Sylmar Takes Hit With Engilman Missing

With their vocal mentor conspicuously missing from the sideline Thursday night, the Sylmar High football team looked like anything but the perennial powerhouse for which it has come to be recognized.

While Sylmar Coach Jeff Engilman scouted the Chatsworth-Reseda game and served the first of a two-game suspension for his illegal contact with San Fernando transfer Derrell Daniels, the Spartans sputtered, crashed and finally burned in a nonconference game against Taft.

Taft upset Sylmar, 30-6, and handed the Spartans their first season-opening loss since 1991.

The Toreadors steam-rolled Sylmar, running for 151 yards en route to a 23-0 halftime lead.

One Sylmar fan entering the game at halftime looked at the scoreboard and cried, “You gotta be [expletive] kidding me.”

And the fan wasn’t Engilman.

But Taft proved it is no joke. The Toreadors scored on three of its first four possessions for a 20-0 lead while Sylmar’s offense mustered just one first down in the first half.

The horrendous play of the Spartans, who won 25 of their previous 26 games, ignited arguments on and off the field.

On Sylmar’s second possession, quarterback Chris Cervantes came off the field yelling and pushing running back Errol Bowen, who had just fumbled at the Taft 10. The argument ended with the players hugging, but minutes later they were again at each other throats.

And the most assistant coaches said was, “Shut up.”

The Spartans clearly missed the controlled chaotic atmosphere that Engilman creates.

His demeanor is at times scary, with eyes bulging from their sockets and chin jutting out like a hungry bulldog. He screams at players and taunts them at times, and it usually pays dividends on the field.

Against Taft, Sylmar was simply in chaos.

Players yelled at players, coaches yelled at coaches and no one stepped up to shut it down. And in the end, it was Taft that quieted the Sylmar roar.

“In 23 years of coaching it’s the first game I’ve ever missed,” Engilman said hours before kickoff.

Unfortunately for the Spartans, it won’t be the last.