A 33-point third quarter scoring outburst allowed Chester to break open a close game and pull away for a 51-12 victory over Elverado-Trico Friday night at home.
The Yellow Jackets pounded out 356 yards on the ground while holding the Falcons to just 167 yards of total offense.
After just leading 12-6 at halftime, Chester outscored Elverado-Trico 39-6 in the second half for the 39-point victory.
Elverado-Trico got Chester’s attention with its first play from scrimmage, a 63-yard touchdown run by Dalton Porter for a quick 6-0 lead.
Chester answered back with its first drive of the game, marching down the field 65 yards on eight plays. The drive was capped off by a 22-yard touchdown run by Joel Clendenin. The extra point kick was blocked and with 8:07 left in the first quarter, the game was tied 6-6.
The Falcons couldn’t get anything going on their next possession and were forced to punt after managing to gain just one yard.
Chester took over from the Elverado-Trico 41-yard line, an eight yard run and then a 20-yard run by Stephen Roth gave the Yellow Jackets a first down inside the Elverado-Trico 13-yard line. Two plays later it appeared Clendenin had scored his second rushing touchdown of the game but the play was called back because of a Chester penalty. A fumbled pitch two plays later had the Jackets facing fourth down with 22 yards to go. On fourth down, Jake Lochhead’s pass was dropped and Chester turned the ball over on downs. That would be the only pass attempt of the game by Chester.
Two penalties stalled Elverado-Trico’s next drive and again were forced to punt after just three plays. A great punt return by Roth gave Chester a first-and-goal from the Elverado-Trico seven-yard line. However, Chester couldn’t find a way into the end zone, and fumbled the ball three plays later. The loose ball was recovered by Elverado-Trico’s Alex McGill at his own five-yard line.
The Falcons couldn’t take advantage of the turnover and again were forced to punt without picking up a first down.
A short punt gave Chester prime starting position for its next drive, the Elverado-Trico 38-yard line.
The Yellow Jackets took advantage of the good field position behind the running attack of Clendenin and Roth. Clendenin ran the ball three times for 21 yards on the drive while Roth carried the ball three times for 17 yards including a five-yard touchdown run. The score gave Chester a 12-6 lead with 7:29 to play in the second quarter.
Elverado-Trico finally showed some more offensive life on its next drive. McGill connected with Casey Hicks for an 11-yard pass play and a first down, while McGill also ran for 11 yards and a first down, as the Falcons moved the ball to the Chester 49-yard line. That would be as far as Elverado-Trico would get as the Chester defense tightened up and forced another punt.
Starting from their own 24-yard line, the Jackets were able to get off three running plays before the first half ended.
The second half was all Chester, especially the third quarter where the Jackets scored six touchdowns to blow the game wide open.
Chester set the tone of the second half with its first drive, a five-play 63-yard scoring drive that resulted in a two-yard touchdown run by Clendenin. Austin Redeker added the extra point and with 9:22 left in the third quarter, Chester’s lead was 19-6.
Elverado-Trico fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Chester’s Tyler Reid recovered the ball on the Elverado-Trico 14-yard line.
After an Elverado-Trico penalty, Chester needed just two plays to find the end zone again, this time with an eight-yard run by Clendenin, and go up 25-6.
The Falcons started their next drive from their own 23 and went backwards. A penalty , a sack and a nine yard loss on a pass play pushed Elverado-Trico back to its goal line. One third down, the Falcons fumbled the ball away and Reid once again came up with the recovery on the one-yard line.
Next play, a one-yard touchdown run by Roth as Chester went up 31-6.
An interception ended Elverado-Trico’s next drive but this time Chester couldn’t do anything with the ball and punted after just three plays.
On the very next play, Chester's Caleb Golding intercepted an Alex McGill pass and returned it 29 yards for the touchdown. Redeker added the extra point to give his team a commanding 38-6 lead with 1:54 to play in the third quarter.
On the final play of the third quarter, Tylor Brockhouse sprinted for an 82-yard touchdown run to give Chester a 45-6 lead  heading into the fourth quarter.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, McGill connected with Wade Bowlin on a 78-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 45-12.
Chester rounded out the scoring with a four-yard touchdown run by Austen Barnhart with 1:01 left in the game.
Clendenin led the ground attack for Chester with 120 yards on 10 carries. Roth finished with 98 yards on 18 carries and Brockhouse had two carries for 81 yards.
Leading the way for Elverado-Trico offensively were Porter (60 yards rushing on eight carries) and McGill (6-for-15 for 98 yards).
With the win, Chester kept its slim playoff hopes alive, improving to 2-4 on the season. With three games left in the regular season, the Yellow Jackets must win-out and hope they have enough playoff points to qualify for postseason. Chester will travel to Eldorado (4-2) Friday night for its toughest task remaining on the schedule.
Elverado-Trico dropped to 1-5 on the season and will host Hamilton County (1-5) Friday night.