Bulldogs make late charge, but drop their league opener
The Charter Oak football team scored its biggest victory of the season Friday night.
The Chargers did not make things easy for themselves, however.
Charter Oak racked up nearly 200 yards in penalties and allowed nine sacks, but the toughness of Richie Munoz and his teammates prevailed as the Chargers held on for a 32-29 victory over Ayala in a Mountain West League opener.
“We always talk about how adversity reveals character,” Charter Oak coach Dominic Farrah said. “The strength of our culture showed tonight. This literally took every person program-wide.”
Charter Oak (8-0) found itself in some unfavorable positions on the offensive end because of penalties and bad snaps. But the Chargers repeatedly dug themselves out of holes to put points on the board.
Munoz completed 17 of 23 passes for 351 yards and two touchdowns and also added a touchdown on the ground.
Ayala (6-2) made a late charge at the end and had a chance to either kick a tying field goal and score a touchdown to take the lead.
Charter Oak’s defense stepped up at the end, as Bishop Turner broke up a pass on fourth down near midfield.
Munoz scrambled for 12 yards to give Luis Marin the opportunity for a 41-yard field goal on Charter Oak’s opening possession. Marin stepped into the kick and just cleared the bar for a a 3-0 lead.
On the Chargers’ next drive, Munoz completed passes of 30 and 21 yards, and Zakkarii Black capped it with a 1-yard run.
Ayala answered back on the next play from scrimmage, as Marquis Monroe went around the left end and raced up field for a 53-yard touchdown run to get the Bulldogs within 9-7 late in the first quarter.
Munoz shined throwing the deep ball in the first half. He connected with Nathan Alvarado for a 65-yard touchdown on thirdand-11, and later found Solomon Davis for a 50-yard touchdown strike to help Charter Oak extend its lead to 22-7 with 4:29 remaining in the half.
Ayala once again turned to the ground game for a quick answer, as Jacob Munoz burst through the middle and pulled away from the Charter Oak defense for a 55-yard touchdown run that helped the Bulldogs get within 22-14 at halftime.