Chatsworth Stops Taft to Preserve 18-13 Upset

In a word, unreal.

What other way is there to describe Chatsworth High’s 18-13 upset of Taft on Friday night before an overflow homecoming crowd in Chatsworth?

How else do you explain how the Chancellors built an 18-6 fourth-quarter lead then nearly came from ahead to lose?

What other word so aptly describes how Chatsworth held off the Toreadors six times inside the 10-yard line as the clock ran out?

“Unreal. I can’t believe it,” Chatsworth Coach Myron Gibford said afterward. “This team’s got character.”

The Chancellors (5-3, 3-1) also have a shot at the Sunset League title now that they sit atop the standings with Taft (6-2) and Canoga Park (6-2) at 3-1.

Chatsworth seemed like a sure winner late in the game. The Chancellors had the ball and an 18-6 lead with less than six minutes to play.

But Taft marched 71 yards to score on Terrance Britt’s one-yard run, cutting the Chatsworth lead to 18-13 with 5:10 left.

Two plays later Bryan Addison, who rushed for 129 yards in 14 carries and scored on a 76-yard run, couldn’t handle a high pitch from quarterback Ty Powell and Taft’s Arie McQuaig recovered at the Chatsworth 37.

Six running plays moved the Toreadors to the eight-yard line for a first down. On third down from the six, Addison was cited for pass interference, putting Taft at the three with another first down.

Two carries by Marc Harris moved the ball to the two with three seconds to play. Harris tried the line one more time but came up a yard short as time ran out.

Chatsworth led, 12-6, at the half on DeWayne Lyons’ 59-yard punt return and Chris Husted field goals of 29 and 26 yards.

Taft’s first touchdown came on a 31-yard option pass from Britt to Darran Matthews.

With Taft trailing, 9-6, in the second quarter, Uda Walker raced 69 yards for an apparent touchdown, but the play was nullified by a holding penalty.

Addison’s 76-yard run pushed Chatsworth’s advantage to 18-6 early in the third period.