After suffering their first defeat of the season in a road loss to Westlake, the Chatsworth Chancellors rebounded on their home field in a 32-0 shutout victory over Arleta. Seeking to build on their dominant win, the Chancellors took a trip to Sylmar last Friday night to take on the 1-2 Spartans from the Valley Mission League. Chatsworth fought their way to a one score lead at the halftime break before pulling away in the second half into a 41-27 win for their first road win of the season. 

Sylmar received possession of the football to begin the contest, in which senior quarterback Tim Tanner marched the Spartans down the field through the air. The drive with Tanner throwing a 28-yard touchdown score to Spartans senior wideout Daniel Flores, giving Sylmar an early 7-0 first quarter lead. 

Chatsworth responded by using the running game on their first offensive possession. The Chancellors were also the beneficiaries of a personal foul penalty from the Spartans in a drive that concluded with a 13-yard touchdown run from junior running back Donald Foster. Unfortunately for Chatsworth, Foster was carted off the field following the score after suffering a knee injury. 

The game remained at a 7-7 tie where the subsequent Sylmar drive took the game into the second quarter. The Spartans went to their running game with senior running back Elizeo Reyes leading the way into red zone territory. Ultimately, the Chatsworth defense earned a key fourth down stop to end the drive with a turnover on downs for Sylmar. 

On the third play of the next offensive drive for Chatsworth, junior quarterback Luis Bercerra threw a 63-yard deep ball touchdown score to senior wide receiver Christopher Avery to give the Chancellors their first lead of the game at 14-7. With 7:02 remaining in the first half, Sylmar received favorable field position close to midfield after a solid kickoff return from senior running back Victor Compa. The Spartans proceeded to move close to red zone territory courtesy of a face mask penalty from Chatsworth. 

A first down reception from senior wideout Andrew Galvez set up a two-yard touchdown run from Tanner on a QB keeper to tie the game at 14-14 apiece. The Chatsworth offense took the field with 3:28 left in the second quarter looking to take a halftime lead into the locker room. They put the ball in the hands of senior running back and team captain Jacob Martinez, who came into Friday night ranked  8th in the CIF L.A. City Section in Total Touchdowns and 9th in Rushing Yards. 

Martinez ripped off a 27-yard gain to put the Chancellors into Spartans territory. With time ticking off the clock, Chatsworth executed their offense with two first down conversions to set up a 5-yard touchdown run from Martinez with only ten seconds remaining in the half. Chatsworth held a 20-14 halftime advantage after the extra point attempt was blocked by the Spartans. 

The Chancellors offense received the football to begin the second half, where Bercerra once again connected with Avery for a 42-yard touchdown pass on the fourth play of the drive. Making a statement on their opening drive, Chatsworth held a 27-14 lead with 9:11 left in the third quarter. The Chancellors defense earned their first sack of the night on their next outing, as Sylmar was forced to punt on their opening second half drive after a three-and-out. 

Chatsworth continued to emphasize their physicality through the running game with first down conversions from Martinez and senior Jonathan Velasquez. Penalties continued to be an issue for the Spartans, as a personal foul penalty granted the Chancellors an automatic first down on 2nd & long. 

The Chatsworth drive took the contest into the fourth quarter, where the Spartans defense committed both defensive holding  and pass interference penalties in the red zone. The favorable field position allowed Martinez to reach the end zone for the second time on a 3-yard touchdown run to give Chatsworth a commanding 34-14 lead with 11:22 remaining in the game. 

Trailing by three scores, Tanner marched Sylmar down the field through the use of his arm and his legs throughout the drive. After being backed up by a sack after reaching goal territory, Tanner threw a 20-yard touchdown score to junior wide receiver Raul Conchas to cut the deficit to 34-20 after the missed extra point attempt. 

Following the touchdown, Chatsworth received a spark on special teams from junior tight end Santana Gonzalez, who hauled in a short kickoff attempt and ran it all the way to the end zone for a touchdown. The score from Gonzalez put an exclamation point on the night for the Chancellors as they held a 41-20 advantage with 5:32 left in the game. 

Tanner continued to find his groove in the passing game for Sylmar, as he continued to air it out to multiple weapons on their next drive. He once again took matters into his own hands at the conclusion of the drive with a 3-yard touchdown score for his second of the game to cut the deficit to 41-27 with 3:27 left in the game. The score remained the same after Chatsworth turned the ball over on downs before the subsequent Sylmar drive ran down the rest of the game clock. 

Chatsworth Head Coach Shawn Johnson was very enthusiastic about the way his players made on-field adjustments in Friday night’s win in the postgame interview. “We’re [the coaching staff] calling plays and you’re teaching your guys to make adjustments based off [of] what they see, and they made them TWICE!”, he elaborated, “Two of the touchdowns were audibles that the kids made in the huddle.” 

Starting the season 3-1 in the highly competitive West Valley League, Coach Johnson is very confident in his team’s ability to stand firm amongst the tough competition and is ready for the challenge. “Look man, we’re trying to get Taft and Granada, we even want Birmingham! Why the small mountain? We want the big one and Birmingham is the one!” he proclaimed. Before West Valley League play begins, Chatsworth will host Santee on their home field this upcoming Friday.

photos by Senior Photographer Benjamin Becher