No. 2 Chantilly 41, No. 8 Robinson 21

Chargers Use Their Strength Up Front to Bully the Rams in the Second Half of Their Homecoming Game

When push came to shove early in the second half, second-ranked Chantilly (6-1 overall, 3-1 Concorde District) used their massive offensive line to control the clock and have their way with eighth-ranked Robinson (4-3, 1-2) en route to a 41-21 Homecoming �??blackout�?� win in front of thousands of delirious fans.

The Chargers led by a slim, 14-7 margin at half time, but refused to give up possession in the game�??s latter stages, with every drive ending in some kind of score except the one that culminated in the final whistle.

Chantilly was 5-of-6 on 3rd-down conversions in the third and fourth quarters, and also converted once on fourth down when junior running back Torrian Pace broke free for a 30-yard scoring scamper and his second rushing touchdown of the night. Pace finished with a game-high 135 yards on the ground on just 13 carries with two scores, and added a 15-yard touchdown reception from senior quarterback Austin Decker. Decker threw for three touchdowns on just 11 attempts, with no interceptions, while running for 66 yards on 12 attempts. “We came out a little excited the first quarter, but lost some of it in the second quarter,” senior offensive lineman Doug Boyle said. “In the second quarter, [the offensive line] started to figure out what their defensive line was doing, so we started to figure out which plays would work, and we came out in the second half and executed those plays the best we could.”

Senior Torrian Pace, shown here against Westfield earlier this season, led Chantilly’s ground attack Friday night with 135 yards and two scores.

Known for their versatility in the backfield, the “CPU” running backs of senior Antonio Cross, Pace, and senior Bugsy Urrutia combined for 25 carries, exactly 200 yards rushing and three rushing touchdowns.

Boyle said he appreciates the Chargers�?? depth of resources at the position.

“Any single play they can take it all the way,” he said. “We have Torrian and Bugsy, who are so fast if they get to the outside basically you’re just trying to seal people off and they�??ll make things happen, and Antonio just running right up the middle. It�??s easy having those three. They make [an offensive line�??s] job a whole lot easier, so we�??re really lucky to have those three.”

Chantilly�??s defense came out to make a statement as well. The Chargers forced five fumbles, recovering three, and held flashy Robinson senior running back Peter Ferrara to 67 yards on 22 carries (3.0 yards per attempt) with a long of just eight yards. Fellow senior running back Alex Murray did break a 76-yard scoring run on the Rams�?? first touch of the second half, but the vast majority of the lightning strikes belonged to the Chargers.