallace (Lane Travis Kick)(10:58 1st)
CCS - Javoris Havis 1-yard run (Travis Kick)(7:34 1st)
CCS - Kaleb Bonastia fumble recovery (Travis Kick)(5:32 1st)
CCS - Jordan Gile 44-yard pass to Da’Rell Brown (Travis Kick)(2:09 1st)
CCS - Boo Carter 2-yard run (Travis Kick)(11:54 2nd)
CCS - Jordan Gile 75-yard pass to Boo Carter (Travis Kick)(6:54 2nd)
CCS - Owen Brown pick-six (Travis Kick)(6:56 3rd)
ND - Justin Baker 45-yard run (Al Hastick kick)(0:11 3rd)
ND - Kenny Hammond Jr. 27-yard catch (Hastick kick)(5:11 4th)
CCS Stats ND
20 First Downs 11
31-208 Rushes/Yards 22-82
238 Passing Yards 128
446 Total Yards 210
12-13-0 Passing (Att-Comp-INT) 14-26-1
8-90 Penalties/Yards 8-60
2-29.5 Punts-Avg. 6-32.5
1-1 Fumbles-Lost 2-2
Individual Stats
Passing: Jordan Gile 11-11 230 yards, Lane Travis 1-2 8 yards (CCS); #9 14-26-1 128 yards (ND)
Rushing: Javoris Havis 12-115, LD Hollingsworth 6-53, Boo Carter 5-31, Lane Travis 4-9, Hayden Breaux 2-6. Jordan Gile 2-(-6) (CCS); Justin Baker 3-66, Zi Watters 5-16, Rickey Maples 6-11, Kenny Hammond Jr. 2-8, Dylan Vintrov 1-4, #3 1-4, #9 4-(-27) (ND)
Receiving: Boo Carter 3-93, Da’Rell Brown 3-76, AJ Wallace 2-46, Jermaine Stinson 2-12, BJ Holland 1-6, Connor Tyler 1-5 (CCS); Kenny Hammond Jr. 7-79, #3 1-25, #6 2-17, Dylan Vintrov 2-8, Zi Watters 2-(-1) (ND)
Records: Notre Dame 1-3, 0-2; CCS 4-1, 2-0