In their first-ever Peninsula Bay League matchup, the Wilcox Chargers shut out the Menlo-Atherton Bears 41-3 at the Bears’ home turf, Coach Parks Field, on Friday, October 6.
“The offense came out flat tonight, but the defense really kept us going,” said Wilcox Senior Running Back Elijah Walker. “Everybody on the defensive end – Jeramiah [Lewis], the defensive line, the corners – it was really just a team effort.”
The visiting team Chargers recorded four sacks, coming from five different players. The team’s defense overwhelmed the Bears’ offense, preventing their opponent from recording a single touchdown all game.
After Menlo-Atherton 3-star recruit linebacker Devin Hyde effectively shut down the Wilcox rushing attack, the Chargers opened the scoring on a touchdown pass from Tyson Bonilla to an open Will Ruff.
The connection between Bonilla and Ruff stretched into the second quarter when the two combined for a 20-yard pass play. The Chargers failed to score on this possession, however, the team recovered a Menlo-Atherton fumble on the punt return and regained possession on their opponent’s 30-yard line. With six minutes left in the quarter, Walker ran the ball into the end zone, scoring his first touchdown of the game and bringing the Chargers up 14-0.
The Chargers took advantage of their defensive dominance and the handful of penalties on the Bears to prevent their opponent from converting for a first down throughout the second quarter. With 51 seconds left in the half, Running Back Jeiman Delos Santos took the ball into the end zone, bringing the Chargers up 21-0 following the extra-point attempt from Kicker Lopez Isaias.
The Bears fumbled the opening kickoff of the second half and the Chargers recovered the ball, setting up a rushing touchdown for Bonilla to make the score 28-0.
After stopping the Bears on the following possession, the Chargers’ offensive line once again made way for Bonilla, and he faked out defenders on his way and recorded his second touchdown of the game.
The Chargers’ defense remained tenacious all night. Even after allowing a few first downs, they prevented Menlo-Atherton from getting into the end zone.
“We knew that Menlo-Atherton was a run-heavy team so we prepared well for them,” expressed Senior Linebacker Jeramiah Lewis. An interception by Lewis on an intended pass from Bears’ quarterback Xander Eschelman created momentum for Wilcox at the end of the third quarter.
The Black & Gold sealed the game with a touchdown from Safety Jasean Amataga in the fourth quarter – the Chargers’ sixth and final touchdown of the night.
The Chargers made a statement in their new league with their victory over the Menlo-Atherton Bears and hope to continue building the momentum they gained this game throughout the remainder of the season.
