Chabot punishes Shasta to open football season

By Tony Gonzalez, Special to Chabot Athletics

The Chabot College football team opened the 2018 campaign in impressive fashion against Shasta Saturday night at Gladiator Stadium.

The Gladiators got huge offensive games from a pair of freshmen while using a suffocating defense to come away with a 27-7 victory.

Quarterback Chayce Akaka, a newcomer from Maui (Hawaii), came in on Chabot's third possession and helped rev up the Gladiators offense, completing 10 of 16 attempts for 99 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 81 yards and a touchdown.

Isaiah Nehemiah-McGlown, who starred at Mt. Eden High, also fueled the balanced Chabot offense as he ran for a game-high 97 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Defensively, the Gladiators forced four turnovers and dominated the Knights all night. Chabot’s special teams added a pair of blocked kicks, which led to 13 points.

Consider it an eye-popping opener for second-year head coach Eric Fanene, who brought back in longtime head coach Danny Calcagno this season as offensive coordinator. Chabot finished 2-8 last season, but the program has a rich tradition.

"Opening the season with a win over a good opponent is huge as we showed this is a new team, new season," Fanene said. "Our defense, especially the line, and special teams played well."

Le-Anthony Grey collected 1 1/2 sacks and two tackles for losses. Eric Tafeamalii added 2 1/2 tackles for losses and batted down a pass while Demetri Munoz forced fumble, recovered a fumble and knocked down a pass as well. Chabot batted down four passes at the line of scrimmage.

The Gladiator offense struggled early, but outstanding special teams play, along with Akaka's presence put the Gladiators offense in gear.

Chabot blocked Shasta’s 47-yard field goal attempt, giving the Gladiators excellent possession at their own 45.

Akaka came in and promptly guided the offense down the field in six plays. McGlown capped the drive with a 12-yard run to produce a 7-0 Chabot lead with 4:14 left in the opening quarter.

Two possessions later, Chabot went back to work on a 59-yard, 12-play drive when Akaka connected with Khalil Robertson in the corner of the end zone to extend the lead to 14-0 with 6:01 left in the first half.

The Knights went three-and-out on their next possession before Ponove Veimau blocked the Shasta punt, giving Chabot the ball at the Knights 12.

On fourth-and-1 from the 3, McGlown bullied his way across the goal line as Chabot went into halftime up 20-0.

Akaka put the Knights in a deeper hole, scoring on an 11-yard keeper late in the third quarter as the Gladiators upped the margin to 27-7.

Shasta finally got on the board when Hoku-Lani Wickard found Patrick Blake for an 11-yard touchdown early in the fourth.

Da'Juan Johnson led the Gladiators with seven receptions for 62 yards. Ethan Owens picked off a pass in the fourth quarter for the Gladiators.

Despite the win, Fanene sees room for improvement.

"We left too many yards out there on penalties," Fanene added.

Chabot was penalized 11 times for 83 yards, including a holding penalty that wiped out a 56-yard touchdown run by Akaka.

The Gladiators next will travel to College of Sequoias in Visalia on Saturday, Sept. 8. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. Chabot's next home game is September 15 against San Joaquin Delta.