When The Hall and The 'Wood collide, fireworks are sure to fly.

The series between the two schools has been very competitive, with the Chargers entering this 2024 edition of the classic holding a narrow 8-6 historical advantage. The last time the Falcons were able to take out the Chargers, they did so in a comeback led by Marcus Major and crew in the opening week of the 2018 season; the Chargers went on to run the table en route to a Class 3A state championship.

While there have been some blowouts at "The Pop" in recent years, things are often much tighter when the Chargers travel to L.W. Good Stadium. This year's showdown did not disappoint.

On the first play from scrimmage, senior tailback Barrett Travis busted through the line and outran the Falcon pursuit down the sideline to score a 64 yard touchdown run and give the Chargers early momentum.

The Falcons clawed right back, as star quarterback Schuyler Turbull connected with Xzavier Thompson behind Heritage Hall's defense for a 68-yard touchdown strike. The Falcons tacked on a two-point conversion run to take an 8-7 advantage.

After both teams had shown off their speed, the game became more of a grind. The Chargers scored next, on an 11 yard toss from Conner Quintero to Boston Fuller crossing the back of the end zone. With five minutes left in the first quarter, The Hall held a 14-8 advantage.

However, before the quarter could end, the Falcons answered again. This time, facing fourth down and two from the Charger 43 yard line and just over a minute left, Turnbull caught the aggressive defense off guard with a long screen pass to Anthony Keys, Jr., who rumbled inside the Charger five yard line. On the next play, bruising running back Cameron Carter took the direct snap and broke through the arms of Crawford Browne in the backfield and lunged into the end zone. With the Falcons trying for two again, Kline Reuter blitzed through the line and made a huge stop to keep the game knotted at 14 points apiece.

After the barrage of offensive output in the first frame, the next quarter was more of a defensive stalemate. The Falcons managed to move the ball on the final drive of the half, but after it stalled inside the Charger 10 with time running out, they spiked the ball to stop the clock, and kicked a 26 yard field goal to take a narrow 17-14 lead into the locker room.

Millwood came out throwing as the second half began, but the Charger defensive line kept the pressure on and the Falcons punted back to The Hall. After a Charger drive stalled with an interception, junior speedster Jerrod Williams, Jr., broke away on a 22 yard punt return down to the Millwood 25 yard line.

Following the turnover by Quintero, head coach Brett Bogert '05 decided to give sophomore quarterback Teagan Lawson a chance to pilot the Charger offense. Travis and Graham Murphy combined on a pair of power runs, and Lawson connected with Travis on a rollout for a first down reception. After a few more power runs, Heritage Hall faced a fourth and goal from the four yard line. Lawson took the snap, rolled to his left, and floated an easy pass to a wide open Carter Knowles in the end zone. The Chargers reclaimed the lead 21-17 with the end of the third quarter just a couple of minutes away.

The Falcons went back to a play that worked in the first quarter hoping for a quick response, but this time Turnbull's deep pass for Thompson was hawked by Williams who got great position and outjumped the receiver to snag an interception at the 10 yard line.

The Charger offense sputtered though, and Quintero was forced to punt it back to the Falcons to start the fourth quarter. After a personal foul penalty derailed Millwood's momentum, the home team punted and pinned The Hall deep again.

On the next drive, the Charger offense got things rolling again. Quintero connected with Knowles to move the ball past midfield. Sticking to the ground game and benefiting from a couple of Millwood penalties, Heritage churned some clock and moved closer to the end zone. Threatening in the red zone with under five minutes to play, Murphy pounded the ball down to the 12 yard line and Fuller grabbed a quick pass to push the ball down to the eight yard line. After Travis surged forward for a fourth-and-one conversion, the clock sat at under three minutes to play.

With everyone expecting the physical tailback Travis to get even more carries near the goal line, Quintero pulled the option read and darted toward the left pylon. The quarterback lowered a shoulder and twisted through contact to squeeze his way into the end zone for a 28-17 Charger lead.

The home team, spurred on by their spirited band and cheering crowd, was not about to give in though. The Falcons moved the ball as Turnbull scrambled and found Thompson on a pair of passes. Then the elusive quarterback darted through the defensive line and to the 15 yard line with about one minute to play. Turnbull then found Keys on a streak out of the backfield for a touchdown to cut the lead to 28-23. The Falcon quarterback was hit late after the throw, so after Carter powered in the 2-point conversion to trim it down to a three-point lead, the Falcons would attempt an onside kickoff from The Hall's 45-yard line.

After the first attempt was fielded safely by Canon Bronson, an offside penalty forced a re-kick. On the second attempt, Bronson was able to secure the onside once again.

Millwood burned all three remaining timeouts and stopped the Charger rushing attack, forcing Heritage to punt with 14 seconds on the clock. The snap was high, but Quintero fielded it and attempted to hit a driving punt. However, the Falcons blocked the punt and recovered the loose ball after a mad scramble.

With five seconds left and possession on the Charger 25 yard line, the Falcons opted to try for a game-winning touchdown. After an incomplete pass and a face-mask penalty on Millwood, the Chargers dialed up a 6-man rush and Murphy wrapped up the sack of Turnbull to ice the victory.

Quintero led the passing attack on the night, completing 14 of 23 attempts for 179 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Lawson was able to change the game in favor of The Hall on his one drive at quarterback, throwing a touchdown and completing 3 of 4 passes. The top targets in the game were Fuller with five receptions for 63 yards and a score, Travis with 5 for 38 yards, and Knowles with 2 grabs for 38 yards and a touchdown. The workhouse running the ball was Travis. The senior carried the ball 23 times for 137 yards and touchdown. 

Defensively, linebackers Kline Reuter and Walker Wedel led the way with 9 tackles each. Reuter, Murphy, Travis, and Browne tallied sacks, while Williams had the lone takeaway on the evening. Beau Butler was perfect on extra points and booted his first kickoff touchback of the season.

Up next for the Chargers is a rematch against last year's first round playoff victim, North Rock Creek. Expect a physical game out of the Cougars as they'll be hungry for revenge in the District opener. The Chargers carry an astonishing 73-game District win streak into the contest.

Onward, Chargers!

Written by Luke Steelman '93
Photos by Tina Walker