Chabot Looks To Beat Heat, West Hills

The Chabot football team will look for its second consecutive win when it travels to sweltering West Hills-Coalinga on Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is 1 p.m.

During an awkward COVID-19 season across the board, the Gladiators’ opponent will be playing its first game … in Week 4 for Chabot. Coalinga has a weather forecast of 97 degrees.

“We’ll see how we handle the (heat), that’s the main thing,” Chabot coach Eric Fanene said. “We have three games, they don’t have three games, so we should be in better condition than them. The heat is probably the equalizer there.”

West Hills’ scheduled first two games were postponed due to COVID-19 issues which has depleted the roster.

The Gladiators (1-2), who have been battling numerous injuries, delivered a stout defensive effort in a 23-13 win over visiting Siskiyous last week. Defensive lineman Deonte Bridges, of Colorado Springs, Colo., and linebacker Aavani Bailey out of Hayward High led the charges. Bridges had four sacks and five tackles for loss.

Chabot center Pablo Rico of Lahaina has been a stalwart, and Amari Tidwell (Dublin) was the workhorse running back against Siskiyous with 76 yards and a touchdown.

Wideout Jamal Lavallier (Clayton Valley) was another bright spot with four receptions for 77 yards and a touchdown against Siskiyous. Lavallier's 55-yard TD reception from quarterback Kekoa Turangan in the second quarter, followed by Andrew McGinty's kick, gave Chabot a 23-0 lead.

Fanene says they’re taking things one game at a time, day-by-day in COVID times.