Sierra Canyon's Defense Dominates in 41-0 Shutout Victory

Friday night at West Hills brought the Sierra Canyon Trailblazers into town, suffocating the Chaminade offense en route to a dominant shutout victory to stay unbeaten on the season.

Defense and special teams for Sierra Canyon were major factors, totaling two sacks, two interceptions, two blocked punts and three forced fumbles on the night.

The chaos caused by the defense and special teams gave the Trailblazers great starting field position all night, with drives constantly beginning on Chaminade’s side of the field.

The Trailblazers set the tone immediately. Lance Brown caught a 44-yard pass from quarterback Demarco Hernandez, scoring on the fourth play of the game.

A high school quarterback in a white football uniform throws a pass on a blue and orange football field during a night game.

A football player in a white uniform catches the ball while being defended by a player in a blue and orange uniform during a night game.

Hernandez contributed 201 passing yards and three total touchdowns during the contest.

On the following drive, Sierra Canyon forced a three-and-out after backing Chaminade up to its own 10-yard line.

Chaminade’s punt was returned by Duvay Williams to the Eagles’ 41-yard line. Even with a couple of key tackles by Chaminade’s Jayden Woods and Hudson Manning in the red zone, Sierra Canyon converted on fourth-and-goal, handing the ball to Jaxsen Stokes to score.

A football player in a white jersey with blue accents runs on a brightly colored field, holding a football and wearing a helmet.

After a successful extra point, Sierra Canyon found itself up 14-0 with 5:57 left in the first quarter.

Chaminade looked to answer back but found itself at its own 29-yard line on third-and-16. Quarterback Hendrix Coleman stepped back in the pocket under heavy pressure as his pass was tipped and intercepted by Sierra Canyon’s Jaxson Davis, who returned it for a touchdown, quickly bringing the score to 21-0 for the Trailblazers.

Coleman, a freshman stepping in against this top-ranked defense, was eventually taken out of the game in the second quarter due to injury.

A youth football player throwing a pass during a game on a brightly colored field, with spectators in the background.

“He’s in the ninth grade, he was just in middle school … so to ask him to come out here against such a good defense, we’re asking a lot out of him, but I thought he held his composure,” said Chaminade head coach David Machuca.

The pressure against Chaminade continued, with the Eagles fumbling once again on the first play of their next drive and giving the ball back to Sierra Canyon at the Eagles’ 20-yard line.

Despite the favorable field position, Chaminade held strong, forcing Stokes to fumble just inside the 10-yard line.

A high school football player performs a mid-air somersault while being tackled by two opponents on a brightly colored field at night.

The Eagles recovered the ball from Sierra Canyon. Unfortunately for Chaminade, a tipped pass by Marcus Fakatou forced another three-and-out.

“He’s one of the more dominant players in the state, in the country, and he’s got an incredibly bright future,” said Sierra Canyon head coach Jon Ellinghouse.

High school football players in action on a blue turf field during a game, with players from both teams in motion and a focus on a player in white jersey running past an opponent.

Fakatou recorded seven total tackles, three of them for loss, along with a sack and two forced fumbles on the night.

Starting at Chaminade’s 35-yard line, a shovel pass from Hernandez gave Stokes plenty of room to move the ball to the 20. Hernandez found the end zone once again, this time on the ground, keeping the ball on a read option to score a 4-yard rushing touchdown.

A football player wearing a white jersey with blue stripes jumps in the air while celebrating a touchdown, holding the football above his head. In the background, opposing players in dark jerseys watch.

Sierra Canyon found itself up 28-0 with 24 seconds left in the first quarter, quickly closing any window of opportunity Chaminade had.

The second quarter started with another three-and-out for Chaminade. As the punt team hoped to give its defense some leeway, Sierra Canyon’s Myles Baker blocked the punt, allowing the Trailblazers to recover the ball at Chaminade’s 29-yard line.

Chaminade’s defense, facing adversity once again, weathered the storm, forcing a turnover on downs and giving the Eagles’ offense control of the ball at its own 26-yard line.

Chaminade gained its first down of the game. However, a tackle for loss by Fakatou and an Eagles false start halted its momentum.

Chaminade punted once again, this time pinning Sierra Canyon at its own 25-yard line.

A football player wearing a blue and orange uniform is being tackled by a defender in a white uniform on a blue field. The player with the ball is evading the tackle while maintaining possession.

Defense continued to shine for the Eagles, forcing another three-and-out and sending Sierra Canyon’s punt team onto the field.

As Chaminade prepared to return the punt, another mistake occurred as the Eagles touched the ball without securing it. Sierra Canyon capitalized and recovered the football at the Eagles’ 25-yard line.

Frustration sparked on the Chaminade sideline, resulting in an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the play and moving Sierra Canyon up to the 12-yard line to start its drive.

On second-and-8, Cesar Terrientes sacked Hernandez, pushing him back to the 19-yard line. On third down, Chaminade forced an incompletion, refusing to make things easy for the Trailblazers.

A football player in white throws a pass while being pressured by two defenders in blue and orange jerseys during a night game on a blue field.

After Sierra Canyon missed its field goal attempt, the score remained 28-0 despite the Eagles’ mistakes on previous drives.

“The defense has played phenomenal all year. The last three weeks, unfortunately, we haven’t been able to muster much offense … offensively, we gotta get something rolling, though, and quickly,” Machuca said.

Sierra Canyon’s relentless defense continued to crash down on Chaminade as Fakatou forced a fumble while sacking Coleman, taking him out of the game.

The Trailblazers’ offense finally broke through the Eagles’ defense. Hernandez completed a screen pass to Christian Butler, who ran 33 yards after the catch to end the short scoring drought.

Sierra Canyon now led 35-0 after its successful extra-point attempt with a minute left in the half.

A football player wearing a white jersey with black stripes and number 1 is crouching on a blue football field, attempting to evade a tackle from a player in an orange jersey wearing number 3.

A Chaminade kneel on the following drive ran the clock down as halftime began.

The second half was a mere formality for both teams, with the clock running down and a couple of field goals for Sierra Canyon providing the only points scored.

The final score read 41-0 for the Trailblazers.

Since league play began, the Trailblazers have yet to surrender a point to their opponents, outscoring them 140-0 over the three-week span.

“We’ve got some things to work on, and as far as our execution, it wasn’t our best night,” Ellinghouse said. “We’re gonna focus on what we can do and what we did wrong and work on getting better.”

Two football players in blue jerseys tackle an opposing player in white during a game, with a crowd in the background.

When asked to expand on what he believed needed to improve, Ellinghouse said:

“I think that we got in a little bit of a rut as far as our execution offensively … but we’ll get better.”

Sierra Canyon looks to remain undefeated next week, visiting 7-1 Notre Dame on Oct. 23.

Notre Dame is looking to get back on track after suffering its first loss of the season at the hands of Bishop Amat.

Chaminade falls to 5-3 on the season, losing its third consecutive game. The Eagles are slated to host Serra next week, which is fresh off a 28-0 victory over Loyola.

All photos by VST Senior Photographer Benjamin Becher