CO gave WestCo an inch…and the Bulldogs took a mile.
By Joe Torosian
(West Covina)—It was a perfect storm of parking issues, homecoming, and scoreboard malfunctions, but Charter Oak was in full control until West Covina rallied. The Bulldogs threw everything at the Chargers but a crazy ex-girlfriend before falling 27-24 on Friday night.
West Covina was down 27-9 late in the third quarter before getting new life from running back Anthony Ramiro. The senior raced 71-yards for a touchdown and then converted the 2-point conversion to make it, 27-17.
On Charter Oak’s next possession quarterback Matthew Takato was picked off by Steven Cantero and the Bulldogs were back in business. With 9:47 to play Ramiro scored his third touchdown of the night on a 9-yard run. Brandon Gonzalez added the extra-point to make it 27-24.
Later in the quarter, Bulldogs advanced to the Chargers 21 with less than five minutes to play. But they were hit with consecutive false starts and a first and ten was turned into a first and 20 with 4:24 to play. Quickly facing a fourth and eleven at the 22, quarterback Joseph Barcena went to the end zone.
The pass was incomplete, but pass interference was called against CO’s Michael Anyanwu.
However, in case you didn’t know, many of the family, friends, and alumni on the Westco sideline didn’t…Pass interference is a ten-yard penalty, NOT an automatic first down. So instead of fourth and eleven, the Bulldogs were facing fourth and one at the twelve.
For three quarters and ten minutes Ramiro had been nearly automatic carrying the ball…The play went right…and Ramiro was swarmed by Charter Oak defenders.
The Chargers took over, ran out the clock, and improved to 6-0 on the season. West Covina dropped to 3-3.
CO jumped to a 14-0 lead when Brian Casteel capped a 67 yard, six-play drive with an 8-yard scoring run to open the game. Three minutes later they were in the end zone again on Takata’s 10-yard touchdown run which was set up by Raymond Moronez’s interception of Barcena.
The Chargers let the Bulldogs back in the game with 1:57 to play in the first. A bad snap sailed over punter Rafael Guizar. Guizar tracked it down, attempted to punt it away, but it was blocked. WestCo took over at the CO 26.
First play of the drive, Barcena goes down the middle to a wide open Ramiro for a touchdown.
Gonzalez added a 28-yard field goal with 6:28 to play in the half…but with ten seconds left Casteel scored on a 2-yard run to make it 20-9 at the half.
In the third, the Chargers extended the lead to 27-9 when Takata scrambled for 10-yards and as he was being tackled lateraled to Isaiah Hamilton who took it the final 36-yards to paydirt.
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