The 5-0 Chapin Huskies entered Thursday’s matchup with the also 5-0 Bowie Bears bringing a stout defense that had only given up 28 points in five games. That defense put up another stellar performance, shutting down the Bears offense en route to a 41-6 victory.
“They are very relentless,” said Chapin head coach Rene Hernandez, “We (the coaches) tell them every week to ‘Do Your Job’ and a lot of times you get out of that when you’re trying to do two jobs. They each do theirs and they trust one another, which is big in any defense.”
Throughout the game, Chapin’s three-man line front forced Bowie to go away from what they do best: run the football. For the game, the Bears finished with just 89 yards rushing on the night. Bowie quarterback German Carrasco finished 17 of 35 for 139 yards, as the Bears struggle to get big plays down the field.
“They (Bowie) passed the ball a lot more than we thought they would, but we were ready for both the pass and the run,” said Chapin cornerback Kevin Licon. The Husky defense got off to a good start, stopping the Bears on the opening drive of the game. From there, the Huskies used a balanced attack to move the ball methodically and cap off the drive with a one-yard touchdown run by Angel Soto.
After the Huskies held Bowie on downs and a three and out on consecutive possessions, the Huskies moved the ball down the field efficiently and struck with a big 36-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Anthony Baird to Christian McKeever for a 14-0 lead. Bowie went three and out again and the Huskies took firm control immediately after that, thanks to a 47-yard catch-and-run by Mondarius Johnson to take a 21-0 with just under three and a half minutes to go in the first half.
“We stepped up big time on offense,” said Chapin quarterback Anthony Baird, “We’re getting better and better every week. We’re just progressing and here we are now at 6-0.”
Chapin did not show any signs of slowing down. After Baird threw his third touchdown pass of the game on the opening possession, the Huskies forced a fumble that the offense quickly capitalized on with a three-yard touchdown run by Baird.
The Huskies also controlled the game on the ground, finishing with 148 yards rushing in the second half, giving them 221 for the game. Baird along with running backs Angel Soto and Matthew Zubiate proved to be too much for the Bears defense to handle. The Bears added a score late in the fourth quarter to break the shutout, but the Huskies defense had asserted themselves as the top dog in District 1-5A.
“I’m so proud of my kids and my coaches,” Hernandez said. “Our defense doesn’t cease to amaze me week in and week out. The offense is starting to come around as well. We beat a very good team tonight in Bowie that’s going to make some noise the rest of the way.”
The Huskies move to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in District 1-5A. They face the Irvin Rockets next week. The Bowie Bears fall to 5-1 and 2-1 in District 1-5A. They travel to play the El Paso High Tigers next Friday.
