Chaminade Completes Its Mission

Justin Giovannettone stood on the field, face beaming and jersey in shreds.

The first words out of his mouth: “We got our goal.”

Chaminade High’s goal was to win the Mission League championship. That the Eagles achieved it by defeating Notre Dame, their archrival, 28-23 on Friday night at Notre Dame, provided the frosting on the cake.

Chaminade (8-2, 5-0 in the league) won its first Mission League title by beating Notre Dame for the second consecutive season--and also the second time in the 11-year history of the rivalry.

As usual, Giovannettone played a key role, rushing for 160 yards and scoring two touchdowns in 35 carries.

Giovannettone became Chaminade’s workhorse when Franklin Saunders injured his left ankle on his first carry and was forced to watch the rest of the game on crutches. Giovannettone and Saunders usually split the rushing load, each having rushed for more than 100 yards in each of Chaminade’s three previous games.

“I was scared,” Giovannettone said of playing without his running mate.

Mher Filmardirossian replaced Saunders, gaining 61 yards and scoring a touchdown in 10 carries.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Eagle offensive line began to dominate, allowing Chaminade to move the ball on long, time-consuming drives.

Trailing 17-14 at halftime, Chaminade scored the go-ahead touchdown with three minutes 41 seconds left in the third quarter. Giovannettone capped the 11-play march with a one-yard touchdown run.

Notre Dame’s defense allowed 22 more points than it had in the previous five games combined.

However, there were no Chaminades in that group. The Eagles came in averaging more than 400 yards per game.

Notre Dame (6-4, 4-1) is still guaranteed a berth in the Division IV playoffs.

The Knights offense was led by Jon Velasquez, who gained 72 yards in nine carries, and quarterback Jabbar Craigwell, who completed eight of 18 passes for 105 yards and a touchdown.

Chaminade quarterback Ryan Graves connected on 10 of 17 passes--including nine in a row--for 100 yards and a touchdown.

Notre Dame took the early lead because of its special teams. Midway through the first quarter, Mike DeMartinis returned a punt 72 yards for a touchdown.

Notre Dame’s next score, a 26-yard field goal by Chris Sailer, was set up when David DuPetit blocked a punt and the ball was recovered at the Chaminade 16.

Chaminade had two 80-yard drives in the second quarter. The first ended with a one-yard touchdown run by Giovannettone, the other on a nine-yard scoring pass from Graves to Mike Haugh.