WESTLAKE VILLAGE — No matter the situation, they always responded. Down by a touchdown early in the game, the offense came out and responded with one on its own. The lead was cut down to seven in the third quarter, and an instant touchdown shortly followed.
Everything Oaks Christian did to make this game close, Notre Dame was ready and had an answer.
The Notre Dame Knights (4-0) have had an answer to the test all season long, and on Friday night it was no different against the Oaks Christian Lions (0-4), as the Knights won 48-16.
“We knew this was a solid Oaks [Christian] team that was ultimately just searching to catch a rhythm,” Notre Dame head coach Evan Yabu said. “You never know the psychology of your own team, how they’re going to respond to being 3-0. So constant reminders to stay humble, stay hungry, and sort of stay in a growth mindset.”
The hunger to get better is what drives good teams to become great ones. It’s early in this season, and the competition will get fiercer, but at every step of the way, the Knights have shown the eagerness to improve.
Notre Dame has the talent, but what will that talent do when it’s still undefeated? Will it get complacent and take a rep off, or will it stay hungry and work to improve? Yabu knows the answer, and he’s been impressed with how his team has fallen in love with the process.
“We got a group of guys that have never batted an eye in terms of the amount of hours we put in front of them or the type of commitment that we’ve asked of them,” Yabu said. “If I had to give them an identity, I would say open, willing to grow, willing to listen and learn, and that’s dangerous when it’s a bunch of young people, and they’re talented.”
One talented individual on the roster is senior Tahj Skinner. He does it all for the Knights, playing quarterback and defensive back. In the win over Oaks Christian, he totaled over 150 yards and two touchdowns, along with making key tackles on the defensive end.
Skinner had done it for years at Notre Dame. It takes special talent to impact the game the way he does. Last year he played more as a receiver, but this year he’s taken over as quarterback.
“[Tahj Skinner] is our rock, man,” Yabu said. “He is a special competitor. He has special composure. He has special competitive will, and he’s also just a talented football player. … We feel like he’s a generational talent. And if we feel like we could get by with him playing on one side of the ball, we would. But we just feel like it would be wrong for our team. It’s too special.”
For Oaks Christian, it’s been a rocky start to the season. The record may not reflect this team’s true talent, but first-year head coach Rudy Carlton is adamant his team is growing and improving with game reps.
Lions freshman quarterback Cody Bird showed signs of growth in the loss. He finished the night with over 200 total yards, two touchdown passes and one interception. With a team that has freshmen and sophomores starting in key positions, Carlton knows that game experience outweighs all, even if it leads to results like this.
“We’ve been playing top 25 teams in California, and that’s what you want,” Carlton said. “And so I believe that this team’s becoming battle-tested. They’re coming together. They’re learning. They’re growing. I think we’ve gotten better every week. … We’re going to keep pounding and keep working, and keep believing, and I love this team, and I love the culture and the unity and everything that’s coming together, and I know it’s going to pop.”