Quigg, Chargers Get Defensive, Beat Atoms 49-0
This story was written by Charger Insider Jon Battaglia
Special to GamedayMagazine.com
CHANTILLY, VA - A steady rain and a formerly undefeated Annandale squad couldn't keep Chantilly from rolling to a 49-0 home win over the Atoms. The Chargers threw the ball a mere four times, but still managed to keep the Atom defense on its heels all night long with a combined 229-yards rushing from junior Torrian Pace and seniors Antonio Cross and Bugsy Urrutia.
"We had three guys who really carried the load tonight," Chantilly head coach Mike Lalli said. "What they [Pace, Cross and Urrutia] did was impressive, especially in this weather."
Pace lead the Charger ground attack with 73-yards rushing and two touchdowns, the first of which came on a 9-yard run just over five minutes into the game.
"We got the momentum early and never looked back," Pace said. "There was no stopping us after that first touchdown."
The second quarter began with an 18-yard touchdown by Cross and was followed by a fumble recovery in the end-zone by junior lineman Andrew Crawford. A 20-yard scamper by senior quarterback Austin Decker at the end of the first half gave the Chargers a 28-0 lead headed into half time.
As the second half began and the rain became steadier, the Chargers showed no signs of letting up. Senior Chris Gentile returned the opening kick of the second half 76-yards for a touchdown.
"The field was really wet, but all I had to do was keep my eye on the ball and make sure I brought it in," Gentile said.
Pace's second touchdown of the night came on a 1-yard run up the middle to solidify the Chargers lead at 42-0. The scoring was capped off in the fourth quarter with a 45-yard run from back-up quarterback Mike Fries.
Though the Charger offense made quite a splash scoring 49 points, coach Mike Lalli said it was the defense that was perhaps most impressive.
"The lines, both offensive and defensive, were superb tonight," Lalli said. "We dominated the line of scrimmage and it cleared the way for our backs to do some serious damage."
Linebackers Mike Quigg and Issac Sine kept Atom quarterback Cason Kynes at bay the entire game, never allowing the Atoms passed the Chargers 30-yard line.
"This is going to give us a lot of momentum going into the Westfield game," Gentile said of the 49-0 win. "I think we've been underrated in some of the preseason polls, but we're going to prove people wrong."
