After an emotional grinder of a win on the road at Clinton, head coach Brett Bogert '05 certainly warned his team against a let-down against John Marshall. On paper, the Chargers were a clear favorite, but the Bears have a history of playing tough against the Chargers at Taft Stadium. The last time the 122nd street rivals met at Taft, during the COVID season of 2020, the Bears scored a 14-12 upset win over The Hall.

After it took three attempts for the game's opening kickoff, the Heritage Hall offense struck quickly to set the tone. Quarterback Andy Bass connected with Boston Fuller on a screen pass and the junior wideout scampered down the sideline for a big gain. Then Bass found a wide open Cal Welker, who appeared to be en route to the game's first score before taking a big hit just short of the goal line. On the next play, the offensive line got a great early push up front and junior tailback Barrett Travis walked in for a 7-0 lead.

The Bears were not intimidated though. Their first drive was only two plays, as tailback Shawn Powell busted through the line and outraced the secondary to an answer. The Charger defense stuffed the two-point rushing attempt though, and held on to a one point lead.

The Hall's next drive was similar to the first. Bass connected with prime target Jordyn Harris on a 22-yard pass, and the Bears received a 15-yard facemask penalty that was added on. Speedy tailback Bladen Vogel took the handoff and followed devastating pull-blocks by Zavier Freeman and Eddie Johnston to an easy 11-yard run into the end zone. Welker's extra point attempt was blocked by the Bears and the Chargers led 13-7.

On the subsequent Bears drive, Jack Harris and Vogel combined on a physical take-down of starting quarterback Terrance Caldwell, who left the game with an apparent concussion. With Powell filling in for John Marshall, the Bears fumbled the first snap and then a high punt snap resulted in a mob of Chargers tackling the punter for a turnover on downs.

Bass wasted no time putting up more points, as the standout senior tossed a 30-yard strike over the middle that was hauled in by Rashaud Smith in stride at the back of the end zone. Graham Murphy went in motion and took the handoff around the edge and slammed into a Bears defender at the goal line for a 2-point conversion that resulted in a more conventional 21-7 score midway through the first quarter.

Things got worse from there for the Bears. After a fumbled snap, the quarterback scooped up the ball and quickly threw a pass into the flat. However, cornerback Carter Counts jumped the route and incepted the toss with nothing between him and the end zone. The senior raced in from 24-yards out for a pick-six and a 28-7 Charger lead.

After two zero yard runs by John Marshall, Welker stormed the substitute quarterback and recorded a sack. On the ensuing punt, the hurried Bears kicker only mustered 14 yards and the Chargers took over at the 36-yard line.

Following penalties on a few plays, Bass tossed up a deep ball and Smith skied to pull it down in the end zone to stretch The Hall's first quarter lead up to 28 points.

The Charger defense continued their string of forcing the Bears into three-and-outs with another one midway through the second quarter.

A couple of plays later, from the 20-yard line, Jordyn Harris paused on the snap and then sprung into a slant route. Bass led him across the field with a lasered pass and Harris cut straight up field for another Charger touchdown and a 42-6 lead.

The John Marshall defense registered their first stop of The Hall's potent offense, but were unable to move the ball before halftime finally arrived.

On the opening kick of the second half, the Bears lost control of the football on the runback and kicker Beau Butler pounced on it to shift possession back to the Chargers. Bass scored on the next play, a 25-yard run with a nifty cutback at the 5 yard line and a power move to break a tackle for a 49-6 lead.

Facing another third down, the Bears backup quarterback put a little bit too much air under a deep pass to a receiver who had gotten behind the Charger secondary and linebacker Kline Reuter snatched the ball, wove past a couple of Bears, and outran everyone to the second pick-six of the game. After a missed extra point, the score was 55-6, where it would remain as the reserves for both teams played the remainder to a stalemate.

Bass led the passing attack, completing 8 of 12 passes for 200 yards and three touchdowns. Smith caught two of those, for a total of 69 yards. Fuller hauled in 3 passes for 59 yards, while Jordyn Harris caught 2 for 57 yards. The Chargers spread the carries out, but tallied 95 yards as a team.

Leading tacklers for the Charger defense were Travis and Murphy with 5 tackles each. Takeaways were the name of the game, with the two pick-six interceptions by Counts and Reuter, and the fumble recovery by Butler. Welker recorded the game's only sack.

The victory pushed the Chargers all-time record against the Bears to 12-2 and rounded out the non-district portion of the schedule with a 3-0 record. Up next, the Charger will host a revenge-minded Lone Grove team in the district opener. The Longhorns come into Charger Stadium with a matching 3-0 record and will present a more physical challenge for The Hall.