Chaminade football edges Notre Dame in double-OT thriller

WEST HILLS – Chaminade defeated Notre Dame 31-30 in double overtime for its first Mission League win of the season and also their sixth straight win against their San Fernando Valley Catholic school rivals.

Ronnell Hewitt scored a 16-yard touchdown run for Chaminade in the second overtime to tie the game at 30 and sophomore kicker Carter Sobel clinched the win with the successful point-after attempt.

“The whole week we were talking to the team and we wanted to send the seniors out the right way,” Chaminade coach David Machuca said. “The plan all week was to run the ball on offense and we knew that we were gonna be more physical at the point of attack than them.”

Sobel tied the game at 17-17 with a 47-yard field goal with three seconds left in regulation.

“We’ve had a rough year, I haven’t been getting too many opportunities like tonight,” Sobel said. “You gotta capture every moment, and you gotta make your kicks and win games and that’s what we did.”

Hewitt led the way offensively for a Chaminade offense that had 234 total rushing yards in the game. Hewitt ran the ball 19 times for 139 yards and three touchdowns including the two scores for Chaminade in the overtime periods.

“I thank my o line, if it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t be doing what I was doing,” Hewitt said. “All the hard work I’ve been putting in this season paid off, and I’ve just had my head down and I’ve kept working.”

The game was a defensive struggle in the first half with the score tied 7-7 heading into the locker rooms. The lone score for Chaminade in the first half came on an 11-yard touchdown run from Niles Davis at the end of the first quarter. Davis finished the game with eight carries for 64 yards for Chaminade.

The Knights were able to tie the game at 7-7 after Steele Pizzella found Luc Weaver for a 14-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. Hewitt scored his first touchdown of the night in the third quarter on a 16-yard touchdown run to give the Eagles a 14-7 lead at the time.

The Eagles scoring drive in the third quarter was set up by a Tristan Dottin interception that gave them the ball at their own 42-yard line. Following the Hewitt score, the Notre Dame defense buckled down for most of the second half and got some big fourth down stops.

Will Weisburg hit a 34-yard field goal to cut the Eagles lead to 14-10 early in the fourth quarter. On the Knight possession following the Weisburg field goal, Pizzella found Greg Stagnaro for a 59-yard touchdown pass to give Notre Dame a 17-14 lead with a minute left in the game on a play where the snap went over Pizzella’s head.

The final possession for Chaminade in the final minute of regulation lasted six plays and 49 yards to set them up for the Sobel 47-yard field goal. One crucial play in the drive was an 18-yard pass from quarterback Cameron Pooley to Devin Olmande on a Chaminade 4th and 10.

Chaminade’s first score in the overtime period came on a 2-yard touchdown run from Hewitt. Notre Dame was able to answer back on a 3-yard touchdown pass from Pizzella to Elliot Cooper to tie the game at 24.

Notre Dame’s score in the second overtime came on a 5-yard touchdown run from Ehimen Oyamendan, but Notre Dame missed the ensuing PAT wide to the left. The final Chaminade possession in double overtime was only two plays and was capped off by Hewitt’s third score of the night and the PAT from Sobel to clinch the victory.

Chaminade improved to 2-7 and will take on Bishop Amat in the final game of the regular season next week. Notre Dame will finish their regular season next week and look to finish 5-5 with a game at Loyola.