Christian Liberty's loss is North Shore's gain
North Shore Country Day walked off the field at Christian Liberty Academy on Saturday afternoon with reason to celebrate: The Raiders won their first game since Sept. 27, 2007, defeating the host Chargers 36-15.
"We both have been struggling," North Shore coach James Deuble said. "We knew if we could throw the ball, we could run it."
North Shore didn't waste any time establishing its passing game. On their first play from scrimmage, quarterback Trey Surpless hit David Deuble deep for a 69-yard touchdown.
"We started out strong on defense and got a stop," said Surpless, who also plays defense. "Then the touchdown set the tone."
North Shore Country Day's duo was not shy about hooking up again. They combined for two more touchdowns through the air in the first quarter, one on a 12-yard pass and the other for 17 yards.
"We were motivated and pumped up," said Deuble.
In the second quarter, Christian Liberty scored a safety when a snap went over the head of North Shore County's punter and out of the end zone.
The second half started well for North Shore, as Zach March took the kickoff and wove his way all the way for an 80-yard touchdown return.
The Chargers then responded with some offense of their own, as David Sotomayor scored from 1-yard out sending an eruption through the home stands.
Christian Liberty responded again after a North Shore touchdown when offensive lineman Dan Calloway fell on a fumble for the final score of the game.
Though a victory continues to elude the Chargers, coach Jim Calkins continues to be happy with the effort of his team every week.
"We have a lot to build on," he said. "We've had good games."
Calkins was particularly happy with the discipline his team showed. Christian Liberty was assessed only 4 penalties.
"We had trouble with penalties in practice this week, but I guess the push-ups helped," Calkins said jokingly.
The game marked season-bests for both points scored and allowed by Christian Liberty.
Sotomayor thought it was the team's best game of the season.
"We all tried our best," he said. "We didn't have many penalties, the line played well and we just played hard."