Bears claw out Week 3 win over The Hall

The Hall battled the 4A John Marshall Bears in a Week 3 showdown of highly ranked teams from different classes.

The Bears entered the contest ranked number eight in Class 4A. They blasted Bethany 51-20 in their opener and lost a heartbreaker to 2A #1 Vian on a long passing score at the end of the game.

The Chargers, ranked first in Class 3A after wins over Millwood and Clinton knew what they needed to take care of in order to outplay the Bears and win the game. Heritage Hall struggled offensively, but the defense got off to an explosive start and kept the Bears from scoring early.

The first quarter and most of the second consisted of both teams fighting back and forth for field position, and keeping the game scoreless.

John Marshall eventually scored the first touchdown of the night in the middle of the second to grab a 8-0 lead after a successful 2-point conversion.

It didn't take long for the Chargers to respond. On the ensuing kickoff, Gavin Freeman took a squib kick 60 yards return to answer, but the 2-point attempt to tie it up failed. The Chargers went into halftime down by two.

The Hall focused on coming out of halftime with a new mindset, knowing they needed to ramp up the defensive pressure and find a way for the offense to put some points on the board!

As soon as the third quarter started the bears used their speed and fast offense to control the game. Meanwhile, the Chargers struggled to get the ball into the end zone.

Devin Johnson for the Bears scored on a 6 yard run and the Bears went up 14-6 after the Charger defense shut down the 2-point conversion attempt.

Down 8 points late in the game, The Hall regrouped and continued to battle. With under a minute left in the fourth, Robert Mbroh connected with Freeman to pull within 2 points at 14-12.

After calling timeout, the Charger offense lined up for the game-tying two point conversion, but fumbled the exchange between center and quarterback.

The last chance onside kick took a favorable high bounce for the Chargers, but went out of bounds untouched by either team. The Bears knelt in victory formation and handed the Chargers their first loss of the season, and only the 4th since Coach Brett Bogert '05 took the reins in 2015.

Despite coming up short in their final non-district game, the Chargers' title hopes remain very alive. As the did after running the table following a 2018 loss to Millwood, they plan to leverage the loss as fuel for district play, which starts this week at McLoud!

The Chargers still played a hard-fought game and had multiple leaders on the field. On offense, Heritage Hall amassed 194 yards – 128 running the ball, and just 66 of those passing. Quarterback Robert Mbroh was an efficient 7 of 14 passing, but only managed 59 yards through the air. Junior Gavin Freeman was the leading receiver for the Hall with 23 yards. Closely behind was sophomore Orie Walker, who caught 2 passes for 21 yards. The Chargers struggled to get the running game going after senior Jayden Williams was injured, but sophomore River Faulkner led the way with 47 yards, and K.J. Evans rushed for 32 yards.

Defensively, the Chargers played well against an athletic Bears offense. Top tacklers were K.J. Evans (12), Brigam Evans (11), and A.J. Sirls, Jr. (9). Mbroh, Brigham Evans, and Mason Georgia all registered sacks, but the defense wasn't able to force the Bears into any turnovers. Outside of a couple of big plays, including a 70 yard touchdown, the Chargers kept the Bears' offense in check.

The Chargers now prepare to travel and open District play on the road against the 3A McLoud Redskins. So far, in Coach Bogert's opinion, the defense has been playing championship caliber football, so the gameplan will be to get the offense rolling and start a new winning streak to redeem this tough loss!

Go Chargers!!!!

Written by Quincy LeNorman '21
Edited by Luke Steelman '93
Photos by Dawn Freeman

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