Despite trailing 8-7 in the first quarter after Detroit Community Christian scored a 72-yard touchdown and converted on a two-point attempt, the Chaparrals’ offense found their rhythm and ran away with a lead after scoring 42 unanswered points in their win against the Lions.
“We did what we were supposed to, and against any team we play it comes down to an execution issue,” said head coach Matthew Rahn. “When we execute, we are really good, and when we don’t, we are not [good]. We didn’t have guys doing their own things, and that’s what I wanted to see at this point of the season. I am very proud of the guys for coming out and playing hard and do what they are supposed to do.”
Earlier in the season, the Chaparrals traveled to Detroit and battled the Lions in a close game to win 17-6.
COD took back the lead after a three-play drive with the help of sophomore quarterback Peyton O’Laughlin’s 44-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Fabian Baez. O’Laughlin finished the night with 128 passing yards and three passing touchdowns.
“The last time we played [Detroit], we didn’t really execute like we wanted to and did a much better job this week,” said O’Laughin. “We just have to keep it going for the next couple of weeks. We have to keep a mindset of getting better each and every day and keep our energy up.”
With 3:37 left in the first quarter, freshman corner Andrew Ewald nabbed an interception to score a 65-yard defensive touchdown to make the score 21-8 going into the second quarter.
The Chaparrals’ offense continued to dominate after O’Laughin threw a pass to Baez for a 16-yard touchdown in the first play of the second quarter to increase their lead to 28-8.
After a defensive fumble recovery from freshman Kellon King to set up the Chaparrals in the red zone, sophomore running back Jaden McGill scored a 3-yard rushing touchdown from a wildcat run up the middle to make the score 35-8. McGill rushed for 61 yards and two rushing touchdowns.
“I thought it was a great game, and this week we came with a revenge mentality from last game [against Detroit], ” said McGill. “The last time we played them, it was 17-6 and we didn’t play to our full potential. This game, we came out, executed, and got the job done. [I want to] give credit to the offensive line and coaches for having the play calls go my way, and I was having fun.”
With 41 seconds left in the first half, freshman Deszmund White scored a six-yard receiving touchdown to end the half with a 42-8 lead over the Lions.
After failing to find an answer to overcome the Chaparrals’ defense, the Lions scored a touchdown and another two-point conversion to give them a total of 16 points.
After a second half that consisted of a one-yard rushing touchdown from freshman Jamareon Dale and a 13-yard rushing touchdown from freshman Ernest Temple, the Chaparrals concluded the night with a 56-16 win.
To end the game, freshman Tyrese Buffkin secured an interception, which resulted in the COD’s bench celebrating joyfully after shutting down another Lions’ offensive drive.
“We all executed today, and the offense came to play once the second half came,” said Buffkin. “It is always a great accomplishment to finally do things on the field that you prepare for, practiced for, and studied for. It finally came all together full circle and showed on the field.”
The Chaparrals will take on Georgia Military College with a 6-3 record at 1 p.m. on Nov. 4 at Bob MacDougall Field.
