The Chester Yellow Jackets became playoff eligible Friday night with a 39-24 homecoming victory over Eldorado.
The powerful Jacket rushing attack racked up 431 yards, as Stephen Roth led the way with 196 yards on 20 carries. John Baughman added 149 yards on 11 carries.
With the win, Chester improved to 5-1 on the season and in the Black Diamond Conference.
Roth got the scoring started for Chester with a 53-yard touchdown run early in the first quarter.
Eldorado answered back late in the quarter when Joe Blair connected with Derek Miller for a 36-yard touchdown pass. The Eagles added the two-point conversion, and with 1:46 left in the first quarter, they led 8-6.
Chester regained the lead for good, just over five minutes later, when Baughman scored from nine yards out for the 12-8 advantage.
Around six minutes later, Roth added his second touchdown of the game, this time from three yards out, and the Chester lead increased to 18-8.
An aggressive play call backfired on Chester and led to an Eldorado touchdown as time expired on the first half. Looking to add to their lead, a pass from Zach Lochhead was intercepted and returned 62-yards for a touchdown by Michael Hutchinson. The Eagles added the two-point conversion to trail 18-16 at intermission.
Chester came out in the second half and put together a 14-play, 70-yard scoring drive that lasted nearly eight minutes. The impressive drive was capped off by an eight-yard touchdown pass from Lochhead to Baughman. Baughman ran in the two-point conversion to give his team a 26-16 lead.
Baughman added another touchdown with a 53-yard run early in the fourth quarter, as Chester moved up 32-16.
Blake Nanney’s nine-yard touchdown run capped off Chester’s scoring, while Caid Griffin scored from 19-yards out for Eldorado for the final score of 39-24.
Eldorado finished with 237 yards of total offense and dropped to 4-2 on the season, with the loss.
Chester will make the long road trip Friday night to take on Fairfield (3-3)