Notre Dame’s Fighting Irish made sure the first game in Charles Fant’s head coaching career was special. More precisely, their special teams made sure it was special.
Beginning with Nick Chambers’ return of the opening kickoff for a touchdown, Notre Dame rolled to a 52-13 victory over Grace Academy at Notre Dame on Friday night.
Chambers, a senior who hadn’t played football since ninth grade, choosing instead to concentrate on baseball, was expecting to be a blocker on the kickoff. Lined up way in front of deep backs Josh Deocampo and Auston Banks, the ball ended up bounding his way; 69 yards and 14 seconds later, it was 6-0.
“I was expecting them to kick it deep to Deo or Auston Banks,” Chambers said. “Next thing I know the ball is coming to me. When it first hit my hands, I missed it and thought, ‘Oh, God.’ When I picked it up I saw a guy coming at me. I made a move on him and then just took off running. And I wasn’t going to stop.
“Like Coach Fant said, that’s something he’ll always remember. His first play as a head coach went for a touchdown. Not many coaches can say that.”