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Statement. Made.

After losing to Bishop Luers in Week One the Chargers roared back Friday night with what I said last week would be the ultimate statement win.

And lets not forget that the Chargers didn’t just beat Snider.

They crushed Snider, winning 38-14, and dominated the game for all but the first five minutes. After Snider took a 7-0 lead with eight minutes to play in the first quarter, the Chargers put their foot on the gas and never let off, scoring 38 straight points before a late touchdown from Snider.

The win by the Chargers broke the SAC wide open with there now being at least six legitimate contenders for the conference championship (Homestead, Carroll, Dwenger, Snider, Concordia, Wayne).

However in a game full of storylines, it’s time to narrow it down to just Three Things that lead the way against Snider.

• With 38 points on the board it’s clear that the offense was rolling on all fronts last Friday. Gaven Vogt lead the way yet again, this week going 18-30 for 227 yards and a touchdown while also rushing 16 times for 45 yards and another touchdown. Now with a dry field, Rhett Saylor emerged as a top tier running back, rushing for three touchdowns on 23 carries for 102 total yards. Camdyn Childers also established himself as a threat down field with 98 yards on just six catches, for an average of just over 16 yards per catch. On a side note here, the Chargers frequently went for a winged formation inside the red zone with two backs alongside Vogt in the backfield. In one instance Vogt ran the ball off this play and with the help of Terrell Griffin made it to the one yard line in a pile up for almost ten yards, in what was an effective play each time they ran it.
• Another big part of this win was the Chargers’ resiliency. After losing by a point last week, the Chargers were clearly fired up for the chance to bounce back against one of the best teams in the city. It showed the whole game with Childers, Vogt, and Griffin showing their excitement on multiple occasions throughout the game after big plays while feeding off the Neon Nation’s hype. The Chargers had a touchdown and a couple other big plays called back in the first half because of flags… yet they still were winning 24-7 at the half. That goes to show how the Chargers wouldn’t let those penalties get in their head and they stuck to the game plan and trusted the process. On the individual level, after missing the PAT that ended up costing the Chargers the game last week, kicker Trevor Horton didn’t get off to the start he wanted, with his first punt landing short and then having his first PAT blocked. But from there he was a monster, kicking a rare field goal in high school before blasting three kickoffs in to the end zone, the last of which going out the back of the end zone and into the band.
• Hunter Mertz has emerged as a force on defense once again leading the team in tackles with six on Friday on top of his seven from last week for a season total of 13. After losing Jack Tranquil to injury and Reed Diller to graduation there was a bit of a question on who would lead the team in tackles but with Mertz’ emergence that question seems to be answered for not just this year, but the next three as he is just a Sophomore.

Next week the Chargers will look to build on the momentum from this week by defeating North Side who comes in to the week 0-2 including a Week One loss to Snider by a score of 31-8. The game is yet again here at Carroll with kickoff set for 7 p.m.