WEEKLY BLOG: 10/4/19

It was the perfect spot for the proverbial trap game. Notre Dame Prep, named on Tuesday in the No. 6 position in the first Open Division rankings of the year, played a road game at McClintock Friday night. This was one of those games on the schedule that most simply assume the better team wins. After all, the real test will be coming next week when the Horizon Huskies visit Bemis Field in Scottsdale.

The host Chargers have a defense to be reckoned with though, as this is an improved team from last season. McClintock scored first, found itself tied with the Saints at the half, and stayed in the contest into the fourth quarter.

But the favorites in the gold helmets prevailed, 30-7 and will live for another week with that "0" in the loss column.

"We definitely didn't come out the way we wanted to come out," Notre Dame head coach George Prelock said. "We really shot ourselves in the foot. Thankfully, in the second half, we were able to clean up."

McClintock (4-3 overall, 1-2 5A Northeast Valley Region) hit a big one on its second play from scrimmage. Estevan Fraijo sprinted down the left sideline, got a step ahead of the defender, grabbed the incoming pass from Xavier Benitez and took it 81 yards for the game's first points.

That score held up for most of the first half.

Notre Dame (7-0, 3-0) went for it on fourth-and-four from midfield and fired an incomplete pass. The Saints blocked a punt and began a drive at the Charger 28-yard line. After advancing it inside the 10, a penalty backed them up and a 35-yard field goal was no good. The Saints were outgained 113-55 in the game's first 12 minutes.

Senior running back Dominick Mastro provided most of the heavy lifting on offense. He had 17 carries in the first half (25 in the game) and plowed up the middle for a short touchdown run to even the game.

And that's where we stood at the break.

McClintock was hanging in there despite a second quarter offense of minus-two yards. The Chargers ran just 18 plays in the half compared to 39 for Notre Dame.

The Saints, who won the toss more than an hour prior, had deferred and opted to take the ball for the second half. They did. And never looked back.

Sophomore Gavin Smith, who notched an offer from Arizona State last spring, brought the second-half kick back to the 3-yard line. Fullback JD Roberts finished it from there to give the Saints their first lead.

"As I was running down the entire field, there was someone right next to me blocking," Smith said. "They made it easy."

It's the second week in a row that the younger brother of Texas standout Jake Smith broke a long run. Last week, he scored on a 94-yard kick return against Cactus Shadows.

Still, the Chargers kept pace. On consecutive possessions in the third quarter, MHS finished on the Saints' side of the field. Punts by Scott Jones were downed at the 10 and 6-yard lines.

In the final minute of the third quarter, Notre Dame was forced to punt at its own 39-yard line. . . so we thought.

Instead, Prelock called for the fake and Griffen Chewning took off around the left side. The senior went the distance (61 yards) to finally give NDP some breathing room. Chewning caught his breath after the run and booted the extra point to put the Saints up 21-7.

"We run it usually every day (in practice)," Chewning said. "We run our pass option, our run option, and just a straight punt. If it's there, it's there, and I'll take it."

This is actually the second time the Saints have successfully executed that play in a game. In the opener against Fairfax, Chewning gained 28 yards on a run.

In the fourth quarter, the Notre Dame offense came around. Mastro eclipsed the 100-yard mark for the sixth straight week. He also punched in his 11th touchdown of the season.

Standouts for the Saints included receivers Damien Owens and Quinn Leventhal (each of whom had three catches). You also have to include the offensive line, led by Oklahoma State commit Cade Bennett, which wore down McClintock in the second half.

And then there was the Notre Dame defense, which was there the entire night. Roberts brought pressure to the quarterback and linebacker Brock Locnikar racked up tackles behind the line of scrimmage. The Charger run game was rendered non-existent. McClintock ran 18 rushing plays and had minus-14 yards (including one sack).

"Our defensive line does a good job of keeping our backers free," Prelock said. "Our backers do a good job of flying around. Our secondary is opportunistic."

Following the touchdown, the Chargers punted seven straight times. It would have been eight, but a snap went over the punter's head and he booted it through the end zone for a safety.

But, the first 24 minutes have to give McClintock fans a lot to feel good about. In fact, the defense really only allowed 14 points the entire game. The other 16 points came via the safety, Chewning's fake punt, and essentially a three-yard scoring drive after Smith's kickoff return.

This was the first game all season that Notre Dame was held under 35 points.

"Our defense played their butts off," McClintock head coach Corbin Smith said. "We held a team like that to 14 offensive points and made them work for everything they got and then gave it up on special teams."

The Chargers begin their bye week and have two weeks to prepare for a home game against Paradise Valley (5-1). McClintock began the week at No. 13 in the 5A rankings (No. 10 if you factor out the three schools that would move on to the Open bracket). It's been 10 years since MHS has made the playoffs.

"We've got to worry about executing on offense and defensively, we're gelling and coming together." Smith said. "We've just got to keep playing hard. The big thing is handling adversity."

Gavin Smith said the Saints' players were excited when they learned of their position in the Open rankings earlier this week.

"We know we deserve it," Smith said. "We know we should be there and we're going to prove ourselves."

The next chance to prove themselves comes against their toughest opponent yet - Horizon. The Huskies come in at 5-1 after posting a 74-14 victory over North Canyon Friday. Last year, Horizon was able to move the ball in a 51-35 shootout loss against the Saints.

"We know Horizon is extremely talented," Prelock said. "They've got weapons all over the place. You have to win the turnover battle and have a couple big plays go your way."

First Quarter:
McCl - Estevan Fraijo 81 yard pass from Xavier Benitez (Felipe Sanchez kick), 11:10
Second Quarter:
NDP - Dominick Mastro 2 yard run (Griffen Chewning kick), 4:16
Third Quarter:
NDP - JD Roberts 3 yard run (Chewning kick), 11:38
NDP - Chewning 61 yard run (Chewning kick), 0:16
Fourth Quarter:
NDP - Mastro 4 yard run (Chewning kick), 6:59
NDP - Safety. Punter kicked ball through end zone, 5:31