WESTMINSTER — With El Toro sophomore quarterback Jaxson Algaze making the throws to a pair of playmaking wide receivers in Bryce Thacker and Henry Maffetore, the Chargers were able to overcome a three-touchdown deficit for a 42-21 victory over Marina in a nonleague game Thursday at Westminster High School.
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Algaze completed 26 of 34 passes for 338 yards and five touchdowns while the Chargers (2-0) shut out the Vikings (0-2) in the second half.
“This week was a real point of emphasis to make those connections on those passes and the slants and everything,” El Toro coach Peter Lofthouse said. “And so, it really showed in the second half.”
Through two games, Algaze has thrown for 555 yards and five touchdowns as the Chargers came from behind to win for the second week in a row. They defeated Tesoro 34-15 in Week 0.
The sophomore’s favorite target against the Vikings was Thacker, who had 11 receptions for 130 yards and four touchdowns. Maffetore finished with 11 catches for 80 yards and a touchdown.
Marina took a 21-0 lead by converting three takeaways into touchdowns.
Gage Rinaldi recovered a fumble on a sack of Algaze and Ben Ramos scored on a 17-yard run on the ensuing drive.
Hudson Kent then returned an interception for a 70-yard touchdown to make the score 14-0, and Maverick Coverkick made it 21-0 on a 1-yard quarterback sneak four plays after a fumble recovery from Broden Donaldson.
“We’ve done some things that were uncharacteristic,” Lofthouse said. “We dropped passes that we shouldn’t have dropped. We had a fumble that shouldn’t have happened. We made a bad read on a pick-six that led to them getting a score.”
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The Chargers got back into it with two clean scoring drives in the second quarter — the first a 66-yard drive capped by Ethan Rodriguez’s 1-yard touchdown run.
The short scoring run was set up by a spectacular one-handed catch along the sideline on the previous play by Matt Arroyo.
Arroyo also contributed on the next scoring drive with receptions of 39 and 22 yards, setting up a 5-yard touchdown pass from Algaze to Thacker to make the score 21-14 at the half.
The Chargers’ defense kept up the momentum in the third quarter.
Marina received the second-half kickoff but was held to three-and-out by the Chargers’ defense.
The Chargers made the score 21-21 on Algaze’s 18-yard touchdown pass to Thacker.
On the ensuing drive, the Vikings gambled on a fourth-and-5 play from their own 40 and gave the Chargers a short field when they failed to convert.
That set up a 31-yard touchdown pass from Algaze to Maffetore to give the Chargers their first lead.
From there, El Toro never looked back.
“I was really proud of our guys in the second quarter when we were able to move past it and really become a more resilient football team,” Lofthouse said.
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