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CHS FROSH: Bollman's 216 leads Chester past S-V-W-W

Posted September 17, 2015 11:00 pm

By Pete Spitler Staff Writer

Drake Bollman earned a spot in history, and the Chester freshmen gradually pulled away from Sesser-Valier-Waltonville-Woodlawn on Thursday in a 34-14 win at W.O. Smith Field.

Bollman ran for 216 yards and four touchdowns, becoming just the third freshman in modern CHS history to run for more than 200 yards in a game and first since Nick Rinehart in 2011.

The 216 put him second behind Andrew Frazer, who had 255 yards against Elverado on September 29, 2011.

"It's amazing, a great accomplishment," Bollman said. "I wouldn't be able to do it without the team we have."

Bollman also recorded nine tackles (seven solo) on defense, including making a touchdown-saving tackle midway through the first quarter after tracking a S-V-W-W receiver down from behind on a 67-yard pass play.

"You see the way (Bollman) was running tonight, I don't think anybody could have stopped him," said Chester freshman coach Charles Colvis. "He was running people over."

Bollman had touchdown runs of 14, 9, 80 and 41 yards for Chester, which scored three touchdowns in a total elapsed time of a minute on its three possessions of the third quarter.

After giving up the early lead to the Red Devils, Chester took a 12-6 advantage at halftime thanks to two touchdowns from Bollman - who had 80 yards rushing in the first half.

The 6-foot-2, 180-pounder took the first handoff of the second half 80 yards for the touchdown and added the 41-yard score with 9:44 remaining in the game.

"Week-to-week it's been a big difference," said Bollman, who had 63 yards rushing in each of the Yellow Jackets' first two games against Hamilton County and West Frankfort. "Very good improvement."

Bollman finds himself in some pretty elite company in modern freshman history, passing Rinehart's 210 yards against Johnston City on September 22, 2011 and finishing 39 yards shy of Frazer - who had previously occupied five spots on the top 10 list.

Rinehart and Frazer are the two modern freshman leaders in single-season rushing yards at CHS.

"Pushing it in the last five yards," Colvis said on what he felt was key this week. "That was my biggest fear, getting in that goal line stance again and not being able to execute."

And that ugly habit appeared to resurface when the Chester offense was stopped on fourth-and-7 from the SVWW 20 with 5:13 left in the first quarter. It was the Yellow Jackets' first offensive drive of the game.

"We had several long runs where we didn't have to be on the goal line, but the thing I'm most proud of is when we had them under two minutes and all (SVWW) needed was a yard," Colvis said. "I told the boys 'I want the ball back' and it worked perfectly."

Tyler Winchester scored both touchdowns for S-V-W-W, which fell to 2-2 and 2-1 in the Black Diamond Conference. Chester improved to 2-1 and 2-0, respectively.

Other leading rushers included Hunter Munie (9-56) and Eathan Thompson (4-40). Chester quarterback Nick Meyer went 3-for-6 passing for 70 yards and a touchdown.

As a team, Chester racked up 16 first downs and 385 yards of total offense. Defensively, Thompson led the Yellow Jackets with 10 tackles (one for loss), while Munie and Chase Colvis combined for 13 and a sack of S-V-W-W quarterback Reid Basso.

Colvis also later blocked a Red Devils punt.

Top Single-Game Rushing Yards (FRESHMAN)

1. Andrew Frazer - 255 (9/29/11 vs. Elverado)

2. Drake Bollman - 216 (9/17/15 vs. SVWW)

3. Nick Rinehart - 210 (9/22/11 vs. Johnston City)

4. Andrew Frazer - 182 (10/16/11 vs. Eldorado)

5. Jordan Berner - 161 (9/13/12 vs. CZR)

6. Blake Eggemeyer - 155 (10/11/12 vs. Fairfield)

7. Andrew Frazer - 154 (8/27/11 vs. Vienna)

8. Chris Lang - 147 (9/19/13 vs. Carmi)

9. Andrew Frazer - 145 (9/1/11 vs. SVWW)

10. Jake Golding - 140 (10/13/13 vs. CZR)

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