WOODLAND HILLS — When two teams with the same recipe for offense collide, it comes down to whoever wins the time of possession battle. For El Camino Real football coach Rick Hayashida, he stuck to the script to make sure he could top his alma mater, Chatsworth.
The Chancellors are no strangers to a vicious ground game, which kept them successful last season and into a deep playoff run, but this season, the luck has not been on their side. The Royals beat the Chancellors 45-6 to record their third league win.
While their record may not show it, both teams still have a chance at the CIF L.A. City Section playoffs, despite the Chancellors searching for their first league win.
“Chatsworth is a special place for me,” Hayashida said. “They played their butts off, so hats off to them. Defense did a great job. Special teams did a great job. We just have to clean things up, and I think one day we will be good — hopefully this year. We got the battle of Woodland Hills next week against Taft, and I’m sure both teams will be fired up.”
The Chancellors’ defense started strong, with Jonathan Velasquez intercepting a pass on the Royals’ opening drive; however, they were unable to capitalize. Instead, the Royals scored the first points of the game with a five-yard score from Shane Bogacz.
On the first play of the second quarter, a wild third-and-18 tip pass from David Molina to Danny Torres resulted in a 58-yard score. A deflating play against the Royals, but instead of lying down, they answered right back with a three-yard rushing touchdown from Takia Campbell.
The Chancellors have done their best to keep it close up to this point, but the Royals’ ground game was slowly chipping away. The Royals outpaced the Chancellors by 86 yards on the ground.
The close margin was still anyone’s game, but unfortunately, the game flipped away from the Chancellors. Torres’ five catches led the Chancellors for 129 yards and one touchdown.
“We still haven’t played four quarters,” Chancellors head coach Shawn Johnson said. “This week, the first half was better than the second half. We’re just trying to do too many things rather than being on one accord. They fight, but it’s always one or two mistakes. It’s not about if, it’s when, and the wins will come. We got a lot of I people right now, and we need to be about we.”
The Royals’ seemingly slow start to the game turned as they forced a three-and-out and got the ball back at the Chancellors’ 5-yard line. Bogacz then ran it in for his second score of the game.
This started a 31-0 half for the Royals. Oree Sabag knocks in a 26-yard field goal for their next score and follows it up with an 18-yard rushing touchdown from Gabriel Varga.
Finally, in the fourth quarter, Raul Bardon scores from 16 yards out and 14 yards out to cap off a five-touchdown night for the Royals. Bogacz led the Royals with 71 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
“Every single one of us stepped up today,” Bogacz said. “The first half was a bit shaky, but we fixed it in the halftime locker room, and we came out wanting blood. Me and a couple running backs were coming into this game sick, but the receivers and offensive line stepped up. We turned it up and shut them down. It’s personal for Taft next week. We need to take our recovery seriously, and there’s a lot of former coaches over there, but it’s all love.”