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Yellow Jackets beat C-Z-R, host state-ranked North Mac next Saturday

Posted October 10, 2015 11:00 pm

By Pete Spitler Staff Writer

EDITOR'S NOTE: See more photos from the game in our "photos" section.

CHRISTOPHER -- It was an arguably less-than-inspired Yellow Jacket football team that took the field in Christopher for the Bearcats' Homecoming game.

Luke Hartman ran for two touchdowns, and quarterback Curt Meyer ran for two more and threw for another as Chester let its superior skill lead the Yellow Jackets to a 47-13 win over Christopher-Zeigler-Royalton.

Playing a winless opponent on the road on a Saturday seemed to have some effect, as Chester allowed C-Z-R (0-7, 0-6 Black Diamond) to accumulate 10 first downs and 255 total yards.

"For whatever it may be, we tend to lose our edge a little bit when the sun's out, like vampires or some other type of creature that's scared of sunlight," said Chester coach Jeremy Blechle. "We were kinda flat the whole way through and peaked a little bit in the third quarter."

While never in danger of losing the contest, Chester (7-0, 7-0 Black Diamond Conference) suffered through its share of challenges against the Bearcats, including losing fullback Blake Eggemeyer to an ankle injury early in the second quarter.

A short time later, backup fullback Jake Golding was also banged up, forcing Chester to resort to its third option in Hartman for a couple of plays.

The senior wingback made the most of his fullback opportunity, running for a 23-yard touchdown that helped give Chester a 35-7 lead at halftime.

"The good news is the kids were able to dig down deep and find a way to get back on the field," Blechle said. "Most of the ones who came off - Savion (Smith), (Chris) Lang, Golding, (Jordan) Berner, Eggemeyer - a big part of our starting cast, they were able to get back on the field."

The injuries did allow Chester to stretch its depth, as 12 players had at least one carry for the Yellow Jackets. Meyer was 8-for-10 passing for 215 yards and a 64-yard touchdown to Demonate Martin, who turned an ordinary screen pass into a razzle dazzle score.

As a team, Chester racked up 437 yards of offense and punted only once, with Berner and Lang also finding the end zone.

C-Z-R quarterback Issac McPhail went 13-of-22 for 211 yards and a touchdown for the Bearcats, who got 120 yards receiving from Ricky Tochtrop. Steven Anderson ran for a 3-yard touchdown in the second quarter to account for C-Z-R's other score.

Up next for Chester is a two-week stretch against two of its toughest opponents of the season in North Mac and Eldorado. Both are undefeated.

The Yellow Jackets will host North Mac (7-0, 7-0 Sangamo Conference), which came into Friday's game against 1-5 Riverton ranked seventh in Class 3A by The Associated Press, next Saturday at 1 p.m. at W.O. Smith Field.

Chester is ranked sixth in Class 2A by the AP.

"The focus is not to be perfect, but you have to be close to it," Blechle said on the team's focus in practice next week. "(North Mac) has big-time tradition, they have big-time athletes, they have speed and I guarantee they're not going to lay over on a Saturday.

"A lot of those teams in middle Illinois, they play a lot of Saturdays. Weeks 10, 11 and 12 is what I'm referring to there."

Against Riverton, North Mac quarterback Brennan White went 13-for-15 passing for 162 yards, an interception and two touchdowns in a 62-14 victory. He also ran for 111 yards and a score.

Defensively, the Panthers recorded seven sacks and held Riverton to negative rushing yards.

"We're going to have to play our 'A' game, we're going to have to be inspired and ready to play," Blechle said. "I take it upon myself that I'm going to find a way to get them motivated, maybe bring (University of Alabama football coach) Nick Saban in if he's available, which he's probably not.

"Something to get them going."

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