Chester scored 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to rally from a 7-0 halftime deficit to top Dupo 21-7 Friday night in the regular season football finale.
The win turned out to be much more important than just the Yellow Jackets' seventh win of the year. The victory turned out to be just enough to secure a first round home playoff game for Chester.
The Chester offense started slow and only had two first downs in the first half, but in the second half things turned around for the Jackets as they scored three touchdowns in the final quarter of play.
"We just didn't play well in the first half," said Chester coach Bryan Lee. "It is hard for us to do what we want to do offensively on a wet field. Our running game involves a lot of cutting by our runners and the field conditions made that difficult for us."
The first possession of the game for Chester foreshadowed the difficulties they would face in the first half. The Yellow Jackets gained just six yards on three plays before a fourth down fumble ended the drive that started on the Dupo 26 yard line after a great kickoff return by John Baughman.
Dupo moved the ball 70 yards on 17 plays that receached the Chester one yard line on their first drive of the game. Facing a fourth down and goal from the one yard line, the Chester defense came up big, stopping the Dupo offense on the half yard line to end the scoring threat.
Chester, starting from within their one yard line, got a huge lift from senior fullback Tim Sullins. Sullins picked up six yards on first down and then broke loose for a 20 yard run to give his team their first first down of the game.However the drive would stall there and on fourth down, Chester attempted a fake punt that fell incomplete, giving the ball back to Dupo on the Chester 35 yard line.
The Tigers took advantage of the short field and two plays later Caleb Tatum connected with Matt Ragsdale for a 36-yard touchdown pass. Dupo added the extra point, and with 9:45 to play in the second quarter, the Tigers led 7-0.
Dupo attempted an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff, but Chester recovered to set up their third possession from the Dupo 49 yard line.
The drive, however, would only last three plays as Zach Lochhead's pass on third down was intercepted by Dupo's Pierce.
Dupo put together another long drive on their third possesion of the game. The Tigers' possession went 11-plays that picked up three first downs and reached the Chester 12 yard line.
The Jackets defense stiffened up in the shadow of their own end zone and forced Dupo to attempt a 37-yard field goal on fourth down. Joe Higgerson's kick was wide left and short as Dupo's lead stayed at 7-0 with 3:07 left in the opening half.
Clint Cole got Chester's next drive going in a hurry as he raced for a 26-yard run on first down, but the Jackets went backward after that and were forced to punt four plays later.
Dupo ran the ball twice for six yards as the first half came to an end.
"At halftime we asked for some leadership," said Lee. "We played the first half like a team that was already guaranteed a playoff spot. We were able to get our players focused for the second half, and they came out and played like the team they are."
Chester's defense set the tone for the second half by forcing Dupo into a three-and-out.
The Jackets' first drive of the second half surpassed their first half total in first downs as they picked up three on the possession. The drive was highlighted by nine and 10 yard runs by Sullins, but penalties including an unsportsmanlike penalty that resulted in the ejection of Cole stalled the drive forcing the Jackets to punt on their 10th play from scrimage.
The Chester defense forced another three-and-out, but the Dupo punt was muffed by Issac McMullin and Dupo recovered the loose ball as they took over from the Chester 49 yard line.
Dupo gained six yards on three runs before Caleb Tatum's pass was picked off by Dan Adams at the Chester 10 yard line.
The turnover seemed to spark the Chester offense as they marched down the field 90 yards on 10 plays that turned out to be the game winner.
The Dupo defense had no answere for Sullins' hard running as the senior ran the ball eight times for 78 yards including a 42-yard scamper. The drive was capped off by a one yard touchdown run by Baughman. On the two-point conversion, Baughman took the handoff and was able to get outside and dive over a Dupo offender to give his team the lead for good, 8-7 with 9:48 to play in the fourth quarter.
After stopping Dupo inches short on fourth down, Chester put together another scoring drive. This time it was 44-yard six-play drive that resulted in a four-yard touchdown run by Sullins. The extra point kick failed, and with 4:11 left in the game, Chester's lead increased to seven points, 14-7.
Danny Roth put the final touches on the game on Dupo's next drive as he picked off a Tatum pass and returned it 62 yards for a touchdown and 21-7 win.
"Dupo really didn't have an answere for Timmy (Sullins) in the second half," said Lee. "He always works hard and his power can really wear teams down in the second half. Danny (Roth) did big things for us tonight as well. He is so tough on defense, and he does everything that is asked of him. He is really an exciting player."
