Despite the rainy weather, it was all smiles for the Chaminade Flyers. The Flyers treated the Alumni Weekend crowd to a perfect performance on Saturday, dominating Holy Trinity, 45-0.

"To do it on Alumni Weekend is special. We want to show our alumni that Chaminade football is back and we are committed to excellence," said first-year head coach Tom Claro, himself a member of the class of 1992. "We know how important it is and how this program represents all those people who have come before us; it's really an honor." 

The Flyers entered Saturday's game with a record of 3-1, coming off a 24-14 win over St. John the Baptist. Holy Trinity, clearly the underdog in this matchup, sported a record of 0-4 after a heartbreaking 12-7 defeat at the hands of St. Francis Prep. 

It was a disastrous start for Holy Trinity. On their opening drive - on fourth down - the long snap went over the head of punter Jace D'Jon, resulting in a major loss of yardage. Chaminade took over at the Holy Trinity 7-yard line and cashed in on the very next play, as quarterback Tim Murphy bulldozed his way into the end zone on a draw play, putting the Flyers up, 7-0. 

After a Holy Trinity punt, the two teams traded interceptions. On the Flyers' second drive, Murphy did not spot defensive back Ian Williams sitting in a zone defense and threw the ball right at him on a third-down play. However, the Flyers stole it back when sophomore Anthony Trapani jumped a screen pass to make a spectacular diving interception.

The Flyers once again turned a Titan turnover into points, as Murphy used his legs to tally another touchdown, this one from three yards out. He also added a 40-yard run earlier in the drive. 

After another Holy Trinity punt, the Chaminade offense went on a long, methodical drive highlighted by long runs from Peter Gerbasi and a tremendous catch along the sideline by Peter Braz, who dragged his feet to stay in bounds and get the first down. The drive ended with another Murphy touchdown run, making it 21-0 with just over 10 minutes to go in the second quarter. 

Holy Trinity continued to struggle throughout the second quarter. On their next drive, Chaminade defensive back Tristan Lombardo made a leaping interception along the near sideline, the third Holy Trinity turnover of the first half. Two plays later, Gerbasi ripped off a 57-yard touchdown run, putting himself over 100 yards on the ground in just over 15 minutes of game time. Chaminade added a Justin Jones field goal at the end of the half to make it 31-0. 

The Flyers took the ball right down the field and scored to start the second half. Peter Cwietniewicz punctuated the drive with a 35-yard touchdown run to make it 38-0. On the ensuing Holy Trinity drive, Louis D'Agostino continued his outstanding defensive season by forcing a fumble. Luca Smith plucked the loose ball out of the air and used his speed to take it to the end zone for the scoop n' score, closing the scoring at 45-0.

Chaminade had a dominant ground attack all afternoon, totaling 282 yards. Murphy finished with 52 yards, Gerbasi had 117, and Cwietniewicz added 72.

"Our big guys did a great job blocking, and on all my runs I had the running back going out and leading the way," explained Murphy. "They all did a great job."

The Chaminade defense continued to shine, allowing just nine rushing yards to the Titans. The Flyers have now surrendered just 22 points over the past four games, an average of 5.5 per contest.

"The defense played perfectly," raved Murphy. "They gave us great field position almost every time - there's nothing more I could ask for."

With the victory, Chaminade improved to 4-1 on the season and will continue their league schedule next Sunday at Gold Star Stadium against Archbishop Stepinac. As for the Titans (0-5), their next matchup is a visit to Xavier next Saturday night.