Chester JV routs Hamilton County 46-0

<span>MCLEANSBORO -- Chris Lang ran for 62 yards and two touchdowns, and the Chester junior varsity football team racked up 355 yards of total offense in a 46-0 win over Hamilton County at Carl Mauck Field.</span>

<span>The Yellow Jackets spread the ball around against the Foxes, with three players (Lang, Colt Ramos and Savion Smith) having at least 50 yards rushing each and a fourth (Jack Hathaway) with 49.</span>

<span>"For the first game, we had a few unknowns with a couple of guys playing out of position," said Chester junior varsity offensive coordinator Trevor Kelkhoff. "We wanted to come out, keep it simple and let everybody get comfortable in running the ball."</span>

<span>Chester racked up 22 first downs, never punted and scored on every offensive possession. Freshman Nick Heffernan also ran for a 13-yard touchdown, caught a 22-yard score and picked off Foxes quarterback Landon Webb on defense.</span>

<span>"It all starts with the (offensive) line," Kelkhoff said. "I thought the line did a great job with a freshman out there at center and left tackle. Colt Ramos really stepped up at fullback."</span>

<span>Colt Ramos had 52 yards on seven carries for the Yellow Jackets and recovered a key fumble.</span>

<span>With Chester ahead 8-0 and Hamilton County driving deep in the Chester red zone, Landon Webb's pitch to halfback Waylon Webb went into empty space and Ramos recovered the fumble to end the threat.</span>

<span>That was the closest Hamilton County came to scoring for the remainder of the game.</span>

<span>"We weren't figuring on (Colt Ramos) being (at fullback) earlier in the year," Kelkhoff said. "With (Savion) Smith coming in and taking the tailback, and not knowing if we were going to have Lang at wingback, and the sophomores came out and knew what they were doing."</span>

<span>Savion Smith, a transfer from Eisenhower High School in Decatur and playing his first-ever game of football, finished with 50 yards on four carries.</span>

<span>"We controlled the ball for the whole game," Kelkhoff said. "I don't think they stopped us for a loss all game except once or twice."</span>

<span>Defensively, Heffernan led all players with seven tackles (three solo), while Wyatt Roth and Luke Ramos each had six.</span>

Play of the Game:

<span>With Hamilton County driving deep into Chester territory midway through the first quarter, Colt Ramos recovered a Foxes fumble that later set up a 6-yard score from Chris Lang that gave Chester a 16-0 lead.</span>

Up next:

<span>The Chester freshmen get their turn on Thursday, when Vienna-Goreville comes to W.O. Smith Field for the Yellow Jackets' lower-levels home opener. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.</span>

Last time against Vienna-Goreville:

<span>Jacob Golding ran for 85 yards on five carries with three touchdowns, and the Chester freshmen set a new school record for single-game points with a 68-0 win over the Eagles.</span>