Adam Muema scores one of his two touchdowns on the night. Photo by Anne Cypress.
(West Covina, Ca) – After narrowly averting disaster last week, Charter Oak made sure that there were no nail biting finishes against West Covina as they cruised to a 35-10 quarterfinal win.
“I don’t know if last week was a wake-up call or not,” said Charter Oak coach Dom Farrar. “The mindset of the team was different this week. They had a higher work ethic.”
Chargers running back Adam Muema scored from 3 and 11 yards out in the second quarter on back-to-back possessions to blow open a close game.
Adam Muema (#8) was difficult to bring down tonight. Photo by Anne Cypress.
Charter Oak responded to a 30-yard field goal by Luis Gonzalez early in the second quarter by driving 77-yards on 10 plays that was capped by Muema’s 3-yard run.
The Chargers would then take advantage of a Jesse Ili fumble that was scooped up by Dennis Rufus at the Bulldog 30-yard line and returned to the 13-yard line. Muema would score on the very next play for his second score to give Charter Oak an 18-point lead.
The undoing for the Bulldog offense was untimely turnovers and penalties as the Chargers converted 21 points off of three turnovers.
“To beat Charter Oak,” said West Covina head coach Mike Maggiore. “We couldn’t make mistakes and play hard. We played hard and we ran the ball well. We just had five turnovers.”
Muema finished the night with 23 carries on 143 yards.
“He loves to run the football,” said Chargers head coach Lou Farrar. “Muema runs hard and gets stronger and stronger the more times he gets the ball during the game.”
Charter Oak quarterback Travis Santiago finished the evening 10 of 14 for 185 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw an interception in the first half.
West Covina appeared to have found a way to get yardage on Charter Oak as they ran between the tackles all night as Ili rushed for 114 yards on 15 carries. Chris Solomon would add 89 yards on 13 carries for the Bulldog offense.
Whatever doubt was left in the outcome of the game was erased when Dennis Rufus (five for 82 yards) caught an 11-yard fade pass from Santiago to extend the Charter Oak lead back to 18 points.
The Chargers would add on to the lead with 8:33 to play in the game when Santiago hit AJ Powell (3 for 56 yards) down the sidelines for a 52-yard score.
“Start fast,” said Powell. “As a team we knew we needed to start fast and we did.”
AJ Powell (#9) shows why he is one of the best tacklers in the Southeast. Photo by Anne Cypress.
More photos from this event can be found at cypresstreephotos.printroom.com
CHARTER OAK 7-14-7-7 35
WEST COVINA 0-10-0-0 10
SCORING:
CO – AJ Powell 49 fumble recovery (Robert Poage kick)
WC – Luis Gonzales 30 yard field goal
CO – Adam Muema 3 run (Poage kick)
CO – Muema 13 run (Poage kick)
WC – George Johnson 1 run (Gonzales kick)
CO – Dennis Rufus 11 pass from Travis Santiago (Poage kick)
CO – Powell 52 pass from Santiago (Poage kick)
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