Oaks Christian’s Zach Charbonnet runs all over Chaminade in 31-13 victory

Wearing new red metallic helmets, Westlake Village Oaks Christian came out of its inflatable tunnel a little too early for its season football opener Thursday night against West Hills Chaminade. Players were forced to hang out on the sideline for some 10 minutes before kickoff. Even the smoke sent up from the tunnel was not released properly for the entrance. The smoke dissipated.

Once the game started, the Lions offense also had timing issues. Then the Lions turned to something reliable — brotherly instincts. On fourth down, quarterback Josh Calvert found brother Ethan on a 23-yard pass play. It set up a five-yard touchdown run by Zach Charbonnet. The Lions breathed a sigh of relief while waiting for Charbonnet to get untracked.

Charbonnet, a Michigan commit, did just that in the second half. He broke off touchdown runs of 52 and 59 yards to help the Lions defeat Chaminade 31-13. He also had a sack and a pass breakup on defense in the first half. Give Chaminade credit for an effective defensive effort that bottled up Charbonnet for much of the game. At one point in the third quarter, the score tied at 10-10, he had 26 yards in 11 carries. Linebackers Blake Antzoulatos and Jonathan Thomas were filling in holes preventing Charbonnet from getting running room.

But the Lions, making their debut under first-year coach Charles Collins, weren’t going to stop feeding the ball to Charbonnet. He finished with 185 yards and three touchdowns in 17 carries.

Down 17-10 early in the fourth quarter, Chaminade had a first and goal at the one-yard line. The Eagles never got a tying touchdown. Matthew Chong came up with a four-yard tackle for loss and Chaminade settled for a 22-yard field goal by Jack Oswald.

Charbonnet’s 59-yard touchdown run with 3:44 to play clinched the win. Tripp Mitchell added an eight-yard touchdown run after a fumbled Chaminade punt attempt.

“We had a lot of two-way players,” Chaminade coach Ed Croson said. “We had to start using guys who were not quite ready.”

Said Charbonnet: “We knew we had to wear them down.”

This was a critical game for Collins, his introduction to outsiders who knew him only as the man hired to replace the popular Jim Benkert, who resigned in February. There was an expectation of a mass exodus of players. It didn’t happen. That was a victory for Collins, an unsung Oaks Christian assistant who sold his many returning players on “trusting the process.”

Oaks Christian’s returning stars from last year’s Division 2 championship game really came through. Josh Calvert passed for 140 yards. Charbonnet was the go-to guy when the going got tough. And defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux, being followed around by a film crew documenting his every move, contributed a sack in the fourth quarter.

eric.sondheimer@latimes.com

Twitter: @latsondheimer