The Charger football team fell 34-8 on Senior Day to cross-town rival Morningside Saturday afternoon on Memorial Field.
"Proud of the fight in our team. We played well defensively but turned the ball over too many times to win," said Head Coach Shane Ladage. "Morningside is a good program and you can't make that many mistakes and expect to win."
The Mustangs got on the board first late in the first quarter, as Ryan Cole ripped off a 51-yard touchdown to take the early 7-0 lead. The Chargers marched into the redzone on the ensuing drive. With first-and-10 on Morningside's 15,
Luke Davies lobbed a pass towards the endzone, but Jaiden Avery Stowers was unable to haul in the pass. Briar Cliff's drive stalled out, as Jacob Meyer's field goal attempt went wide right.
The Chargers scored with 3:56 remaining in the half, as Davies fired a strike to
Steven Whiting for a 29-yard touchdown. On the point after try, the Chargers came out in a "swinging gate" formation, and
Johnny Bauser outran the Morningside defenders to the front pylon and cut the Mustangs lead to 14-8.
Morningside in the final possession of the half drove down into the redzone with a minute left. The Charger defense stood tall, and the Mustangs found themselves in a fourth-and-three situation with three seconds left. Morningside on the final play threw a quick screen to receiver Zach Norton off the left side, but Briar Cliff's
Brayden Pommier-Williams and Pat Gassant Jr. stood him up at the goal line and kept the Mustangs out of the endzone.
The Mustangs tacked on three touchdowns in the second half and the Cliff fell 34-8.
Angel Nava-Esparza in his final game as a Charger, put together his best performance with 18 total tackles with three tackles-for-loss. He's tied with Andre Reyes for fifth most tackles in a single contest. Defensive tackle
Carlos Lopez finished with 10 tackles and a half-sack.
Cory Carignan led the receiving core with four catches for 61 yards. Whiting finished the day with 40 total receiving yards and the score.
Defensive end
MJ Montgomery finished the contest with seven tackles. Montgomery concludes his career as one of the more decorated players to wear a Charger uniform. The senior recorded 28.5 sacks and 47 tackles-for-loss in his career, all program bests.
"I want to thank our seniors for all their dedication to our program. They've set a foundation that we will build on and I'm blessed to have had the opportunity to work everyday with them," said Ladage "As good as they are on the field, they're even better men."
The Chargers conclude the 2023 regular season with a 4-7 (4-6 GPAC) mark.
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