Chargers Dominate Anaheim Canyon on Both Sides of the Ball, 62-3

For the second game in as many weeks, El Toro High's football team beat its opponent in decisive fashion, executing on both offense and defense to defeat Canyon High of Anaheim, 62-3, in a nonleague game Friday night at Trabuco Hills High.

"Our kids played well tonight but I have to give it to the coaching staff for preparing them to win," Chargers coach Robert Frith said. "We've been working hard and focusing on fundamentals on both sides of the ball and special teams."

El Toro had 521 yards of total offense, compared to Canyon's 245.

Against the Comanches, El Toro (2-1) was not plagued by the mistakes that stalled its first-quarter drives in , getting on the scoreboard in less than two minutes, when quarterback Connor Manning found wide receiver Cody White for a 55-yard touchdown along the left sideline.

Frith's sole concern about El Toro's execution Friday night was that the Chargers had "way too many penalties," wiping away several big plays. However, the Chargers' high-octane offense was more than equipped to overcome these mistakes.

On El Toro's third drive of the game, running back Jacob Furnari caught a screen pass from Manning and took it to the right sideline, then 24 yards into the end zone, breaking several tackles along the way.

Only two minutes later, Furnari (14 carries, 100 yards) scored the second of what would eventually be four touchdowns on the night on a one-yard run. Roger Howard's extra-point kick put El Toro ahead, 24-0, in the first quarter.

The Chargers' defense, which held El Modena scoreless last week, was again stifling, with Gabe Cerda and Brian Moreen leading the way with 11 tackles each. The unit forced numerous punts, recovered a fumble at the Comanches' 15-yard line, and caused a turnover on downs when it stuffed a quarterback sneak on fourth-and-short with the Comanches a mere 10 yards away from the end zone.

Canyon managed to put together a drive at the end of the first half, kicking a field goal with one second remaining on the clock to make the score 34-3 at halftime.

The third quarter saw more of the Chargers' high-powered offense and tenacious defense.

Four plays after the Comanches opened the third quarter with a failed onsides kick attempt, Manning again found wide receiver White with a 35-yard pass that White caught over his shoulder in full stride along the left sideline and took into the end zone.

Manning completed 22 of 35 passes for 310 yards and three touchdowns. White led all Chargers' receivers with nine catches for 167 yards and two touchdowns.

Canyon's next two drives ended in interceptions, as safety Erik Pitts ran his pick back to the Comanches' five-yard line, setting up Furnari's fourth touchdown, and linebacker Gabe Cerda took his 30 yards back for a score.

With the Chargers up 55-3 and victory in hand, El Toro's reserves came in to finish up the game.

The only score in the fourth quarter came when junior running back Brian Chinchilla took the ball on a sweep to the right and ran 49 yards virtually untouched into the end zone.

Still, cautioned Frith, "this is just one game." He said his team plans to "try to go 1-0 next week, like we did this week."

Next week kicks off a string of four consecutive road games for the Chargers, who travel to Montebello to face Schurr High on Friday, Sept. 23. Kickoff is 7 p.m.

El Toro plays at Dana Hills on Sept. 30, at Garden Grove on Oct. 7 and opens Sea View League play against San Juan Hills at Tesoro High on Oct. 14.

The Chargers then return home to Trabuco Hills High on Oct. 21, when they face league rival Aliso Niguel in their homecoming game.