On Saturday evening, the CVCS varsity football team travelled to beautiful Orofino to take on the hometown Maniacs. Playing in their first playoff game in five years, the Chargers weren’t going to take the opportunity for granted. Following a fast start, the Chargers held on for a 28-13 victory.

After winning the toss and electing to defer to the second half, they Chargers defense looked anything but lethargic. After stifling the Maniacs rushing offense, the CVCS defense forced a pass. A slightly underthrown pass found its way into the waiting arms of #14 Roman Conder(Sr).

Capitalizing on the momentum gifted it by its defense, the Charger offense pounded the ball via the run and short passing game down to the Maniacs sixteen yard line. From there, Conder called his own number, covering the final distance on foot. Following the kick from #1 Will Stevens(Jr), the score was 7-0 Chargers.

Following the Stevens kick, the Orofino offense found itself starting at its own thirty yard line. Still playing inspired ball, the CVCS defense stood tall, forcing a couple Maniac penalties. #50 Noah Corder(Sr) caused problems all night for the Maniacs, causing several penalties and gathering up ball carriers like a squirrel gathers nuts for winter. Forcing a punt, #20 Dylan Krogh(Sr) got a hand on the Orofino punt, which was covered by #68 Eli Fehringer(Jr). Again, a Maniac mistake had the Chargers setting up in great field position.

It seemed as if quite possibly the Maniacs defense had watched film on #33 Obi Gee(Jr) as they swarmed him on every running play. This created opportunities for Conder to give and pull the ball from Gee at the last minute. On one such play, Conder and Gee simultaneously possessed the ball and worked their way to the right side of the field, only to have Conder pull the ball and split the Orofino defense on his way to a twenty-five yard scoring run. Again, Stevens kick was true and suddenly the Chargers led 14-0 still in the first quarter.

Again, the solid Charger defense stood up to the test. Finding very little room to run, the Maniacs were again forced to punt the ball away to the Chargers. Obi Gee fielded the punt, veered right, and took off on a beautiful punt return, setting up the offense again with a short field.

Perhaps sensing the game was slipping away, the Maniacs defense rose to the occasion and forced a Charger quick punt from Conder. Despite the entire Orofino bench passionately begging their players to stay away from the ball, one attempted to field the punt only to have it bounce off of his chest and into the awaiting arms of the Charger punt team. Suddenly the Charger offense was back in business!

Again, the CVCS offense was met by a resolute Orofino defense. A couple of miscues saw the Chargers with third and long. Quarterback Conder took a low snap, dropped it, picked it back up, all the while facing a torrid Orofino pass rush. In what might be considered a miracle by the Charger faithful, Conder’s wobbly pass found its way to the awaiting arms of Dylan Krogh inside the one-yard line. Obi Gee finished the drive off with a scoring plunge. Surefooted Stevens kick was on the mark and the Chargers were widened the gap to 21-0.

At this point, the Maniacs decided it was now or never. They put together their best drive of the night, taking the ball down the field and punching it in from a yard out. The kick was good and Orofino closed the gap to 21-7.

With the renewed sense of motivation, the energized Orofino defense played with an extra pep in their step. They held the Chargers to a quick three and out, forcing a #51 Francisco Castro(Sr) punt.

It was at this point that this spectator began getting uncomfortable. While the Charger offense was stalling, the Maniacs offense was picking up momentum. Turning the ball over to a potent offense right before half had all the makings of a big momentum swing. But alas, the Charger defense shut down the Orofino rushing attack, forcing them to air the ball out. And when the opponent passes the ball, Sky Marshal Conder often punishes their foolishness. Conder collected a wayward pass, ending the half with momentum firmly favoring the visiting Chargers.

The second half opened with the home team kicking the ball out of bounds. Perhaps they’ve seen film on what the Charger return team can do. The Charger offense barely got its feet underneath it in the second half as on the second play from scrimmage, Conder, in an attempt to free himself from the Maniacs pass rush, hurled the ball downfield and right into the waiting arms of an Orofino defender.

Perhaps also sensing that this possession would be critical to the outcome of the game, the Charger defense stopped the Maniacs, forcing a three and out. The Chargers fielded a punt inside the ten and didn’t advance the ball on the return.

Not to be outdone, the Maniacs defense forced a three and out of its own. Punter Castro found himself in the unfortunate situation of kicking out of his own end zone. But the snap was solid, the punt was lightly contested and the special teams was able to avoid a potential disaster with a clean kick.

With Orofino taking control from the Chargers thirty-yard line, the Charger defense had its back against the wall. The fight was valiant. The CVCS D forced the Maniacs to earn every yard needed to find the end zone, but they eventually did. However, the kick was errant and the Chargers now held onto a 21-13 lead.

In an effort to keep momentum, the Maniacs pooch kicked the ball to #32 Josh Ritchie(Sr). Ever the opportunist, Ritchie wasn’t satisfied with merely fielding the kick and falling down. He returned the ball to midfield, setting the Chargers up with wonderful field position.

It’s at this point that the play we’ve been waiting for all season happened. Setting up this play required a run to the right side. #34 Garrett Kranz(Jr) toted the rock for a nice five yard gain. But the bait was set, the trap was lain. Conder followed his blocking again around the right side only to hand the ball off to #8 Brady Frame(Jr), who was speeding in the opposite direction. This play caught the Orofino defense totally unprepared and Frame hit the afterburners and raced 45 yards for what would be the closing score of the game. Stevens was again accurate with his kick and the Chargers now held a 28-13 lead.

Playing with the confidence a two score lead can give a team, the Charger defense refused to back down. The play of #17 Connor Steward, Castro, Frame, and Krogh highlighted this defensive stand, forcing the home team to punt away the ball early in the final frame of the game.

In what would become a battle of wills, the Charger offense was unable to find much footing against a Maniacs defense that knew their season was on the line. The offense was forced into a Conder quick kick, giving a little hope back to the home team. But true to form, the Chargers relied on their defense and the D did not disappoint as they forced the home team to punt.

Fighting for its football life, the Orofino defense rose to the occasion and forced a quick three and out. Francisco Castro was once again called upon to pin the opponent deep in its own territory. And Fran didn’t disappoint, giving the Maniacs offense a 95 yard trek to the end zone if they wanted to decrease the deficit on the scoreboard.  

With one last shot at immortality, the Orofino offense got the ball back and was looking to march down the field. But a personal foul for hurdling by their quarterback set the offense back. They would then turn the ball over on downs.

Not to be outdone, the Charger offense would take control of the ball and promptly commit a costly penalty on a pass that was completed inside the one-yard line, negating a possible scoring threat. CVCS then turned the ball over on downs to the home team, again giving them a sense of hope. But that hope proved to be short lived as the Maniacs quarterback drew back and tossed a ball directly to, you guessed it, Roman Conder, effectively ending the game. The Chargers were able to run out the clock on offense, sealing a win that was five years in the making.

Defensive highlights were readily available. The return of Brady Frame added speed and athleticism to the defense as well as some sure tackling. Noah Corder was in his usual form, spending more time in the backfield than the opposing quarterback. And Roman Conder, who has led his team on both sides of the ball all season long, stepped up big time to intercept the quarterback early and often.

Offensive highlights were a little more difficult to come by. Conder’s efficient operation of the offense again was a highlight as he made far more good decisions than bad to give his team the best chance at victory. And Frame’s reverse for a touchdown has been in the works since the Boise State Team Camp.

The Chargers are in uncharted territory as they will be playing football in November for the first time in recent memory. They will have a tall, but not impossible, task on hand as they travel Friday night to Grangeville to take on the Bulldogs at 6 pm. Grangeville is fresh off of a 52-12 victory to a short handed Malad team that took the game on short notice after Nampa Christian bowed out of an at-large spot in the playoffs. Make the journey north to cheer on your Chargers!