DEFENSE COMES THROUGH; CHATSWORTH TO FACE RESEDA FOR CITY TITLE : CHATSWORTH 34 VAN NUYS 7.

Byline: Jim Inghram Daily News Staff Writer

In the 75-year history of the Coliseum there have been Olympic games, Super Bowls, Papal visits, massive concerts and numerous other historic events, but never a Chatsworth football game.

Friday that will change when the Chancellors take on Reseda for the City Section Division Championship.

Chatsworth (8-5) earned its way to the Coliseum with a 34-7 pounding of Van Nuys Friday at Birmingham High in the Division semifinals.

It was the second consecutive week the Chancellors' had defeated a higher seeded opponent. Seventh seeded Chatsworth defeated No. 2 seed Belmont 24-6 in the quarterfinals on Nov. 25. The Wolves were the No. 3 seed. The Chancellors didn't have spectacular numbers on offense, but their defense shut out the Wolves (9-4) for almost the entire game.

The Chatsworth defense limited the potent pass-catch combination of Bobby Hernandez and Jermaine Luscious to just one reception for a scant 4 yards and held Hernandez to a dismal 8 of 17 for 64 yards.

``It started for us last week,'' said inside linebacker-fullback Eric Harris. ``Our defense finally stepped it up and we kept it going this week.''

The Chatsworth offense scored its first points with 58 seconds left in the first quarter, when Matt Cassel connected with Mark Harris for a 7-yard score.

The reception culminated a 9-play, 97-yard drive and seemed to inject some energy into the Chatsworth offense, although the unit didn't score again until late in the half.

Chatsworth gave itself some cushion with two seconds left when Jason Holmes scored from one yard out.

The 23-yard drive was set up by the Chancellors defense. Reggie Lee intercepted a Hernandez pass with 26 seconds left to give the offense prime field position.

Cassel threw his second touchdown early in the third quarter, 23 yards to Reggie Lee, to give Chatsworth a 21-0 bulge.

A few minutes later Mark Harris and Holmes helped sealed the victory. Harris intercepted a pass at the Van Nuys 26 and returned it 19 yards to the 7. Holmes scored his second touchdown one play later to give the Chancellors a 28-0 lead.

Van Nuys managed its only score with 6:35 left in the when Alex Aguilar scored from two yards out, but it was a case of too little, too late.

Holmes finished with 100 yards on 14 carries. Rafael Cansino had 59 on three carries and Cassel and Eric Harris had 43 each.

Cassel had one of his worst games in terms of passing yardage, throwing for 90 yards, completing 6 of 15, but it hardly mattered.

``We're going to the Coliseum, the Big C,'' said Harris. ``That's been our goal all season. We write it down: 14-week season, on our instructional sheets that we get at the beginning of the week. Fourteen weeks and that's what we're going to play.''

Reaching the championship game has a special satisfaction for the Chancellors' seniors. The team overcame a four-week losing streak and has peaked at the right time.

``I remember when we had our first practices for this year in 114 degree heat. It seems like a long time ago now, but the championship was something all the seniors wanted to do,'' said Jared Levine. ``We owe it all to the coaches. We started to break down a little during the regular season, but the coaches challenged us and asked us, `What are we going to do about it?' '' Added senior lineman Robert Misky: ``We never looked back. We let that skid go by us and refocused on what we had to do. We fought right back and became a good team.'' Good enough to be the first Chatsworth team to ever play in the Coliseum.

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Photo

Photo: Van Nuys' Bobby Hernandez, 2, tries to get past the Chatsworth defense in Friday night's 34-7 loss to the Chancellors.

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Daily News