On the strength of its power running game, Aurora Central Catholic dominated the time of possession and cruised to a 25-7 victory in Suburban Christian action at Greg True Field.
The Chargers were on offense for a whopping 31:51 in the game and they carried the ball 46 times versus just three pass attempts, racking up 171 yards on the ground.
They rattled off a 12-play drive to open the game, but were unable to score as the Green Wave came up with three big stops after facing first-and-goal from the 3-yard line. The Chargers (4-1, 2-1) settled for a 26-yard field goal from Michael O’Donnell.
The teams exchanged lost fumbles on their next possessions, as they battled a wet football after a good deal of pregame rain, before the Green Wave took the lead 7-3 following a Davontae Elam 1-yard touchdown run.
That would be all the scoring the Green Wave (1-4, 0-3) would muster though, as the Chargers forced two fumbles, an interception and two punts on their final five possessions of the game. And the Wave made a number of costly mental errors in the process.
“We just found every way possible to give them the game,” said St. Edward coach Mike Rolando. “Roughing the kicker, jumping off sides on fourth-and-5, fumbling snaps, throwing interceptions. They played hard but I don’t know if we got stopped or not.”
It was just the opposite for the Chargers, who wasted little regaining the lead as quarterback Matt Rahn scored on a 1-yard keeper on their ensuing possession. From there, ACC’s defense forced turnovers and the offense took care of the football and capitalized with three more scoring drives.
“All we’re about is execution and making everything perfect,” said Rahn. “When the defense picks the offense up, it’s a great thing and vice versa with the offense picking the defense up and we have a nice balance.”
Steven Amoni saw the bulk of the action out of the backfield for the Chargers, carrying the ball 21 times for 104 yards and tacking on a pair of touchdown runs of 11 and 4 yards in the second half, giving his team a nice cushion to work with.
“Amoni is our guy right now, and in weeks past we’ve done a great job of mixing him in more and more,” said ACC coach Brian Casey. “We’ve lined him up at the fullback spot and run him straight ahead, and we line him up in the other spot and have him take it outside. And he’s done well wherever he’s lined up.”
Rahn also had a solid all-around game, completing 2-of-3 passes for 71 yards, carrying the ball 12 times for 26 yards and recording an interception as a defensive back.
On the other sideline, Green Wave leading rusher Elam was held to just 41 yards on 14 carries as he was bottled up time and again by a stout Chargers defensive line. Will Bothwell saw some touches in the second half and looked strong with 67 yards on just six carries and a trio of runs over 10 yards.
