On a dreary Friday night for football, Chugiak's football team shined bright on the Mustangs' home field with a 41-7 defeat of Dimond at Tom Huffer Sr. Stadium in Chugiak.
Kenny Lee and Ben Stewart each had two rushing touchdowns for the Mustangs, who cruised after taking a 27-0 lead at halftime in a game played in a constant downpour.
Chugiak improved to 2-2 overall and 1-2 in the Cook Inlet Conference. Dimond dropped to 2-2 overall and 1-2 in the CIC.
"This is huge for us, morale is so high right now," said Chugiak senior James Young, whose 52-yard fumble return for a touchdown was the crown jewel in a sparkling defensive performance.
Chugiak outgained Dimond 294-216 and held the Lynx to just 34 rushing yards in a smothering first half that was all Mustangs.
"The defense did a great job," said Chugiak coach Roger Spackman. "They've really come a long ways."
Chugiak's special teams set up the first touchdown of the game, a 4-yard Lee run that capped a seven-play, 29-yard drive. The short field was set up by a 58-yard Tyler Tulare punt that pinned the Lynx on their 1-yard line. Dimond was forced to punt out of its own end zone, a 27-yard effort that set up the short field.
Lee finished with a game-high 100 yards on 19 carries. Spackman had high praise for the powerful junior, who moved from cornerback to running back this season after hitting the weights hard during the offseason.
"He just played a man's game tonight," Spackman said.
The Mustangs piled on the points in the second quarter, with quarterback Stewart leading the charge. Stewart hit Derryk Snell for a 35-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-14 with 9:55 left in the half.
Dimond quarterback Jeremiah Maga was intercepted by Tevin Cormier on the second play of the Lynx's ensuing drive, and the Mustangs cashed in when Stewart kept the ball on the option and weaved in for an 11-yard score late in the half.
Chugiak owned the line of scrimmage all night, and Lynx coach Chris Borst said Chugiak's play in the trenches was the difference.
"They were doing a good job of attacking the line of scrimmage," Borst said. "Their offensive and defensive lines played really well."
Stewart finished off the first half scoring with his second touchdown run, a 2-yard run that came one play after a 36-yard run by Nathan Regina.
Chugiak owned the first half on both sides of the ball, racking up 193 yards of offense while limiting the Lynx to an anemic 58 yards, forcing three Dimond punts and an interception.
Dimond finally showed signs of life in the third quarter after forcing a Chugiak fumble deep in Lynx territory on the Mustangs' first drive of the half. The maroon and gold marched 75 yards on six plays, capping the drive with a 9-yard run by J.J. Tanuvasa. Tanuvasa accounted for 64 yards on the drive, including a 43-yard sprint that was the key play.
Lee's second scoring run, a 13-yarder with 8:15 left in the fourth quarter gave Chugiak a 34-7 lead.
The Mustangs then got some icing on the cake when Young stole an errant Dimond handoff in the backfield and raced 52 yards untouched to the end zone for his first varsity touchdown.
"I was so happy and out of breath. It's a great feeling," he said.
Borst said his team, which was penalized 14 times for 135 yards, committed two turnovers and had a player ejected, simply made too many mistakes.
"We've just got to get back to some fundamentals," he said.
Borst shouldered some of the blame for his team's poor performance, saying the coaching staff didn't prepare Dimond's players well enough.
"I thought we were ready, but maybe not," he said.
Next up for Dimond is a clash with No. 1 Bartlett at 7 p.m. Friday at Dimond Alumni Field. Chugiak faces Service on Saturday, Sept. 13 at 2:30 p.m.
Spackman said Friday's big win gives his team a lot of confidence heading into the second half of the season.
"This was huge for us to get our first conference win," he said. "I'm very pleased."
Reach reporter Matt Tunseth at 257-4335 or mtunseth@alaskadispatch.com
Dimond 0 0 7 0 — 7
Chugiak 7 20 0 14 — 41
First Quarter
Chugiak – Lee 4 run (Tulare kick), 1:27
Second Quarter
Chugiak – Snell 35 pass from Stewart (kick blocked), 9:55
Chugiak – Stewart 11 run (Tulare kick), 5:14
Chugiak – Stewart 2 run (Tulare kick), 1:37
Third Quarter
Dimond – Tanuvasa 9 run (Brunell kick), 6:26
Fourth Quarter
Chugiak – Lee 13 run (Tulare kick), 8:15
Chugiak – Young 52 fumble recovery (Tulare kick), 5:26
RUSHING — Dimond: Tanuvasa 10-74, Vasai 10-70, Brunell 2-24, Pilcher 2-5, Schell 2-2, Maga 9-(-14). Chugiak: Lee 19-100, Stewart 14-88, Regina 2-38, Lekites 11-13, Cormier 1-11, Williams 1-6, Harris 1-4.
PASSING — Dimond: Maga 6-16-1—55, Pilcher 0-2-0—0. Chugiak: Stewart 1-6-0—35.
RECEIVING — Dimond: Ra. Zavala 3-31, Brunell 1-10, Tanuvasa 1-9, 1-5. Chugiak: Snell 1-26.