On a first-quarter drive, during which he had already carried four times for 23 yards, Westfield senior running back Jordan Anderson barreled toward the end zone from six yards out. At the 1-yard line, Anderson lowered his shoulder and absorbed a shot from a pair of Chantilly defenders, ultimately tumbling in for the score.
Anderson took what Chantilly gave him, absorbed it, but still came out on top.
At jam-packed Chantilly High School on Friday night, the entire Westfield football team echoed Anderson’s efforts, as the Bulldogs took what Chantilly gave them and walked away with a 32-7 blowout win.
“We were very patient and we really took what they gave us instead of trying to force anything,” said Westfield coach Tom Verbanic, whose team improved to 4-0 overall, 1-0 in the Concorde District. “We’ve gotten better each week, and this week we were better than last week.”
Bulldog quarterback Tommy Fenyak, directing an offense that scored 48 points in a win over Hayfield last week, consistently took what Chantilly’s defense gave him. Fenyak was efficient in completing 15 of 23 passes for 143 yards and three touchdowns.
Slip screens, quick outs and swing passes to the running backs all were exploited, and Fenyak even benefitted when Evan Winfrey took a five-yard reception and turned it into a 52-yard score.
<b>WITH WESTFIELD</b> holding a 14-7 lead at halftime, Chantilly fumbled on its third play of the third quarter. After yet another quick pass to wide receiver Zach Sargent (7 catches, 40 yards, TD), Fenyak hit Anderson on a swing route to the right for a 7-yard touchdown.
“We started falling apart after the fumble,” said Chantilly coach Mike Lalli, whose team fell to 3-1 overall, 0-1 in the Concorde District. “I don’t know if it was just because they were so worked up, but it just kept getting worse.”
Fenyak’s pass to Winfrey followed another stalled drive for Chantilly, and a failed fourth-down conversion was succeed by Anderson’s (14 carries, 105 yards) second touchdown run.
Westfield continued to take what Chantilly
gave them, as the Bulldogs recovered a Chantilly fumble on the next drive before Winfrey intercepted his first of two passes, essentially ending any hopes the Chargers had of a comeback.
“They ran that play earlier in the game, and I knew they were going to come back to it because they had it open,” said Winfrey, whose team has won eight of nine meetings with the Chargers since Westfield opened in 2000. “I was keying on that, and I just made a nice break on the ball.”
Though he ran for over 100 yards for the third time this season, Chantilly running back Torrian Pace (15 carries, 118 yards) was never able to take control of the game.
The Bulldogs were too busy taking what Chantilly gave them.