Every Chaparral High football player wore the same No. 4 jersey during pregame warmups on a rainy Friday night, showing their emotional commitment to honor linebacker Connor Rios, who died a week ago. It has forced everyone associated with the program to reflect on mental health.
Coach Andrew Ramer has been guiding players through uncharted territory. Last week players were crying in the middle of their first-round Southern Section Division 2 playoff win. This time, in a 63-7 quarterfinal dismantling of host Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, Chaparral players continued to take small steps forward while focused on, “Do it for #4.”
“I think we were able to breathe a little bit this week,” Ramer said. “We kind of decompressed as a program. We have the ceremony of life tomorrow. We’re starting to see the beautiful things in life. There was a lot of sadness and grief last week. We’re just trying to play and honor him in the right way.”
Notre Dame (8-4) had six turnovers — four fumbles and two interceptions. Chaparral (8-4), almost back at full strength after missing quarterback Dane Weber for the first five games of the season, has a group of offensive players capable of competing against any defense in the Southland.
Weber, a California commit, passed for 228 yards and one touchdown and ran for 133 yards and one touchdown. Michael Farinas, a UCLA commit, ran for three touchdowns, scored on a two-point conversion, rushed for 79 yards and caught five passes for 65 yards. Eli Woodard, a Miami commit, caught a 37-yard touchdown pass and had three receptions for 96 yards.
Chaparral’s secondary was effective covering Notre Dame’s receivers and made life difficult for freshman quarterback West Dunton. Sophomore Kayden Dominguez returned an interception 12 yards for a touchdown and freshman Noah Bond also had an interception. The Pumas scored 63 consecutive points after Notre Dame scored the game’s first touchdown on a 63-yard run by Noel Washington.
Twice Notre Dame lost fumbles at the Chaparral two-yard line. One was recovered by linebacker Logan Coleman, who carried out a No. 4 jersey during the coin flip to start the game and considers Rios “a brother.”
“Last week was especially hard just getting over things,” Coleman said. “This week we’ve had time to think about it, come together as a team and truly rally behind each other. Tomorrow we have practice, get everybody together, have a team meeting and then later in the day, we have a celebration of life.”
Chaparral was on the cusp of being a Division 1 playoff team but the Southern Section’s computer rankings had the Pumas at No. 9, so they get to ram through Division 2 with their offense.
Farinas’ ability to do everything — run, catch passes, block and make defenders miss — puts him in an elite category. It means at some point in games, his talent can help create a mismatch. San Juan Hills will be the next opponent trying to stop Farinas in the semifinals. Chaparral has scored 56 and 63 points in its two playoff wins.
“Wherever I’m needed, I’m going to do what I can do to help my team win,” Farinas said.
Chaparral has a lot to play for and it’s an emotional time as players celebrate Rios’ life during an event on Saturday.
“We’re having a lot of conversations as a program,” Ramer said.
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