On a beautiful Saturday night in downtown Boise, football fans began walking into the stadium from all points nearby. But it wasn't Albertsons Stadium, home to the Boise State Broncos, it was Dona Larson Park where the Chargers hosted the McCall-Donnelly Vikings. In a game that was tight throughout, the final score was a misnomer as the Chargers fell to the Vandals 27-14.
The Chargers kicked off to start the game and an excellent kick and coverage had the Vandals pinned deep on their own end. The Vandals then resorted to trickeration on the first play from scrimmage. A reverse pass found its way to an open receiver and suddenly McCall was setting up shop in Charger territory. In characteristic fashion, the Chargers defense rose to the occasion and caused a turnover on downs.
On the Chargers first offensive play of the game, human pinball #33 Obi Gee took a handoff and made his way sixty-three yards to the house. The kick by #1 Will Stevens(Jr) was true and just like that, the Chargers were ahead. It looked like the Chargers high octane offense would rack up points all night long. However that quick-strike score wasn’t indicative of the defensive battle to follow.
Another masterful kickoff and coverage had the Vandals starting off inside their own ten-yard line. Two pinpoint passes from McCall’s talented signal caller had the offense threatening again on the Chargers side of the field. But a bend-but-don’t-break defense rose to the occasion and once again the Vandals offense left the field without finding the end zone.
The Charger offense, on the legs and arm of #14 Roman Conder(Sr), ate up large chunks of field and was quickly in McCall territory. However, turnabout is fair play and the Vandals flexed their defensive muscles and denied the Chargers on fourth and long, causing a turnover on downs.
The following drive saw the Vandals offense ride the precision passing and fleet feet of their quarterback to threaten putting points on the board. This quarterback was by far the most complete player the Chargers have seen in 2018. He accounted for two hundred ninety-two of his squad’s three hundred eighty-three total yards on the night. However, the offense sputtered yet again in the red zone and the Charger defense rose to the occasion, causing yet another turnover on downs.
The Chargers took over deep in their own end and a quick three and out forced a #51 Francisco Castro(Sr) punt. Castro fielded the one hopper snap and cut loose with an excellent punt, forcing the Vandal returner to signal for the fair catch.
Thanks to the defensive efforts of #13 Ben Arthur(Sr) and Conder as well as some pass rush pressure from #50 Noah Corder(Sr), the McCall quarterback was unable to set up and throw his usually accurate darts to his receivers. The Chargers forced a three and out and a Vandal punt had the Chargers setting up shop at their own twenty-six yard line.
The Charger offense, on the arm of Conder and legs of Gee, methodically ate up yards and soon had them inside the McCall thirty-yard line. They would advance to the Vandal six-yard line before what looked like a miscue on a handoff saw Conder running backwards, losing ground. An errant third down pass set up a Stevens field goal attempt that was blocked and returned to the Chargers own thirty-yard line.
The next play saw the Vandals commit a penalty which forced them close to midfield. On the next play the quarterback connected with a wide open receiver who turned and dashed untouched into the end zone. The PAT was good and things were all knotted up at seven.
In what became the order of the night, the Vandals onside kicked to the Charger front row. Perhaps the terrifying thought of Gee and Arthur having a running start kept them from kicking deep, but the Vandals were happy to give up nearly half the field every time they kicked off to the CVCS return team.
After initially giving up a rushing first down to the Chargers, the Vandal defense stiffened and drove the Chargers back, forcing another Castro punt. Fran averaged around thirty-four yards per punt on the night.
The Vandal offense struggled to find rushing room on the next possession. the quarterback then attempted a long pass that was intercepted by Ben Arthur, who took the ball deep into Vandal country. Penalties and an expired clock brought Arthur’s run to an end and the scoreboard showed the truth: these two teams were very evenly matched with the score tied at seven apiece.
The half started with the Vandals refusing to kick deep to the Chargers fleet-footed returners. Taking over at the forty-nine yard line, the Charger offense was in excellent position to tack more points on the scoreboard. In what became a recurring second half problem, the Charger drive was blunted by costly and untimely holding penalties. To the Charger faithful, it seemed like the officials needed some arm exercise and began vigorously tossing yellow flags following nearly every Charger positive play. Perhaps being gun shy, the Charger blockers let an unaccounted-for pass rusher through and Conder was hit while throwing, causing a fumble that was recovered by the Vandals at the Charger forty-five yard line.
An excellent mix of runs and passes had the Vandals again knocking on the Chargers end zone door. Two bullish rushes on quarterback keepers saw the interior of the Chargers line falter and the Vandal quarterback found pay dirt the hard way. The PAT was good and suddenly the Vandals lead 14-7.
The Vandals again used the onside kick without success and the Charger offense was gifted excellent field position at their own forty nine. Following yet another Charger penalty, the offense soon found traction on a run by Gee, a nifty hook-and-ladder play from Conder-to-Arthur-to-Gee, and a great catch by #32 Josh Ritchie(Sr) soon had the offense firing on all cylinders. Ritchie, filling in for both the injured #8 Brady Frame(Jr) and the suspended #20 Dylan Krogh, had several big plays that kept the offense from hardly missing a beat. Yet again, with more flags flying than at a Kim Jong Un rally, it looked like the Charger offense was going to come up empty. But a beautiful pitch and catch from Conder to Arthur saw the Chargers tie the game at fourteen following Stevens’ successful kick. Conder would pass for one hundred seventy-two yards and a touchdown and interception on the night.
A deep kick and good coverage saw the McCall offense start this drive at their own twenty-five yard line. Using the talents of their star quarterback, the Vandals ended the third quarter on the drive. Following a Noah Corder tackle for loss and some excellent pass defense, the Charger defense forced a punt, thwarting the Vandal drive.
The punt return got the ball only out to about the Chargers six-yard line and the offense would have a very long field in front of them. With the pressure of being backed up against their own line, the Chargers lost a yard on their three downs, forcing a punt from Castro. In a pressure moment Castro and long snapper #19 Carter Fortin(Fr) showed great poise and Fran, with his heels near the back line of the end zone, uncorked a great punt all the way down to the Chargers forty-five yard line.
Perhaps it was because the Charger defense was employing so many two way players, or perhaps it was the masterful play calling and execution by the Vandal offense, but it took only five plays for the Vandal quarterback to find an open receiver who turned and covered the last couple yards to the end zone with lightning speed. The PAT was true and the Vandals now had the lead at 21-14.
Yet another onside kick attempt failed and the CVCS offense took over at its own forty-eight yard line. The Chargers would enjoy a short field following nearly every Vandal kick off, but would find little offensive success after that. Given a lead and fresh legs, the Vandal defense swarmed the Charger offense causing a three and out. Another fine punt from Francisco Castro saw the Vandals have zero punt return yards on the night.
With both the lead and the ball, the McCall offense bled the clock on the ensuing drive. The Charger defense forced the Vandals into a third and short. But alas, a quick three and out wasn’t to be as the quarterback drew a couple CVCS defensive linemen offsides, giving the offense a fresh set of downs and the opportunity to take valuable minutes off the clock. With both sidelines imploring their fans for noise, the Chargers forced a punt and took over at their own five-yard line.
Perhaps sensing the urgency of the moment, Roman Conder tossed a wayward pass that was intercepted by a Vandals defensive back who trotted ten yards into the end zone for a backbreaking defensive touchdown that would put the game on ice for the visitors. The kick failed, but the damage was done. The scoreboard read that the visiting Vandals were in the lead for good 27-14.
The Chargers showed no quit and fought to the closing whistle. Following a more rare than a Sasquatch sighting deep kick by the Vandal kicker, a long pass to Ben Arthur was just a bit short and Obi Gee gained thirty yards on the final play, but it wasn’t enough. The Chargers had fallen for the first time this season to the reigning conference champs.
Offensive highlights were the play of Gee, Arthur, and the emergence of Josh Ritchie in the passing game. Playing without two dynamic playmakers like Frame and Krogh hurt the offense, but the remaining cast of athletes carried the load well in their absence.
Defensively, the Chargers simply hadn’t seen an offensive weapon like the Vandals quarterback. Whether dropping dimes to his receivers or making plays with his legs, he stretched a defense short on reserves even thinner. The defense did very well in limiting a well-designed and executed offense to only three scores, two of which were on quick strike plays.
The Chargers have very little time to regroup following this tough loss as the Chargers home field travelling circus will land Friday night at 7 pm at Mountain View High School to take on a Melba squad that is fresh off of a 49-6 dismantling of Marsing, a team the Chargers also handled 33-0 last week. Melba’s powerful rushing attack is difficult to defend and will require an all-hands-on-deck game plan.