SAINT CLAIR — On paper, Nativity’s first-ever meeting against Chichester looked like a mismatch, especially since the Eagles had just shut out their opponent last week.
This did not hamper the Green Wave’s confidence heading into Friday’s game.
In fact, Nativity scored a touchdown on its opening drive to momentarily take the lead.
Unfortunately for the Green Wave, Chichester answered with six straight touchdowns, toppling Nativity 55-15 and handing the team its fourth consecutive loss.
Ryan McDonald went 4-for-10, throwing for 132 yards and two touchdowns for the Green Wave.
Both scores came on long passes, the first being a 62-yard bomb to Travis Hunyara and the other a 64-yard hurl to Stephen Elberfeld.
“He’s playing well, and he’s still very young,” Nativity head coach Tony Klazas Jr. said of his sophomore quarterback. “He’s getting the ball out quicker, which we worked with him on all week leading up to this game.
“The game’s still a little fast for him, so there’s a learning curve, but he’s getting it.”
Nativity (0-4) got off to a fast start on its opening series with a six-play scoring drive that culminated in Hunyara’s 62-yard touchdown grab. William Devers’ PAT made it 7-0.
Chichester (3-1) answered with a quick touchdown strike of its own. The Eagles’ relied heavily on tailback Kevin Miller, who broke off a 23-yard run to open the drive.
Miller later scored from 21 yards out to get his team on the board, while Austin Wilson’s extra point made it 7-7 at the end of the first quarter.
Miller followed with two touchdowns in the second quarter and one more in the third, finishing with 246 rushing yards and four total TDs.
“He was running through some very nice lanes that our offensive line opened up for him,” Chichester head coach Ryan Smith said of Miller. “He also made some plays on his own in space that highlighted what he’s capable of doing.
“We’ve been begging to see that, and we finally got a chance to witness it tonight. It was a special game for him.”
Amidst all of Miller’s scoring, Chichester also reached the end zone on a 36-yard touchdown pass from Clarence Bowens to Martin Frempog and an 18-yard run by Jahmed Lockett.
The Eagles held a 41-7 lead before Nativity scored its final touchdown of the night, which came on McDonald’s 64-yard pass to Elberfeld.
McDonald ran in the 2-point conversion to cut its deficit to 41-15 at the end of the third quarter.
The Green Wave’s running game was almost nowhere to be found thanks to Chichester’s smothering defense. The Eagles forced Nativity to punt seven times, and held its opponent to 29 total rushing yards.
“That’s something we’ll look at when we watch film,” Klazas said of fixing his running game. “We’ll see if maybe we’re too one-dimensional, and we’ll adjust that.”
In the fourth quarter, Chichester scored two more rushing touchdowns courtesy of Cody Proffit and Nate Resine to finish the game 55-15.
The Eagles’ six running backs combined for 380 rushing yards, and the offense scored eight touchdowns.
“Nativity’s kids showed what they were capable of doing, but at the end of the day, our kids were able to make more plays than they did,” Smith said “That’s why the score is what it is.”
Nativity has now fallen into an 0-4 hole that Klazas attributes not to the team’s performance, but on his coaching’s staff’s ability to teach.
“The kids’ effort isn’t the issue,” Klazas said. “We have to get better fundamentally, and that’s on us. We have to coach them up and get better with tackling.
“Our kids play hard, and they leave it all out there. Penalties weren’t an issue tonight, so that’s good, but they’re young. It will all come in time.”
Game Summary
Chichester (3-1) 7 21 13 14 — 55
Nativity (0-4) 7 0 8 0 — 15
Nat — Hunyara 62 pass from McDonald (Devers kick)
Chi — Miller 21 run (Wilson kick)
Chi — Miller 87 run (Wilson kick)
Chi — Miller 5 run (Wilson kick)
Chi — Frempog 36 pass from Bowens (Wilson kick)
Chi — Miller 36 run (Wilson kick)
Chi — Lockett 18 run (kick blocked)
Nat — Elberfeld 64 pass from McDonald (McDonald run)
Chi — Proffit 13 run (Horne run)
Chi — Resine 17 run (run failed)
Chi Nat
First Downs 11 3
Rushes-Yards 36-380 24-29
Passes 1-3-0 6-15-0
Passing Yards 36 132
Total Yards 416 161
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 2-1
Penalties 7-45 3-15
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Chichester — Miller 13-246, Rasine 6-44, Lockett 6-38, Proffit 4-29, Lawrence 4-13, Jennings 3-10. Nativity — Burke 1-20, McDonald 14-6, Schultz 4-6, Schreffler 4-1, J. Cooper 1-(-4).
PASSING: Chichester — Bowens 1-3-0, 36. Nativity — McDonald 4-11-0, 132; Cromyak 2-5-0, 0.
RECEIVING: Chichester — Frempog 1-36. Nativity — Elberfeld 2-72, Hunyara 2-60, Winter 1-2, Matharu 1-(-2).
INTERCEPTIONS: None