Defense leads Notre Dame to rout of Chaffee

CHAFFEE - A tenacious second half effort on the defensive end paved the way to a 62-15 win for the Notre Dame Bulldogs over the Chaffee Red Devils on Monday.

The young Red Devils group came out with a scrappy effort of their own as they trailed just 14-7 after the first quarter of play.

“I saw a really talented, athletic and scrappy Chaffee team,” Bulldogs coach Kirk Boeller said. “They got us out of our comfort zone for the entire first half. Coach Schonhoff does a phenomenal job everywhere he goes and Chaffee came out and kicked us in the teeth there in the beginning.”

Despite being out of sorts because of Chaffee’s intensity, the Bulldogs still entered the locker room at halftime with a 23-14 lead.

“Chaffee got us out of position,” Boeller said. “Their cuts were getting our defense out of position and they just had us all confused.”

Boeller knew that for his group take control of the game, they needed to focus their energy on the defensive end.

“We just didn’t have intensity on the defensive side of the ball (in the first half),” Boeller said. “We weren’t in passing lanes, we were sagging off and we were just letting them do whatever they wanted. The challenge was to come out and play with some more intensity on the defensive end and see if that turns into layups.”

Boeller got his wish on the defensive end as Notre Dame held Chaffee to just one-point in the second half as they won the second half 39-1.

The Bulldogs were able to couple their defensive effort with ball movement that didn’t allow the Chaffee defense to rest on the other end.

“They see the floor well,” Boeller said. “They’ve all played together since they were little so they’re a good group, they’re fun to coach and when the ball is moving around it looks like they know what they’re doing.”

Leading the offensive attack for the Bulldogs was Brie Rubel who had 23-points on 9-for-13 shooting including 4-for-7 from three-point range.

“We want our offense to be generated from our defense,” Boeller said. “That’s what separated us in the second half and that’s what we’re trying to push every game.”

Chaffee is back in action at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 14, when the Red Devils

host Portageville at Chaffee High School.

Notre Dame (4-0) hits the road as the Bulldogs round out a five-game road trip to begin the season at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 14, when they take on the Poplar Bluff Mules.