EL SEGUNDO HERALD December 21, 2017 Page 5 Chargers Lose Control of Division By Adam Serrao Right when the Los Angeles Chargers began to instill a bit of faith in their fan base, they traveled to Kansas City to take on the Chiefs and put up a dud. With a 30-13 loss at the hands of their rivals from the AFC West, the Chargers not only suffered their first defeat in their last five games played, but also gave up control of the division with just two games remaining. Leading up to this game--the team’s biggest matchup of the season--the Chargers had won seven of their last nine games and were being heralded as one of the best teams in the AFC. Now, with the loss, Los Angeles must win out if they want any chance at even making the playoffs at all. Arrowhead Stadium has its own way of making all opponents who take the field shrink down and gradually disappear. Just ask the Oakland Raiders, who flew to Kansas City the week before and yet failed to show up to the game once the play clock started ticking. Philip Rivers and company experienced a similar fate last Saturday night at Arrowhead. With a top spot for the AFC West on the line, Rivers threw three interceptions and the Chargers surrendered 20 straight points to take a 17-point loss. “Maybe we made this game bigger than it really was,” Los Angeles coach Anthony Lynn explained after the loss. “As a young team mixed with some veterans, we have to mature and get our guys ready to play. And that’s on me.” As the loudest stadium in all of football, Arrowhead and its Chiefs fans have their own way of making teams nothing short of a bit uneasy. After already experiencing a season of highs and lows, Charger fan themselves are now experiencing that same uneasy feeling as their 7-7 record means that the team no longer controls its own fate for a playoff spot and an AFC West crown. With the New York Jets and the Oakland Raiders as the only two teams remaining on the schedule for L.A., it’s quite possible that Los Angeles can win out and find themselves sitting pretty with a 9-7 record on the season. Even that record, however, would necessitate that the team receive some help in the form of losses from other playoff hopefuls like the Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee Titans and Buffalo Bills, amongst others--or even see the Chiefs lose both of their last two remaining games. “Our playoffs have begun,” Lynn continued. “And there’s no absolute that we’re going to the playoffs, even if we win the next two games. But if we don’t [win], we damn sure ain’t going.” Unfortunately for the Chargers, the football game isn’t the only thing that the team lost. As one of the healthiest teams in the league, a matchup against their interdivisional rivals certainly took its toll on the roster. During the game, Los Angeles lost starting linebacker Denzel Perryman, defensive tackle Corey Liuget and safety Adrian Phillips. They also witnessed star wide receiver Keenan Allen get carted to the locker room with a back injury and saw injuries occur to linemen Joe Barksdale and Russell Okung. The Chargers began the season by taking losses in each of their first four games. Since that time, the team went on to win three in a row and seven out of their next nine as analysts around the NFL began to qualify Los Angeles as one of the league’s most impressive up-and-coming teams that even had the chance to challenge the likes of the vaunted New England Patriots. Rivers was playing like a man on fire, the team wasn’t turning the ball over, they weren’t making mistakes and the defense was playing as one of the top units in the leagues. That all changed in just one game. The Chargers turned the ball over four times, with Rivers leading that charge. They were penalized nine times for 61 yards while missing tackles and even gave up three touchdowns and 30 points--the highlight of which was a 60-yard grab by Tyreek Hill as he zipped past Casey Hayward and flashed the “peace sign” while on his way into the end zone for seven. “We kind of fell apart in a sense,” Rivers said. “We just didn’t execute. Obviously, give them credit. But just what we talked during the last four games, not turning the ball over and getting takeaways, we were just the opposite of that today.” One of Rivers’ worst games of the season couldn’t have come at a worse time. With the loss, the Chargers now--according to ESPN’s Football Power Index--have only a 17 percent chance to reach the postseason. Instead of seizing the moment last Saturday night in Kansas City, the Chargers dropped the ball, figuratively and quite literally. The Chiefs have now beaten their rivals eight straight times, but perhaps none bigger than last week’s 30-13 final that for all intents and purposes ended Los Angeles’s playoff hopes prematurely. In the end, a Chargers team that was much different from the one that its fans were getting to know and love happened to appear once again. Now the only question remaining is whether or not Rivers and company still have some fight left in them or whether they’ll roll over and fall into an abyss similar to the one that the team has experienced in seasons past. – Aserrao6@yahoo.com - @UpandAdam6 • Lady Eagles Soccer Team Looks to Rebuild for the Upcoming Season By Gregg McMullin The 2017-18 El Segundo High School girls soccer team is built around its 10 seniors returning. However, despite all that experience in the program, this will be a rebuilding year for the Lady Eagles. Through a series of unforeseen circumstances, the squad lost four would-be returning starters. So the head coach Skip Jones will be looking to--and counting on--unproven talent to help push the team to success this season and a return to the CIF Playoffs. The defense will be led by senior sweeper Collette Araque. Araque’s presence is a welcome return after taking her sophomore and junior seasons off. Alongside her will be seniors Dina Giles and Madison Jones as well as sophomores Kylie Keens and Katie Callahan. Natalya Lozano, a talented junior, is currently injured but hopes to return soon to give the defense added depth. The midfield will be led by playmaking midfielder Suey Diep. Others who will be counted on to make major contributions to the midfield look to be Katie Keens, Helen Liang, Angie Acosta and Sydney Leance. On offense, the attacking forward line is fortunate to have three extremely quick and skilled athletes. Returning standout Gaby Esquer will lead the offense that also includes Claire Mahon and Chloe Brown. This group’s ability to consistently put pressure on the opponents will give the Lady Eagles opportunity to score El Segundo may be challenged in goal and this is the position hit the hardest by unusual circumstances. Katrina Mathews was the projected starter last season before an injury sidelined her. So it would figure that she would be the starter this season--but unfortunately, she suffered another injury setback and will not be able to play. So Coach Jones was hoping Mathews’ replacement last season, Kate Rausch, would return to her goalkeeping spot. But, it might be a short-term fix since Rausch is believed to be moving to Arizona in the next several weeks. So, Katherine Kakuske, who returns to the program after a two-year hiatus, will take over the goalkeeping position during League play. Despite so many unknown entities, this year’s team does possess some very good talent. In order to be successful, it will need to jell and play smart, according to Coach Sports Shorts El Segundo Herald* • Manhattan Beach Sun Hawthorne Press Tribune* • Torrance Tribune* Inglewood Daily News* • Lawndale News* EL SEGUNDO OFFICE • 500 Center St. • El Segundo • CA • 90245 Phone: (310) 322-1830 • Fax: (310) 322-2787 • www.heraldpublications.com *Our papers are legally recognized and adjudicated newspapers of general circulation Staff and Departments Editor-in-Chief: Heidi Maerker Classifieds: Clara Nilles • class@heraldpublications.com DBA: Clara Nilles • dba@heraldpublications.com • For Fictitious Business Name (DBAs) filings Graphic Design: Michael Gonzales • ads@heraldpublications.com Legals: Debbie Waite • legalnotices@heraldpublications.com Letters to the Editor: letters@heraldpublications.com Marketing: Debbie Waite • marketing@heraldpublications.com Press Releases: pr@heraldpublications.com For press releases, Herald In travel photos and general photos Real Estate: graphics@heraldpublications.com • For new realtors, contracts, ads Website contact: web@heraldpublications.com For comments or announcements (weddings, engagements, obituaries) Contributing Graphic Artists: Patty Grau, Matt Lopez Contributing Writers: Haleemon Anderson, Derrick Deane,TerriAnn Ferren, Greg McMullin, Duane Plank, Adam Serrao, Brian Simon, Cristian Vasquez U12, U14 See Eagles, page 13 Soccer Teams Win Big Both the U12 “Savage Pandas” team and U14 “Fours” squad are champions after winning their playoffs on December 9 at Campus El Segundo. BU12 team, in black. Coached by Alex Scarda and Barry Gribbon. Top left to right: Aidan Steele, Colin Frank, Nate Meyerson, Caleb Caruso, Vinny Baldino, Mikah Meyerson, Kaan Wellman and Matias Scarda. Bottom left to right: Mina Youssef, Andrew Clouse, Basil Pritchard and Dylan Gribbon. BU14 team, in yellow. Coached by Roger Steele. Top left to right: Trevor Steele, Hiroto Yamashita, Justin Salguero, Ryan Alvarez and Dylan Vanos. Bottom left to right: Lukas Lubs, Will Widmer, James Baldino, Keith Puckett, JJ Anderson, Josef Alhalak and Dean Kinzie.
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