Sammy O'Brien is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication student assigned to cover Westwood High School for AZPreps365.com.

 

Westwood High School fell 28-8 to Cesar Chavez High Schoolin a conference game Thursday, October 17.

The Warriors were looking to bounce back off a bye week and a blowout loss to No. 10-ranked Mountain View.

Cesar Chavez got out to a fast start after recovering a fumble, as sophomore running back Pharis Jenkins exploded for a 56-yard touchdown to put the Champions up 7-0.

The Champions extended their lead midway through the second quarter when senior wide receiver Peyton Stokes caught a touchdown over a defender to put Cesar Chavez up 14-0. 

The Warrior defense struggled to get off the field in the first half, allowing three 4th-down conversions. One of those included a 4th-and-7, which eventually led to a Champion touchdown at the end of the half.

Westwood’s offense struggled in the first half with multiple mistakes, including a fumble, turnover on downs and a dropped pass that would have likely led to a touchdown.

“We ran the ball really good," said sophomore left tackle Samson Tengei. "There's small things we need to fix up, like looking for the linebacker going to second level. Our pass pro was amazing today. I don't think we let up any sacks on pass pro.”

After forcing a three-and-out on the first drive of the second half, Westwood quarterback Elliot Reed led the Warriors down the field for their first score of the game. Preston Leavitt found the end zone on a catch and run. The Warriors ran a fake extra point attempt and converted, making the score 21-8. 

On the recurring kickoff, Westwood went for a squib kick, sending the ball off the chest of a Cesar Chavez player, where Leavitt was able to fall on it. 

“We always tell him on our squibs to kick it right at the frontline guy and it worked out for us,” Head Coach Brandon Large said. 

Westwood fumbled a snap later on in the third quarter where Cesar Chavez was able to fall on it. Westwood’s defense held strong, forcing a turnover on downs in a goal-to-go situation to end the third quarter. 

“We just made a bunch of small mistakes," junior Preston Atwood said. "We had a bunch of injuries, like Samson said, small mistakes, how to clean some small stuff up.”

Reed went down with a knee injury early in the fourth quarter, and the Warriors turned to freshman backup Gavin Gleave.

Coach Large added that Reed should be good to go next week against Desert Ridge. 

Westwood struggled to get anything going offensively after throwing consecutive interceptions on their next two drives.

Westwood goes on the road next week to take on Desert Ridge (0-6) in another conference showdown.

“We just got to make plays when they're there. We had two turnovers which hurt us. The first drive, we're inside the 30, and fumbled," added Coach Large. “And then another drive, we fumble again.”