With 11 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Louis D'Agostino registered his third sack and second forced fumble, this one recovered by Luca Smith for the Flyers' second defensive score of the afternoon.
By the end of the contest, Chaminade had totaled 28 points (including three non-offensive touchdowns) off six Kellenberg turnovers en route to a 42-21 victory.
"I got to give credit to my other guys and the DBs, locking up all routes and giving me the time to get back there," said D'Agostino, who now has 13 sacks on the year.
The Flyers entered Saturday's contest hoping to register their first 6-1 start since 2012, gunning for their fourth straight win after a thrilling 30-22 victory over Archbishop Stepinac.
Kellenberg, meanwhile, hoped to turn the page after falling to Cardinal Hayes, the top team in the CHSFL, 27-7. Additionally, the Firebirds wished to replace the bad memories of the last time they played at Gold Star Stadium - in the quarterfinals of the 2022 CHSFL AAA playoffs, Chaminade defeated Kellenberg on a touchdown in the final seconds.
Chaminade displayed their dominant ground-n'-pound attack early. Quarterback Tim Murphy combined with running back Peter Gerbasi for 37 rushing yards on the opening Chaminade drive, and Murphy finished off the drive by punching it in on a draw play for his sixth rushing score of the season.
It didn't take long for the Flyers to add to their total, this time courtesy of the defense. D'Agostino knocked the ball loose from Kellenberg quarterback Dan Licari, and Thomas Jemison scooped it up and ran it back for the touchdown, making the score 14-0 just halfway through the first quarter.
The Flyers' special teams unit was not to be left out of the fun. After the defense forced a brief three-and-out, the Chaminade rush, led by Smith, blocked a Kellenberg punt, and Colin Lawless dove on it for the touchdown, making the score 21-0.
The troubling first half for Kellenberg continued on their next drive. On what seemed to have been a broken play, Chaminade defensive back Tristan Lombardo executed a fantastic diving interception, setting up the Flyers in prime field position.
They took advantage of said field position by adding another touchdown, as Murphy found wide receiver Brendan Park open on a drag route over the middle. Park did the work from there, juking every which way and tightroping down the sideline to increase Chaminade's lead to 28.
Kellenberg finally found a spark on their first drive of the second quarter. Quarterback Jack Durso and wide receiver Brendan Galla spurred the Firebird offense into the red zone, and Durso finished it off with a touchdown run. The Firebird defense fed off the energy by forcing a turnover on downs on the next Chaminade drive, as Murphy attempted to move the sticks on a draw, but he was stuffed at the line of scrimmage.
The Kellenberg offense began their next drive trying to execute a two-minute drill. Running back Christian DaCosta nearly broke off a huge run and later hurdled a Chaminade defender; however, the Flyers defense responded with a key interception by Dean Schmitt, thwarting Kellenberg's attempt to score again before halftime.
After the Kellenberg defense forced a quick three-and-out to start the third quarter, their offense went on the attack once again, aided by two major penalties committed by Chaminade. On second down from the Chaminade 14-yard line, Durso threw a perfect pass to wide receiver Jack Geoghan in the back left corner of the end zone to cut the Chaminade lead in half, 28-14.
Despite the Firebirds' comeback, the Chaminade offense was calm, cool, and collected on their next drive. Faced with a third down at their own 49, Murphy found tight end Brady Murray wide open, streaking down the right sideline for the touchdown. There was not a Firebird defender anywhere near Murray, who picked up his third touchdown of the season, to make the score 35-14.
"I took my one-step drop, looked to the original read, and saw the safety wasn't following Murray, so I knew I had him and I hit him," said Murphy, whose touchdown pass permanently flipped the momentum back to Chaminade.
Chaminade head coach Tom Claro certainly appreciated the significance of the score: "We went three-and-out in the beginning of the second half, but our defense stopped them, and we got the ball back and scored - that was huge, and I think that was the moment."
Jack Barkley added a late score in the fourth quarter for the Firebirds to bring the final score to 42-21.
The Flyers will now shift their sights to next Sunday afternoon's showdown against Cardinal Hayes (1:30 p.m. kickoff), while Kellenberg will try to rebound against Cliffside Park (NJ) on Friday night.
