Alemany Tops Chatsworth in 55-21 Victory

Sixteen touchdowns. One hundred twenty points. More than 1,000 yards in total offense. And those are only Alemany High’s numbers after two games this season.

The Indians’ latest offensive outburst came Friday night against visiting Chatsworth. They passed for 248 yards, ran for 248 yards and improved to 2-0 with a 55-21 victory.

Junior tailback De’Andre Scott rushed for 173 yards on 17 carries and scored five touchdowns, including a 98-yard kickoff return. Quarterback Casey Clausen completed 17 of 27 passes for 248 yards and one touchdown.

The anticipated quarterback duel between Tennessee-bound Clausen and USC-bound Matt Cassel of Chatsworth never materialized because Alemany’s defense repeatedly put pressure on Cassel, who scored three touchdowns but was intercepted three times and fumbled once.

“They kicked our butts up front,” assistant coach Ron Martinez of Chatsworth said.

Alemany turned loose its two aggressive inside linebackers, Jason Will and Mike Arguello. They led a defense that sacked Cassel four times.

“That guy eats dirt at practice,” defensive coordinator Joe Fama said of Will. “He’ll hit anything that moves.”

Chatsworth (0-2) was very much in the game with 4:49 left in the second quarter after Cassel scored on a one-yard plunge to pull the Chancellors to within three points, 17-14.

But Scott returned the ensuing kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown, frustrating the Chancellors because at least twice they thought he was within their grasp. An attempt to strip the ball from him backfired, and Scott broke loose, turned on his speed and sprinted away toward the end zone.

Two minutes later, safety Frank Geraty made his second interception of the game and returned it 31 yards for a touchdown, giving Alemany a 31-14 halftime lead.

Cassel was full of energy--maybe too much. His three first-half interceptions were all poor throws made while he was on the run. He had only one pass fall incomplete--if you include the three passes caught by Alemany defensive backs. He finished 14 of 21 for 163 yards.

But Chatsworth could do nothing about Alemany’s spread offense, the brainchild of Coach Jim Bonds, a former Hart and UCLA quarterback. Hart has borrowed tricks from all the coaches he learned from through the years, from former Hart coach Rick Scott to former UCLA assistants Homer Smith and Rick Neuheisel to Hart quarterback coach Dean Herrington.

“It’s a hodgepodge of every offense I’ve been with,” Bonds said.

Having the speedy Scott in the same backfield with Clausen offers a major challenge for defenses.

“His combination of strength and speed is not very common,” Bonds said. “He can run over people and run past people. They were doing some stuff to take the pass away tonight and it was nice to have De’Andre back there.”