Chaminade Takes 5th on Strength of Stand

It was fourth down on the one-yard line late in the first half. Chaminade High knew the ball would be going to tailback Lerato Simelane of Harvard-Westlake.

The question was, could the Eagles stop him?

First, free safety Eric Zdenek met Lerato head on. Then cornerback Scott Hass joined him. Together, they drove him to the ground and saved a touchdown.

“That was the pivotal moment in the game,” Zdenek observed.

Inspired by their goal-line stand, the Eagles went on to secure a 21-7 nonleague victory Saturday, their fifth consecutive triumph.

Running back Dennis Mikulich scored on two fourth-quarter touchdown runs to break a 7-7 halftime tie.

Chaminade (5-2) received a solid performance from quarterback Jon Palacios, who completed 10 of 19 passes for 144 yards and ran for a touchdown. The Eagles lost running back Darrell Mason to a knee injury in the second quarter.

Simelane was Harvard-Westlake’s (3-4) sole offensive weapon. He rushed for 107 yards in 23 carries and threw an 82-yard touchdown pass to Richard Nicholson.