Chatsworth Reverses Field, Beats Van Nuys

The words by quarterback Matt Cassel in the Chatsworth High victory huddle told, in a nutshell, the game’s story.

“Execution, execution, execution,” Cassel said, surrounded by his teammates.

Cassel and the Chancellors did plenty of it in a 34-7 rout of Van Nuys in a City Division semifinal Friday night at Birmingham High that was never in doubt.

Chatsworth (8-5), winner of three games in a row after ending the regular season with a four-game skid, advanced to the championship game against Reseda on Friday night at the Coliseum.

Chatsworth, seeded seventh, put the pressure on third-seeded Van Nuys (9-4) from the start and was never seriously challenged.

The Wolves avoided a shutout by scoring midway through the fourth quarter.

Cassel, a junior, directed Chatsworth’s balanced attack well. He completed six of 14 passes for 97 yards and two touchdowns, and rushed 12 times for 44 yards.

The Chancellors, predominantly a passing team, took what Van Nuys gave them on the ground and came up with big dividends. Junior running back Jason Holmes had 84 yards in 13 carries and scored on runs of one, seven and 15 yards.

“We weren’t blocking at all, so we got Matt to move around a little bit,” Coach Bill Coan said.

It paid off, particularly when Chatsworth caught the Wolves blitzing and playing overly aggressive.

Chatsworth took a 7-0 lead on an eight-yard slant from Cassel to Mark Harris with 58 seconds to play in the first quarter.

The nine-play, 94-yard drive started with Rafael Cansino’s 51-yard run to the Van Nuys 43, where safety Ramon Palomo made the touchdown-saving tackle. It was Cansino’s only carry.

Chatsworth increased its lead to 14-0 with two seconds to play in the half on Holmes’ one-yard run. Reggie Lee set up the score, intercepting Bobby Hernandez’s pass and returning it 16 yards to the Van Nuys 34. A 33-yard pass from Cassel to Lee set up the touchdown.

Hernandez completed seven of 18 passes for 54 yards, with two interceptions. He ran effectively, with carries of 14, 13 and 15 yards to finish with 52 yards in nine carries.

The Chancellors all but iced the game with 5:21 to play in the third quarter, taking a 21-0 lead on Cassel’s 23-yard slant pass to Lee. They took advantage of another interception to score soon after.

On first and 10 at the Van Nuys 21, Hernandez’s pass was intercepted along the left sideline by strong safety Mark Harris and returned to the seven.

One play later, Holmes ran through the left side for a 28-0 lead with 10:23 to play.

The Wolves scored on Alex Aguilar’s two-yard run with 6:35 to play before Holmes got his hat trick on a 15-yard run with 2:41 remaining.

“It was a little shaky in the first half, but the line stepped up in the second half,” Cassel said.

Lee had four catches for 82 yards and Aguilar had 70 total yards, 33 rushing and 37 receiving.