Notre Dame Gets Defensive, Bounces Back

WEST HILLS — When Notre Dame wins football games it’s usually because of its high-powered offense. That changed Friday, when the Knights’ defense stepped to the forefront and shut out Chaminade, 21-0, in a Mission League game at Chaminade.

The Eagles were held to 93 yards and got no closer to the end zone than Notre Dame’s 27-yard line.

Notre Dame amassed 287 offensive yards.

Notre Dame’s points came on three touchdown passes from Dave DeMartinis to Todd Fenton. The pair connected for scores of nine, 12 and 75 yards. DeMartinis completed five of 11 passes for 114 yards. Fenton caught three passes for 96 yards.

Notre Dame, which began the season 4-0, had lost its two previous games, but improved to 5-2 and 1-1 in Mission League play. Chaminade fell to 2-5, 1-1.

“We worked very hard this week,” Fenton said. “We got tired of losing and decided as a team we wanted to win all our remaining games.”

“We had to play harder and with more intensity,” Knight Coach Kevin Rooney said. “They played very tough defense tonight.”

Notre Dame tailback Justin Fargas rushed for 163 yards in 25 carries and also had a sack playing free safety.

Notre Dame opened the scoring with 1:36 remaining in the first quarter when DeMartinis found Fenton open in the back of the end zone for a nine-yard touchdown.

The pair hooked up again for a 12-yard score with 19 seconds to play in the half to put Notre Dame ahead, 14-0. Their third touchdown came with 8:21 left in the game when Fenton caught a pass over the middle, broke several tackles and raced 75 yards for a touchdown.

The Notre Dame defense, which was overwhelmed by St. Francis in an upset loss last week, sacked Chaminade quarterback Ray Rodriguez seven times. Rodriguez completed eight of 11 passes for 68 yards.

Matt Markis who rushed for 242 yards and two touchdowns in a rout of Bishop Montgomery last week, rushed for 25 yards in 13 carries to lead the Eagles.

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Fargas Watch

A game-by-game look at how Justin Fargas has fared this season

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Opponent Att. Yds. Avg. TD Alemany 25 283 11.3 3 Burroughs 22 257 11.7 5 Beverly Hills 18 266 14.8 3 Crespi 26 175 6.7 2 St. Paul 26 154 5.9 3 St. Francis 11 81 7.4 0 Chaminade 25 163 6.5 0 Totals 153 1379 9.0 16

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