The Hardin (Calhoun) Warriors held the Chester rushing attack to just 123 yards to notch the upset win 34-6 Saturday at W.O. Smith Field in Chester.
The Warriors, who did not trail in the game, racked up 389 yards on the ground and did not turn the ball over. That’s a stat Calhoun coach Glenn Peyton said was most important.
“If we don’t turn the ball over, we are a pretty good team,” said Peyton. “We made very few mistakes and forced Chester into some. Come playoff time, all the teams are pretty good. It usually comes down to who made the most mistakes.”
Peyton said he didn’t change his team’s defensive game plan coming into the game against Chester.
“We had the same approach today, we’ve had all year long,” said Peyton. “We got after it up-front, we played physical, and we hit them hard.”
While Calhoun played nearly mistake-free football, Chester struggled getting the ball away from the Warriors, while turning the ball over three times on offense.
“We didn’t have the ball much on offense,” said Chester coach Bryan Lee. “Calhoun controlled the ball offensively. They did a fantastic job of holding on to the football and moving the chains, which limited our offensive touches, especially in the first half. Then in the second half, penalties and key mistakes were really the difference. Calhoun is a very good football team.”
The Warriors set the tone of the game on the very first drive. The team went 80 yards on 16 plays, all runs, which was capped off by a six-yard touchdown run by quarterback Ryan Long. Calhoun added the extra point for a 7-0 lead with 5:14 left in the first quarter.
Chester was held to three plays and out on its first possession of the game as the team came up one yard short of the first down.
Calhoun moved the ball 39 yards on five plays before an incomplete pass on fourth down stopped the drive at the Chester 24-yard line.
Chester found some offensive life on the first play of the second quarter as Zach Lochhead completed a short slant pass to John Baughman. Baughman then outran the Calhoun defense for an 82-yard score. The two-point conversion failed and with 11:46 left in the second quarter, Calhoun’s lead was reduced to 7-6.
However, that would be the last points the Yellow Jackets would put up, as Calhoun finished the game by scoring 27 unanswered points to hand Chester its third consecutive loss in the first round of the playoffs.
Calhoun responded to Chester’s quick score by mounting another scoring drive, this time it took eight plays and covered 76 yards. The drive was capped off by a 13-yard touchdown run by fullback Ethan Eberlin. The kick failed as the Calhoun lead was 13-6 with 8:09 left in the half.
That lead would hold up all the way to the halftime break.
On its first possession of the third quarter, Calhoun put together a 90-yard drive that took eight plays resulting in a four-yard touchdown run by Long. Austin Malley then ran in the two-point conversion to give his team a 21-6 lead with 6:03 left in the quarter.
Nearly five minutes later, Long hooked up with Andy Nelson on a six-yard touchdown pass as the Warriors increased their lead to 27-6.
Dakota Lammy picked off a pass from Zach Lochhead and then broke loose for a 76-yard touchdown score on the very next play to round out the game’s scoring. Lochhead finished the game with three interceptions
Lammy finished with 146 yards on 13 carries, while Long added 91 yards on 17 carries, Kyle Klocke had 80 yards on four carries and Eberlin added 66 yards on 15 carries.
Baughman led the Chester rushing attack with 45 yards on 10 carries. Freshman Joel Clendenin finished with 38 yards on five carries.
Lochhead was 7-for-15 passing for 135 yards with a touchdown and three picks.
While the loss was clearly disappointing for coach Lee, losing this senior group of players may be harder for him to get over.
“I think this is my favorite group of seniors,” said Lee. “It’s going to be really tough when they show up on Monday to turn in their pads for good. They meant a lot to this program and will be truly missed.”
With the loss, Chester finished the 2010 campaign at 8-2. Calhoun advances to take on the fifth seed Oakland (9-1) Saturday at home.