Game of the Week : Charter Oak Awakens to Beat San Dimas, 21-0

For 2 1/2 quarters Friday night, Charter Oak of Covina, which knows its way to the end zone as well as any team in the Southern Section this season, just wandered around the Bonita High field at La Verne.

Jeff Obert, its workhorse running back, had 24 yards in 5 carries, while quarterback John Strycula was 0 for 3 with 1 interception.

Just where was this great scoring machine when the Chargers needed it most in this, the biggest game of the season?

Probably hiding out somewhere in the locker room.

But Charter Oak, the Southeastern Conference’s top-ranked team, found itself after a halftime chat by Coach Loe Farrar and took control early in the third quarter, and Obert rushed for 160 yards and three touchdowns in the second half to lead the Chargers past previously undefeated San Dimas, 21-0, in a Montview League game.

The Chargers had beaten their first six opponents by a combined score of 295-26 (an average winning margin of 49.2-4.3), so having the scoreboard show 0-0 at halftime was indeed an unusual sight. But Obert leading the offense on time-consuming marches, just as he had all season, was not.

“I think we were just a little nervous,” Obert said of the team’s first-half offense. “We have a sophomore quarterback (Strycula), and he just didn’t get rolling early. But we all had a good talk and in the second half came out and did a great job.”

That was especially true of Obert and the offensive line, which opened up so many big holes that the 6-2, 230-pound senior had 6 carries of 10 yards or more in the second half, finishing with 184 total yards.

Charter Oak (7-0) took the second-half kickoff and put together a 12-play, 86-yard drive before Obert went over left tackle with 6:19 remaining in the third quarter to end the scoring drought. Jorge Rodriguez’s kick made it 7-0.

Then the Charger defense, which did look like itself in the first half in holding San Dimas (5-1) to 60 yards rushing, made the conference’s No. 4 team give the ball up after three plays, losing a yard in the process, and Keith Gissell’s bad punt gave Charter Oak the ball 47 yards away from back-to-back scores.

And that’s just what the Chargers got as Obert went to the left, worked his way through traffic and headed outside and up the sideline for a 20-yard touchdown with 1:51 to play in the third quarter.

By this time, Obert’s running and the Charger offense was in full stride.

It went to 21-0 with 7:36 remaining in the game after a 78-yard drive culminated with Obert going in from a yard out.

So their points-per game average will drop. But who cares, Obert figured, since their record won’t.

“Hey,” he said, “we’re not going to score 49 points every game.”