Prep Football: Second half surge by Yellow Jackets sting Eldorado
Blake Eggemeyer ran for 146 yards and two touchdowns, and Chester held Eldorado to just two first downs in the first half of a 20-6 over the Eagles on Friday at W.O. Smith Field.
Eldorado (5-3) didn't get on the board until a 1-yard plunge by Braxton Roberts with 3:15 remaining in the game and Chester already ahead 14-0. But Chester (7-1) marched back down the field and scored on an 8-yard run by Eggemeyer less than two minutes later to restore the Yellow Jackets' two-touchdown advantage.
Eldorado quarterback Nathan Burnett led the Eagles with 68 yards on five carries, all in the second half. Chester racked up 326 yards of total offense compared to 186 for the Eagles.
"That's a big deal, (Eldorado) had put up a lot of points this year," said Chester coach Bryan Lee. "They just put up 60 points two weeks ago against Fairfield, our next opponent, and to be able to hold them to two first downs - we had a letdown here or there - for the most part, we were really pleased with the way the defense played."
Eggemeyer scored his first touchdown on a 10-yard run with 5:38 left in the first quarter, but that was all the scoring for the next two and a half quarters as the teams fought a battle of ball control.
"They hit some explosive plays on us," said Eldorado coach Brandon Hampton on what the difference was. "Our depth really worked against us. Not an excuse, it's a reality.
"We've got some kids out and when you play a team like Chester, you better have all your bullets in your gun and you better play really well."
Eldorado had a chance to tie the game midway through the second quarter, but Burnett's pass on fourth-and-5 from the Chester 40 fell incomplete. On the other sideline, the Yellow Jackets saw two separate drives deep into Eldorado territory end with incomplete passes.
"I thought we left some points on the field in the first half, but it ended up not hurting us," Lee said. "But those are mistakes that we can't make in the future."
Charles Morefield added 82 yards on 10 carries for Chester, while Yellow Jacket quarterback Wyatt Ruehling was 7-of-14 for 104 yards and a 27-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Howie that gave Chester a 14-0 lead with 7:27 left in the third quarter.
"I think we had some critical mistakes on both sides of the ball, but our effort was great," Hampton said. "We fought to the very end and we just made some mistakes, primarily in the passing game, when we had some opportunities.
"(Chester) is a good football team and one of the class programs in our conference. I hope we're building one at Eldorado in the same roll call."
Thanks to Johnston City's 35-20 win over Fairfield on Friday, Chester will play for a share of the Black Diamond Conference title this week at Fairfield.
The Indians beat Chester, 28-13, in Week 5.
The Eagles can cement their playoff spot with a victory against Vienna-Goreville at home this week.
"We've got to put this one behind us," Hampton said. "When we get back to Eldorado, our focus has got to be on Vienna.
"We've got to have a great week of preparation, we've got to find the positives from tonight's game - there were several - and build on them for Vienna."
Eldorado 0 0 0 6 - 6
Chester 7 0 7 6 - 20
Scoring Summary:
1Q: CHS - Eggemeyer 10 run (Gray kick), 5:38
3Q: CHS - Howie 27 pass from Ruehling (Gray kick), 7:27
4Q: ELD - Roberts 1 run (run failed), 3:15
4Q: CHS - Eggemeyer 8 run (kick failed), 1:20
Team Stats:
ELD CHS
1st Downs 9 17
Total Yards 186 344
Rushing Yards 127 222
Passing Yards 59 107
Individual Stats
Rushing - CHS: Eggemeyer 24-144, C. Morefield 10-101, Hartman 2-10. ELD - Burnett 5-68, Roberts 10-30, Price 11-26.
Passing - CHS: Ruehling 7-14-0 - 107. ELD: Burnett 4-16-0 - 59.
Receiving - CHS: Berner 5-62, Howie 1-27, Hartman 1-14. ELD: Traxler 1-40, Kaiser 1-10, Bethal 1-7, Price 1-2.
Records: Eldorado is 5-3, Chester is 7-1.