Meyer's career day leads CHS frosh past CZR

<span>CHRISTOPHER -- Curt Meyer threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more, leading the Chester High School freshman football team to a 38-14 win over Christopher-Zeigler-Royalton on Thursday at Spann Field.</span>

<span>Meyer was 2-for-5 passing for 109 yards and an interception, while also running for 34 yards on four carries. His 20-yard run with 5:19 in the third quarter gave Chester a 32-6 lead after Wyatt Roth ran in the conversion.</span>

<span>"He played well," said Chester freshman coach Jake Cowan of Meyer. "He ran the offense to a T and we had a lot of opportunities to throw the ball.</span>

<span>"When we did, we threw it pretty well."</span>

<span>Playing eight-minute quarters - instead of the standard 10 - due to threats of inclement weather, the Yellow Jackets played the first series of the game in a torrential downpour.</span>

<span>It worked in Chester's favor as the team recovered a C-Z-R fumble on the opening kickoff, which gave the Yellow Jackets the ball on the C-Z-R 38.</span>

<span>A few plays later Meyer plunged into the end zone from two yards out for a 6-0 lead with 6:34 left in the first quarter.</span>

<span>Less than two minutes later, Chester's Jack Hathaway recovered another C-Z-R fumble deep in Bearcat territory and Nick Heffernan finished the drive off with a 14-yard score.</span>

<span>"We just had to finish," Cowan said. "We had to put four quarters together and know how to play with a lead and understand that other team's going to get yards."</span>

<span>Chester entered the contest having lost its previous two games to Johnston City and Sesser-Valier-Waltonville-Woodlawn by a combined seven points.</span>

<span>"At the start of the year, our goal was to just keep getting better each and every day and each and every rep," Cowan said. "If we can do that, we're going to be successful."</span>

<span>Roth led the Yellow Jackets on the ground with 80 yards on 12 carries with a touchdown, while Jack Hathaway had 78 yards on eight carries.</span>

<span>Heffernan finished with 53 yards on four carries, and also caught a 48-yard pass from Meyer for a 24-6 Chester lead late in the second quarter. Clayton Richelman also hauled in a 61-yard pass for his first touchdown as a Yellow Jacket.</span>

<span>"We just had to play together as a team," Cowan said. "And hold on to the ball, which I thought we did a good job with."</span>

<span>Defensively, Hathaway and Roth each finished with nine tackles for Chester, while Heffernan had seven (one for loss) and Richelman had six. Roth is now tied for ninth with Daltyn Korando on the freshman's list of single-season tackle leaders with 45.</span>

<span>The freshman are in a bye week this week before traveling to Eldorado on Oct. 16. Kickoff is set for 6:15 p.m.</span>

<span>"We're going to try and have some fun this week," Cowan said.</span>

Last time against Eldorado

<span>Jacob Golding ran for 85 yards on nine carries with a touchdown, while also catching two passes for 53 yards, as the Chester freshmen fell to Eldorado, 26-12.</span>

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