The Charger’s close the season with a 4-6 record.
Strawberry Crest hosted Lakeland Christian Friday for the team’s final game of the season. Entering the game, the Chargers had a record of 4-5, averaging 22.1 points per game, while allowing 26.6 points per game. Lakeland Christian entered the game 6-3, averaging 28 points per game while allowing 21.2 points per game.
The game started with Strawberry Crest receiving the ball. The return brought them to the 30-yard line and the drive started off rather quickly as running back Devin Blunt and quarterback Zy Floyd both had nice rushes. In addition, a Vikings personal foul sent the Chargers to midfield rather quickly. Devin Blunt got back-to-back carries and another Vikings penalty put the Chargers at the 30-yard line. The very next play, Devin Blunt rushed for a 30-yard touchdown. This put the Chargers up 7-0 with 8:01 left in the first.
The Vikings started with the ball at the team’s 40-yard line, but quickly got to midfield after back-to-back Charger penalties. The Vikings wasted no time, as running back Josh Bellamy Jr. took it to the house for a 50-yard rushing touchdown tying the game at 7-7 with 6:53 left in the quarter.
The following drive started off slow for the Chargers, but Levi Kilton made a nice catch on third down, to make it 4th and short. The Chargers went for it on their own side of the field, successfully getting the first down off a quarterback sneak from Zy Floyd. The Chargers stayed committed to the run game, rushing it three times in a row. They prepared to go for it on 4th down once again, but the Vikings encroached and gave the Chargers an automatic first down. Zy Floyd continued to showcase his mobility and gained 20+ rushing yards on a big play. The quarter ended 7-7.
The second quarter started with a direct snap to Devin Blunt for a first down. The drive resulted in no nothing as the Vikings blocked the Chargers field goal attempt and the game remained 7-7 with 9:24 in the second quarter.
The Vikings second drive of the quarter heavily revolved around running back Josh Bellamy. He picked off where he left off, with four runs on this drive that went for positive yardage. The drive was capped off by a beautiful pass by D.J. Howard to wide receiver Tate Horne on an end zone fade. At this point, the Vikings are now up 14-7 with 5:39 left in the first half.
The Chargers didn’t let the scoring deficit phase them at this point in the game as Thimothee Woods had a nice kick return for the Chargers. The Vikings had a late hit on Woods when he went out of bounds so after the penalty yards were added to the kickoff, the Chargers started this drive at the Vikings 15-yard line. The Chargers fed Devin Blunt multiple times to get down to the 2-yard line, where quarterback Zy Floyd ultimately sneaked in. That tied the game 14-14 with 1:45 left in the half. The Chargers defense was playing relatively safe on this final drive of the half, but a huge facemask penalty moved the ball to midfield. They hit a nice screen pass to running back Josh Bellamy, who got the ball all the way to the Chargers 2-yard line. The Vikings settled for a field goal attempt and even though it looked like the field goal attempt was no good (Chargers home crowd agreed), the refs said it was good and the half ended with the Vikings up 17-14.
The Vikings started the second half with the lead and possession of the ball. They started the half with an impressive kick return, getting to midfield to start the drive. Back-to-back first downs were picked up as D.J. Howard got a nice run on an RPO, then Bellamy got a nice gain on another screen pass. A couple more runs for Bellamy happened but other than that, the Vikings were forced to punt, and the Chargers took over inside their own 10-yard line.
The first offensive play for the Chargers was an unfortunate one as Zy Floyd got injured and the referees called a fumble, with the Vikings taking over at the Charger’s 2-yard line. Josh Bellamy Jr. took a direct snap and easily walked in for a touchdown, extending the Vikings lead to 24-14 with 6:44 left in the third quarter. With Floyd injured, Crest attempted to go run-heavy, but it was predicted by the Viking’s defense, and they forced a Chargers three and out. The Chargers tried the 4th down conversion with a direct snap to Devin Blunt, but the Vikings were all over it, forcing a turnover on downs.
The Vikings started the drive at the Chargers 34 and quickly marched down the field thanks to two throws in a row by quarterback D.J. Howard. Josh Bellamy once again found his way into the end zone. The Vikings were in the lead 31-14 with 1:53 left in the third. The Chargers didn’t have much time to try and come back in the third.
The Chargers started the 4th quarter with a 3rd and long and they converted it with a smooth end-around play to Thimothee Woods. There was also a late hit on the Vikings to tack on 15 more yards to the run by Woods. They followed that up with a nice run by Gage Ribosome which brought them to the Vikings 27-yard line. The Vikings got a huge sack on third down, which pushed the Chargers back and the field goal attempt was missed.
With 7:19 left in the game, the Vikings took over at their own 19-yard line. At this point in the game, the Vikings are in the driver’s seat and begin to chew the clock, just slowly moving down the field with rush attempts and little passes sprinkled in. They ultimately had to punt but not without killing some clock.
Crest took over with just 4:08 left in the game. Arnulfo Castillo got a nice run to give the Chargers a first down. Castillo and Blunt rotate some carries and then Wood got a nice catch and moved the Chargers into Vikings territory. An Arnulfo Castillo run made it third and short and then a Vikings encroachment gave them the first down. Thimothee Woods capped off a big night, scoring a touchdown in the final moments of the game. The final score was 31-20 with the Lakeland Christian Vikings winning. The Chargers end the season with a four-game losing streak and Lakeland Christian got a 7-win season making it five seasons in a row where they have recorded at least 7 wins in a season.
Final Game Stats:
Strawberry Crest Chargers:
Passing Yards:
Strawberry Crest:
-Joe Borchard: 3/4 Completions, 75% Completion Rate, 30 Passing Yards, 1 Pass TD
-Zy Floyd: 1/4 Completion, 25% Completion Rate, 9 Passing Yards
Rushing Yards:
Strawberry Crest:
-Devin Blunt: 11 Carries, 76 Rush Yards, 1 Rush TD
-Zy Floyd: 10 Carries, 44 Rush Yards, 1 Rush TD
-Arnulfo Castillo: 5 Carries, 19 Rush Yards
-Gage Reibsome: 3 Carries, 18 Rush Yards
-Thimothee Woods: 1 Carry, 5 Rush Yards
Receiving Yards:
Strawberry Crest:
-Thimothee Woods: 2 Receptions, 30 Receiving Yards
-Jean Henry: 1 Reception, 9 Receiving Yards
