Enewally returns to Gahr’s lineup as Gladiators rout Cerritos again

By Loren Kopff

Despite a very brief sluggish start, Gahr senior wide receiver Patrick Enewally bounced back and had a near perfect season debut. Returning from a recent trip to Africa, Enewally caught four passes for 84 yards and scored three times as Gahr blasted city rival Cerritos 53-0 last Thursday night for its eighth straight victory over the Dons.

Enewally caught touchdown passes of 26 and 32 yards respectively from senior Caleb Baumann in a span of 2:48 in the first quarter. He would score his third touchdown, this one of 20 yards, on the second play of the second quarter to increase the score to 26-0.

“I was pretty anxious,” Enewally said. “If feels good to finally be back and get all of the nerves out. After all of that waiting, I felt bad [that I missed the first two games] but I got all of the jitters out.”

With representatives from Boise State University on the Gahr sidelines to take a look at Enewally, he caught the first pass of the game for six yards. Other than a 34-yard pitch to senior running back Alex Kline, Baumann struggled on the opening drive, throwing three incomplete passes and an interception to senior defensive back Brandon Choung in the end zone. That would be the lone highlight for the Dons as Gahr (2-1) would score on its next seven drives, six of them lasting under 52 seconds. Kline’s 10-yard run late in the first quarter would increase the score to 20-0 and he would add an eight-yard score three minutes into the second quarter to make it a 33-0 contest.

“The first play I started out slow,” Enewally said. “I knew I should have taken it for a touchdown. I knew I had to pick [my game] up.”

“We came out flat,” said Gahr head coach Greg Marshall. “We knew we were a better team.”

The first half’s scoring would conclude with a three-yard run from Baumann and a 22-yard pass from Baumann to junior wide receiver Christian Pabico. But just as explosive as Gahr’s offense was, the defense was even better. Gahr forced Cerritos to punt six times in the first half, hold the Dons on downs and recovered a first quarter fumble. The new look Cerritos offense, which now features the double wing set, was held to three yards on 28 plays in the first half. Cerritos didn’t get a first down until the last drive of the half and got as far as its own 42-yard line.

The second half was played under the running clock and the Dons had their best drive of the game, picking up 14 yards on seven plays but could only move from its own 27-yard line to its own 43-yard line. After a Cerritos punt, Kline picked up 59 yards on his fifth and final carry of the game. That was followed by a 23-yard touchdown pass from Baumann to sophomore wide receiver William Latham. Baumann, a transfer from Downey Calvary Chapel, finished the night with 16 of 26 for 300 yards including a perfect seven of seven performance for 140 yards in the second quarter.
“He’s still not throwing the ball soon enough,” Marshall said. “He’s holding it a little bit longer. But, he’s not turning it over. He’s throwing it to the right guy but not soon enough.”

Latham caught four passes for 56 yards while Kline racked up 119 yards on the ground. Cerritos was led by senior running back Eric Hall, who gained 16 yards on 10 carries. Since the Dons last defeated the Gladiators in 2004, a 6-0 decision, they have been outscored 343-20 by their city rivals. Before Gahr’s recent dominance, it was Cerritos which owned the city, winning six straight games from 1999-2004 and outscoring the Gladiators 192-76.
“Yes, it’s still a rivalry because they’re down the street and they’re still in the [ABC Unified School] district,” Enewally said. “Even though we’re obviously better than them, we still have to come night in and night out and do our job.”
“We don’t get that feeling very often,” Marshall said of the slow start. “Most of the time in league we’re good. We have to give it everything we’ve got every game or else we’re going to lose.”
Gahr will host Artesia tonight while Cerritos looks for its first win of the season when it travels to Ocean View.