Chester freshmen fall short to SVWW
<span>SESSER -- Curt Meyer's pass on fourth-and-10 from the Sesser-Valier-Waltonville-Woodlawn 36 fell incomplete with 7.4 seconds left, giving the Red Devils a 24-22 win over the Chester freshmen on Sept. 11.</span>
<span>Chester (1-1) started its drive on its own 32 with 45.6 seconds left and Meyer found Nick Heffernan for a 32-yard pass play that put the Yellow Jackets within striking distance.</span>
<span>"We knew if we at least had a chance, we might be able to get down in the end zone," said Chester freshman coach Jake Cowan. "They just fell a little bit short and you're not going to win them all, though."</span>
<span>Jack Hathaway ran for 105 yards and two touchdowns a week after running for 135 against Vienna-Goreville in Chester's home opener.</span>
<span>It was the first time since 2011 that a freshman running back has compiled 100-plus rushing yards in consecutive contests.</span>
<span>"Jack's really stepped up and I think he's taken over as a leader of our team," Cowan said. "You give him the ball and it doesn't matter how many guys are out there, he's going to run them all over."</span>
<span>S-V-W-W came out determined to take Wyatt Roth away from Chester and the fullback was held to just 24 yards on 11 carries. It was a different story on the other side of the ball, as Roth led the team with 14 tackles, including two for loss.</span>
<span>Chester's other touchdown came from Meyer, who took off on a 15-yard run that cut the Yellow Jackets' deficit to two points with 5:20 remaining after Roth ran in the conversion.</span>
<span>"There's not a lot of plays in the playbook to go 40 yards on every play," Cowan said. "We battled hard all night and just came up short."</span>
<span>Heffernan finished with 63 yards on six carries, and caught all three of Meyer's passes for 36 yards. He also had six tackles (two for loss) on defense.</span>
<span>Meyer helped his own cause at defensive back with an interception. Chester has an open week this week before hosting Johnston City for its final home game of the season on Sept. 25.</span>
<span>Kickoff against the Indians is at 6:15 p.m.</span>
<span>"They're getting there, it's just a little cycle we have to go through," Cowan said on if the team is where he thought they would be after three weeks. "We just look to keep getting better each week."</span>
Last time against Johnston City:
<span id="docs-internal-guid-5a4b08d8-7049-e19d-9605-39e1f97f155a"><span>Jacob Golding ran for 68 yards on seven carries with a touchdown and the Chester freshmen beat Johnston City 36-6 at Ralph Davison Field.</span></span>