Shell Chiefs scalp Verizon Nitro

After sitting idle in the two weeks since their opening day win over the Miller Barbarians, Shell Chiefs returned to the CPA Airport field Saturday afternoon well rested and more prepared as they easily disconnected Verizon Nitro, 40-8, in the second week of action in the Commonwealth Football League.

Led by quarterback Clas Ngeskebei, the Chiefs dominated the Nitro defense, combining for 250 yards of total offense, compared to an overall 50-yard output from Verizon.

Ngeskebei kept the winning track by tossing a pair of touchdowns, including a 36-yarder to Luka Tapua’ialupe en route to completing 10 of 18 passes for 131 yards, and an interception. While Ngeskebei has been in a class of his own the last couple of contests, it was the resurgence of the Chiefs running game that made the difference in the win.

The two-headed ground attack of Stanley Iakopo and Jeff Boyer bullied the Nitro defense for a combined 122 yards on 13 carries. Iakopo scored two touchdowns, rushed for 66 yards on six carries for an 11-yard average, and caught a pass for 10 yards, while Boyer crossed the goal line twice as well, churned out 56 yards on seven touches, and added a two-point conversion to boot.

Ngeskebei spread the ball around to six receivers overall, completing passes to Bryant Moors, Tapua’ialupe, Kelvin Fitial, Mark Wallace, Iakopo, and Charleston Aiken. His favorite target of the day once again was Moors. Moors brought in three receptions for 33 yards, including a 21-yard catch and run. Wallace also reeled in three passes for 24 yards, and Tapua’ialupe had all of his 36 yards on the touchdown catch. Fitial grabbed a pass for 25 yards, and Aiken had a 3-yard pickup as well

“We feel pretty good. We were only able to score 14 points in the second half against the Barbarians last time out, so it was nice to see our offense put some more points on the board. Our defense gets us through the games and keeps us in there, but our offense has to make the plays. It was just all one team working well together today,” said assistant coach Ramon Diaz.

It was a total team effort by the Chiefs, as the defensive unit limited the Nitro to just 86 yards passing, and suffocated the Verizon running game, allowing –36 yards on the ground. The Chiefs won most of the battles in the trenches, recovered four fumbles, and bruised the Nitro quarterbacks for 11 sacks.

Paul Camacho led all tacklers with two sacks, six tackles, four assists, and a fumble recovery. Chico Reyes was also a member of the two-sack club, while Juan Kapileo and Fa’aea Talalemotu each had a solo sack.

Just about every member of the Chiefs’ defense had a piece of a Nitro QB, but Nick Reyes was the only one who was able to pick off a pass.

The Shell ‘D’ allowed Verizon quarterback Jeremiah Guerrero four completions in 10 attempts for just 86 yards in the air. Guerrero scrambled 18 times for 18 yards, but “J Boy” amazed onlookers as he ran about 50 yards on a scramble that yielded only 15 yards. Guerrero left jock straps strewn across the field as he twisted and juked around Chiefs defenders like Mike Vick, or an old school Randall Cunningham.

The Nitro now have a couple of weeks to rest up and regroup before they meet up with the Miller Barbarians on Saturday, Oct. 16, and coach Andre Winston will have some time to analyze the program and make any needed changes. As for now, Winston is not making any excuses for his team’s performance.

“I failed the team. I didn’t get them prepared well enough for the Chiefs. We will practice light for the next week, and put on the pads the week before the game, but we still need to focus on our basic plays. Our team has a lot of heart.”

The heart-pounding action of the CFL continues next Sunday, Oct. 10, when the visiting Miller Barbarians make their return to the CPA Airport field to seek revenge upon the undefeated Shell Chiefs at 1pm.