By Tim Peterson
(Chino Hills) – Richie Munoz threw for 383 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another to lead Charter Oak to a 32-29 win over host Ayala Friday night.
The Chargers remained undefeated with the victory as they won their eighth straight.
Ayala had one last chance as it took over at its own 48-yard line with 1:35 left but on fourth down quarterback Brian Wilson’s pass was knocked away with 1:11 left and the Chargers sealed the victory
Charter Oak jumped out to a 9-0 lead on its first two possessions. Luis Marin kicked a 41-yard field goal and on the next series Zakkarii Black scored on a one-yard run to finish a seven-play drive.
Ayala answered with a 53-yard run right up the gut by Marquis Monroe for a touchdown to cut the Chargers lead to 9-7 with 2:21 left in the first quarter.
In the second quarter Munoz stepped back and launched a 65-yard strike to Nathan Alvarado who hauled it in and danced into the endzone for a touchdown.
Later in the quarter the Chargers hit on another big play as Munoz connected with Solomon Davis on a 50-yard toss for a score. and with 4:29 left in the second quarter CO was up 22-7. Easy Peasy right?
Well not so fast. 30 seconds later Jacob Munoz found a seam and was off to the races. 54 yards later he crossed the finish line and Ayala was down by just a touchdown, 22-14 at the half.
Early in the third Munoz struck again – this time on a 34-yard jaunt – and the Bulldogs were biting back trailing 22-20. Ayala went for two but came up short on a pass play.
Marin booted a 43-yarder later in the quarter to extend the lead to 25-20.
Charter Oak was helped by a pass interference penalty and then Munoz scrambled out of the pocket and scrambled all the way the endzone, stepping just inside the pilon for a 17-yard TD run to give the Chargers a 32-20 lead,
With just over six minutes left Charter Oak was backed up deep in its own territory at the seven-yard line and instead of punting it away, the Chargers ran out of the back of the endzone for safety to make the score 32-22.
“We felt field position was very important there,” said Charter Oak head coach Dominic Farrar. “We didn’t want to put them in a good position to score.”
The Bulldogs did score three minutes later when Jacob Munoz scored his third of the night on a one-yard run with 3:28 left in the contest. But that was as close as they got as Charter Oak made one final stop.
Jacob Munoz led the Ayala ground game with 119 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries. Monroe ran for 91 yards on 9 carries and a touchdown. Wilson completed just seven passes.
For Charter Oak Black joined Richie Munoz in sparking the offense with four catches for 104 yards and he also ran for 59 yards and a TD on 14 carries. Alvarado had three receptions for 126 yards and a touchdown and Davis had four for 74. Isaiah Johnson had two catches for 58 yards.
“I’m proud of our kids. It took every one of us tonight.” Farrar said.
Charter Oak improved to 8-0 with the win while Ayala dropped to 6-2.
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