Chargers swarm Yellow Jackets

It’s that time of year again: the weather gets cooler and the Chargers get hotter. It has become sort of a routine in recent years for Charter Oak to advance past the first round of the football playoffs with ease. In 2011, they dominated Corona Santiago; in 2012 they cruised past Chaparral; last season they held off Yucaipa; and this year they blew out Colton High by a score of 49-0.

Colton started the game with confidence; in the first possession the Yellow Jackets were driving the ball on the Chargers, but CO eventually recovered a fumble. They wasted no time capitalizing on the turnover, scoring within their first three plays. Charter Oak got the ball back and promptly scored again, extending their lead to 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.

The Chargers just kept picking up steam in the second quarter, scoring on all their possessions. The Yellow Jackets were dominated throughout, and the hopes that they started the game with seemed lost before the half was over. Charter Oak went into halftime up 35-0. 

The domination of Colton continued in the third quarter. In the second play of the half, Zion Echols, junior, scored his fourth touchdown of the night on a screen pass from Kamden Brown, junior quarterback, who also had a big night. The game was delayed about halfway through the quarter, however, as one of Colton’s players was seriously injured on a play. He was down for a while, and an ambulance took him off the field on a stretcher. The player is out of the hospital now, and he is doing fine. Once the game started again, the Chargers got the ball back and scored one more time before putting their reserves in. Charter Oak won the game, 49-0.

With the first round now behind them, CO’s focus now turns to the second round, where they will be traveling to San Marino High to take on the Titans. San Marino has one of the most explosive offenses in the Central Division, and this will be a huge test for the Chargers defense. Charter Oak has not played past the quarterfinals since 2009; however, in the years between they have played some of California’s most competitive teams, such as Vista Murrieta and Upland. It will be interesting to see how things play out this year now that they will face anyone of that caliber. That being said, Charter Oak vs San Marino will definitely be a game worth seeing. 

—Andres Soto

Julian Castro / COHS