Sports Stories

The regular season is over and the report card on the Central Marin Chargers can be filed. It reads like this: all four teams have shown great improvement over the eight weeks of the season. Some players have made what seems like quantum leaps in their understanding of the game, while other players’ growth has been more modest; but to a man they’re better today than they were eight weeks ago.

All four teams took it on the chin from the Southern Marin Broncos Sunday. The Cadets lost 33-0, the Jr. Peewees lost 37-6, the Peewees dropped a 46-12 decision and the Jr. Midgets succumbed 28-6. Playing the Broncos, another Division 2 team in the Norcal conference, seemed like playing a Division 1 team. In each game, the Broncos dressed more players than the Chargers; at times the disparity was almost 2-1.

The results should not obscure the strides the Chargers teams and players have made. And there’s always the possibility that postseason action may give the Jr. Peewees and Peewees a chance to reverse Sunday’s outcomes.
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by Tom McCallister
The Chargers Pee Wee team played the Vallejo Jaguars, a Division 1 team from the East Section, who entered the game with a 1-5 record. The Chargers played their best game of the season and the head referee went out of his way to compliment the team on how disciplined they were throughout the game.

The Chargers got the ball first and the Martinez-McCallister offensive tandem immediately went to work. Dominic Martinez took the first carry 15 yards to the 50. Brady McCallister took the next run 20 yards to the Jaguars 30. Then, McCallister hit Martinez on a 20-yard pass to the 10. McCallister got them to the 5 and then Martinez capped the 5-play, 65-yard drive with a 5-yard scoring run.

On defense, Ethan LeValley and William Huggins played well at the defensive ends, containing their outside threats throughout the game.

On the Jaguars offensive first series, McCallister recorded a 7-yard tackle for a loss and then intercepted the ball on the next play and returned it 20 yards to the Jaguars 10 yard line. On the next play from the offensive side of the ball, McCallister scored on a tough run up the middle. The score was 12-0 Chargers after just 5 1/2 minutes of play.

The defense continued to corral and dominate the Jaguars, who did not get a first down the entire game. Jason Gabianelli was instrumental at outside linebacker, with solid tackling and great pass protection.

The Jaguars went 4-and-out on their next series, again due to great contain play by the Chargers defensive ends. The Chargers took over on the Jaguars 30 yard line, and Martinez scored on the next offensive play for the Chargers, a 30-yard inside reverse, which was well-blocked by TE Charlie Williams and guard, La’Ron Cook. Martinez went untouched for the first 25 yards and then put a nifty cut-back move on their top defender at the 5 yard line to score. McCallister converted the 2-point, kicking PAT to put the Chargers up 20-0 with 9 minutes left in the 2nd quarter.

On the Jaguars next series, they ran two unsuccessful plays and then cornerback Charlie Williams intercepted a 3rd down pass at the Jaguars 45 yard line. However, the Chargers immediately fumbled the ball back to the Jaguars. However, the Jaguars offensive was victimized by excellent solo tackles for no gain on consecutive plays by McCallister and Cook. McCallister recorded an 8-yard sack for a loss on 3rd down. The Jaguars let their frustration get the best of them by compounding their woes with a personal foul at the end of the play, which pushed them back to their own 30 yard line. Their 4th-and-20 pass attempt fell incomplete in front of two Charger defenders who blanketed the play.

The Chargers sputtered a bit and shot themselves in the foot with a very untimely penalty on the next drive and were not able to get the ball in end zone before the half expired.

The Jaguars started with the ball in the 2nd half, but Martinez intercepted their 3rd down pass. On the Chargers first offensive play, Martinez ran it 20 yards to the Jags 35 yard line behind some key blocks by McCallister, LeValley, and Gabianelli. Huggins took the next carry down to the Jaguars 10 yard line. However, the Jaguars were down to 11 players and by rule one of their players had to leave for a play due to injury. The Chargers spiked the ball to allow the Jaguars to return their defense to full capacity. Unfortunately, the good deed was not rewarded and the Chargers were unable to punch it in from the 10.

However, two plays later, nose guard, Jesse Alonso stripped the ball in the end zone and McCallister recovered it for the touchdown. Samuel Spitz carried the ball on the extra point run to put the Chargers up 27-0.

The Jaguars again fumbled on their next possession, which William Huggins recovered at midfield. Thereafter, the Chargers allowed other players some time in spotlight running the ball and maintained possession with a methodical 50-yard drive that ended at the Jaguar 2 yard line as time expired.

This was not a walk-over victory that the score might indicate. The Jaguars had good, tough athletes who competed well to the end. However, the Chargers defense simply dominated the day forcing the Jaguars to commit 5 turnovers on their 6 possessions, which stymied the Jaguars throughout the day.

Chargers-Broncos rivalry renews on Sunday

Traditional rivals Central Marin and Southern Marin square off Sunday. The Peewees (5-2) face their Broncos counterparts (4-3) in a game that will determine top seed in the West Section playoffs. The Cadet game also has playoff seeding implications. The Broncos (5-2) top the standings and the Chargers (4-3) are in a three-way tie for second. Winner of the Jr. Peewee game will have top seed in the playoffs. The Broncos are 4-3 and the Chargers are 3-4. The Chargers Jr. Midgets (2-5) are in tie for fourth, behind the Broncos (3-4), who are in a three-way tie for first.

In other games last Sunday, the Chargers Cadets defeated the San Jose Saints (1-6) 26-6. The Chargers Jr. Peewees fell to Division 1 Oak Grove South (4-3) 26-2. The Chargers Jr. Midgets were not scheduled.

[Tom McCallister is the coach of the Central Marin Chargers Peewee team, father of quarterback Brady, and owner of a pair of shorts worthy of a place of honor in the Ugly Shorts Hall of Fame.]

It was a mixed bag of results for Central Marin Charger teams against the Vacaville Bulldogs Sunday: The Cadets skunked their counterparts 14-0, while the Jr. Peewees dropped a 20-8 decision and the Jr. Midgets tumbled 26-7. The game scheduled for the Charger Peewees was cancelled.

All three Charger teams in action showed progress. The Bulldogs are a Division 1 team and they got all the football they wanted from the Division 2 Chargers.

This was an unusual series of games in that they were marked by two safeties. Safeties are not as rare as pink elephants, but they normally don’t come in clusters.

The day was made more fun by the boisterous Bulldog fans who traveled to Kentfield to support their team, along with a full complement of cheer teams.
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A season of near misses ended for the Central Marin Chargers Jr. Midgets when they lambasted the Silicon Valley Tigers 37-13.

It’s probably true that no team deserved a breakthrough win more than these Chargers. After a rocky first game against Novato, the defending national Jr. Midget champions in American Youth Football Division 2, the team has improved every week. But after the prior week’s heart-rending loss to San Benito, when the Chargers absolutely dominated the fourth quarter but fell short, 20-14, it seemed that all their hard work might never be rewarded. Working hard and doing your best are rewards in and of themselves, but it’s always nice if those traits are ratified by the scoreboard.

The Jr. Midgets are the last stop in Central Marin football. The players will move from this team to their high school team. They’ve been leaving a legacy in grit and determination. And now, by their example, they’ve also shown the upcoming players that hanging in there and being team oriented pays off.

An interesting facet of the Jr. Midget season has been that they have been the best team on the field at the end of every game except the Novato contest. Whether you can attribute this to coaching, conditioning, heart, or adrenalin, it has been the case in every prior week that the team has been on the short end of the scoreboard, but they’ve never been outclassed on the field.
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