It’s been nearly eight months since Matt Lewis took over as the football coach at McClintock, but it took until last Thursday for his players to really buy in to the offensive scheme that was so successful in his tenure as offensive coordinator with Saguaro.

The varsity players were on hand as the team’s JV defeated Perry 34-0 despite having a much smaller roster, and it was then that the Chargers started to think that the offense was potent enough to help them compete against anybody on the schedule.

“The varsity kids saw the offense live against (an opponent) for the first time, and they started to gain confidence,” Lewis said. “We’ve got to get to the point where the kids understand it well enough to where nobody can count us out. I’m constantly psychologically working with them. We might not win, but we’ve got a shot. The key for us is to keep building that momentum.”

McClintock defeated Tempe 47-14 on Friday night, with quarterback Xavier Gomez throwing for 292 yards, rushing for 95 and accounting for six touchdowns.

The Chargers will get their first big test of the year against a talented Cesar Chavez team. The Champions routed La Joya last week and are ranked in the Tribune’s top-10. McClintock only won two games last season, but with games against Camelback and Willow Canyon following this one, the Chargers could be 4-0 heading into a matchup with Chaparral if they can beat Cesar Chavez.

Tags: Matt Lewis, McClintock, Xavier Gomez