Chardon wore down St. Francis (N.Y.) to defend the hill 35-20 in a bruising non-conference matchup.
Game photos click here.
Chardon wore down St. Francis (N.Y.) to defend the hill 35-20 in a bruising non-conference matchup.
The game started roughly for the Hilltoppers, who were set to receive the opening kickoff when the Red Raiders recovered the onside kick on Chardon’s 29-yard line.
Two plays later, senior quarterback Kion Ulanga hit senior wideout Jeremiah Neely for a 28-yard touchdown reception.
It looked like the Toppers had tied the game midway through the first quarter, but a penalty wiped off a touchdown pass from senior quarterback Will Francis to junior halfback Caleb Hewitt.
Overall, it was a rough opening frame for Chardon, which only mustered 29 yards of offense.
“There’s so many things we have to get better at,” Chardon Head Coach Mitch Hewitt said. “There’s adversity in these games, which is good to overcome, but it’s self-inflicted. We need to get to a point where we stop making our own mistakes because teams are too good.”
For as bad as the first quarter went, the second was much better, and Chardon’s offense wracked up 191 yards and three touchdowns.
Drago Vujaklija found the end zone twice for his first two scores of the season.
His first touchdown was a 51-yard run; his second score was a 33-yard run.
Vujaklija credited his offensive line and blockers for opening the holes he ran through.
Up 14-7, Hewitt upped the score to 21-7 with 1:34 before halftime with a two-yard score. On this drive, the Toppers benefitted from several Red Raider penalties to help them move down the field.
While Chardon enjoyed a comfortable halftime lead, it was an uncomfortable first half that featured penalties, chippiness and big hits. On several occasions, coaches and officials had to separate players from each team.
“I like to walk away and say nothing, but some of us need to do that a little more,” Vujaklija admitted.
The Hilltoppers struck first in the third quarter when Caden Peterson blocked a Grant Rybczynski punt. Junior Bekcett Dotson recovered the punt in the end zone for Chardon’s fourth score of the game.
Dotson’s play proved to be the knockout punch for St. Francis, which never recovered from the mistake.
“It was a huge momentum changer,” Vujaklija said.
Dotson is a player who, over the early portion of the season, has earned playing time. Hewitt called him a good player who they needed to find a way to get on the field. He credited senior Austin Leszynski with agreeing to move to defensive end — a move Leszynski was not happy to make, but did it for the team, as the opening to get Dotson on the field.
“He’s one of my closest friends and went from not playing to making big plays,” Vujaklija said.
Down 28-7, St. Francis cut the lead in half when Ulanga connected with Neely for a 21-yard touchdown pass late in the third.
Midway through the fourth, Francis found paydirt from 15-yards out to increase the lead to 35-14.
“They were big, but we eventually wore them down,” Vujaklija said.
A Johan Vasques 30-yard touchdown run was the final score of the game.
On the night, Chardon recorded 326 yards of offense, and the Red Raiders gained 288 yards.
Francis led all rushers with 17 carries for 122 yards and a touchdown. Vujaklija carried the ball five times for 91 yards and two scores.
Besides running the ball, Francis had success through the air for the first time this season.
“When teams feel there is a threat of us passing, it opens up the run game so much more,” Vujaklija said.
“It’s been there,” Coach Hewitt said. “We just have to shore up our protection. And it’s not just the lineman, it’s the backs who have to seal the edge. We have to be more violent in blocking and pass protection.
“We’re one of the few teams in the state where everyone knows we’re going to run the ball, stack it with nine bodies, and we can still run for 300 or 400 yards. If we can figure out pass protection, we will be really hard to stop. But we’re a penalty machine that does dumb things and we have to fix it – and it’s my fault. “
For a team whose first scrimmage of the year was a game last week against Benedictine, the Red Raiders were no push-overs.
“That’s a physical football team, a two-time New York state champion,” Coach Hewitt said. “They just haven’t had many games under their belts, so it’s hard to evaluate them. They have a lot of talent and the biggest player I’ve ever seen play on this field, who is headed to Georgia.”
Added Vujaklija: “Everyone gives us their best shot, and it’s just how we prepare. Our preparation is next level, and that’s what it needs to be.”
Hewitt stressed that Chardon needs to continue managing bodies during the week to keep the players healthy following each of these tough, physical games.
He explained that it begins on Saturday morning, assessing how everyone feels and whether a player is hurt to get him the right treatment.
“Everyone’s going to be hurt after a game like this because it was such a physical football game, and there are not a lot of bodies who played tonight who are leaving the stadium feeling good,” Chardon Hewitt said. “It’s a fine line with conditioning because we need to be in shape, but save legs.”
Up next for Chardon is a Friday night matchup in Columbus against Bishop Watterson – one of the top five teams in Division III.
