Legendary coach Bear Bryant once said, "Losing doesn't make me want to quit, it makes me want to fight that much harder."

Fresh off the disappointment of a week one loss to top-ranked Lincoln Christian, the Chargers were eager to get back on the field and fight for their first victory of the season. Lumbering down 122nd Street, the visiting John Marshall Bears were also looking for their first win of the season.

Over the first half of the first quarter, both offenses struggled to move the ball back and forth across midfield. Penalties and sacks plagued them both. With John Marshall penalized after breaching the red zone, junior linebacker Terrance Johnson cut in front of a crossing Bears receiver to grab an interception and a bit of momentum for the Chargers.

Junior quarterback Conner Quintero found Boston Fuller in open for a 15-yard pass in the John Marshall zone defense, and then connected with Barrett Travis out of the backfield for a big pick-up to advance deep into Bears territory. Travis then rumbled down the sideline inside the 10-yard line, but a penalty on the run set the Chargers back. Another penalty, a sack, and an incomplete pass brought up a 4th and 27. Head coach Brett Bogert '05 decided to play the field position game and Quintero punted one in to the end zone for a Bears touchback.

The Hall's defensive line pushed John Marshall back into a third and 25 situation from their own 5 yard line as the first quarter ended in a scoreless deadlock. To open the second quarter, Fuller made a ferocious hit on an intended receiver as the ball arrived to force an incompletion and punt. The Chargers took over at the Bears 25-yard line after a 20-yard punt.

After Travis picked up a first down on back-to-back wildcat formation runs, sophomore quarterback Teagan Lawson entered the game for his first snap of the season. He wasted no time showing off his arm, as he found Johnson for a touchdown in the corner of the end zone. Graham Murphy powered in a 2-point conversion run to give The Hall an 8-0 lead, less than a minute into the second quarter.

The Chargers tried an onside kick, but the Bears pounced on the ball. Oddly, they chose to take a penalty and have the Chargers kick off again. Beau Butler booted it deep, and the Bears started at their own 31 instead of the 47 yard line. Travis made a tackle for loss, and then Andrick Golden registered his first sack of the season, and Rhett Davis batted a pass incomplete to force another John Marshall punt.

With the ball at the Bears 30 yard-line, Lawson dropped back and found lengthy wide receiver Tripp Thomas down the sideline, and the freshman got a toe down after a leaping catch to score again. The extra point snap was low and bobbled, resulting in a failed attempt and a 14-0 lead.

With about seven minutes until halftime, the Bears found themselves in the red zone again. Facing fourth and goal from the six, the Bears completed a pass in the flat, but Fuller made a great one-on-one tackle to force a turnover on downs. The teams went into Homecoming halftime with the Chargers holding a two score advantage.

Johnson took the second half kickoff and weaved forward, following great blocking, for 38 yards into Bears territory. After more penalties stopped the Chargers, John Marshall's offense moved the ball back across midfield.

Midway through the third quarter, Travis blindsided the quarterback with a huge hit to dislodge the ball and Golden chased it down and recovered near midfield.

Returning to action at quarterback, Quintero found sophomore receiver Porter England over the middle for a big gain, and then Davis on the short out for a power gain to the Bears 34 yard line. A few of plays later, the junior gunslinger rifled a 26-yard shot to Fuller at the back of the end zone for another touchdown that stretched the lead to 21-0.

With all the momentum going into the 4th quarter, the Chargers continued to fight hard. After a bobbled snap was recovered by Hillman Browne at the Bears 10 yard-line, Lawson rolled right and connected with Fuller on a touch pass over the outstretched arms of the Bears' defender for a touchdown and a 28-0 lead.

With the Bears threatening to break the shutout, Travis dropped back into zone coverage, picked off a pass, and returned it 77 yards to ice a 35-0 victory.

All three quarterbacks on the roster saw action, but Conner Quintero and Teagan Lawson did most of the damage through the air. Quintero finished 8 of 12 for 124 yards and a touchdown, while Lawson provided the scoring punch on 6 of 8 for 80 yards and 3 scores. Fuller was the top target, hauling in 5 passes for 73 yards and 2 touchdowns; seven other Chargers caught at least one pass on the night. The Bears were able to stifle the Chargers' rushing attack, allowing just 75 yards on the ground. 

Defensively, mike linebacker Graham Murphy recorded 12 tackles, including 6 solo, to lead the Chargers. Starting for resting Jerrod Williams, Max Everett recorded 7 tackles. Hillman Browne (2) and Walker Wedel (1) led the sack attack. The Hall's defense forced 4 turnovers and scored on one. In special teams, Beau Butler was perfect on 3 kicked extra point attempts, while Quintero punted three times for a 40 yard average, including a 51-yarder and two that landed inside the John Marshall 20 yard-line.

Up next for Bogert's boys is a short road trip to face the Falcons. Millwood is coming off an impressive 63-0 Soul Bowl victory over the Douglass Trojans and is currently ranked 2nd in Class 2A. The Chargers have won the last five meetings (back to 2019) and hold an 8-6 overall advantage in the head-to-head series between the powerhouse programs. The game will be the final tune-up before both teams enter district play in Week 4.

After grinding out a win over John Marshall, the competition levels up against Millwood. The Chargers will need to play better to begin a new win streak.

Get in there and fight, fight, fight...and win that game!

Written by Luke Steelman '93
Photos by Sabrina Coleman & Ben Thomas '25