Calvary Chapel Powers Past Verbum Dei, 26-8

Calvary Chapel kept the ball on the ground on its way to a 26-8 victory over Los Angeles Verbum Dei in the first round of the Southern Section Division XI playoffs.

Running back Andy Avila rushed for 241 yards and a touchdown in 30 carries.

“Our offensive line did a great job opening up some holes, and Andy took advantage of them,” Calvary Chapel Coach Jay Johnson said.

Calvary Chapel got on the scoreboard just over seven minutes into the first quarter when Avila capped a 45-yard drive with a nine-yard touchdown run.

After a scoreless second quarter, Verbum Dei scored on a 76-yard pass from Tim McDaniels to Duran Cooley with 8:33 left in the third, then took an 8-7 lead when Cooley connected with Kendall Oliver for the two-point conversion.

Four minutes later, Calvary Chapel regained the lead when quarterback Terry Mermer scored on a one-yard run. The two-point conversion attempt failed and the score was 13-8.

Calvary Chapel made it 20-8 on its next possession when Blake West scored on a four-yard run. And the Eagles added one more touchdown in the fourth quarter, scoring on Justin Calas’ 10-yard run.