Meyer, Eggemeyer lead rout of Hamilton County

<span>Blake Eggemeyer ran for 161 yards and three touchdowns, and quarterback Curt Meyer threw for 153 yards and two more as Chester blanked Hamilton County, 55-0, on Friday at Carl Mauck Field.</span>

<span>The stingy Yellow Jacket defense held the Foxes (0-2, 0-2 Black Diamond Conference) to 47 total yards while racking up 496 of their own.</span>

<span>"They did good," said Chester coach Jeremy Blechle of his players maintaining the emotional intensity from the Week 1 win over Fairfield. "Outside of the opening drive, where we had some penalties and bonehead plays that didn't go like they should have.</span>

<span>"The rest of the game, emotionally, they were focused, geared in and took care of business."</span>

<span>Jake Whipple was one of the few bright spots for Hamilton County, finishing with 35 yards on three plays. The Foxes had just 38 rushing yards on 27 carries for an average of 1.40 yards per carry.</span>

<span>"It was a whole team effort if we're going offense and defense side of the ball," Blechle said. "Defense is a core group that played really well and offensively, coach (Billy) Belton and coach (Jake) Cowan have that going on now."</span>

<span>Another highlight of the game was the play of Savion Smith. The junior receiver finished with 141 yards on four catches with two touchdowns.</span>

<span>"Savion caught two slants for touchdowns and Demontae (Martin) had a great run and Blake had a 95-yard run at the end of the game," Blechle said. "It was spread around and the unique thing about it was we did it without (Jordan) Berner getting into the end zone."</span>

<span>Chester (2-0, 2-0 BDC) held a 14-0 lead after the first quarter and took a 34-point advantage into halftime. Martin's 44-yard run with 8:39 in the third quarter pushed the lead to 41 points.</span>

<span>"You can't look ahead, but you can," Blechle said, when asked about the next couple of games leading up to what could be a big battle with Johnston City - which beat Vienna-Goreville 58-0 on Saturday - on Rivalry Week in Week 5. "That's a big rival for us in Week 5 and this time they're coming here, but you have to take one game at a time. You can't overlook anybody.</span>

<span>"We're going to prep like we usually do, take it day-by-day, put your pants on one leg at a time."</span>

<span>Chester entered the game state-ranked for the first time this season at No. 9 in Class 2A. Blechle said the ranking should be a motivator for the team.</span>

<span>"People who are writing the articles and are ranking you is great, but it does help motivate you to have a good game and make the plays offensively and defensively," he said. "It's something you can definitely hang your hat on. It is a number and a good number, so we do appreciate it and it does give you some extra drive."</span>

<span>Vienna-Goreville will come into next week's contest having yet to record a point in eight quarters of football. The Eagles have been outscored 110-0 and are the only BDC team beside the Foxes that has yet to score.</span>

<span>"Doing what we did to Fairfield said a lot about our mentality, approach and conditioning," Blechle said. "It didn't look that way up front with people cramping and taking themselves out, but that was a hard-fought game.</span>

<span>"Then we go to Hamilton County, a long two-hour bus ride, and we were mentally prepared and nobody was cramping. You're supposed to get a little bit better each week and I'm happy with where we're at."</span>