Chester (1-0) rolled up 300 yards of total offense and a 34-0 lead in the first half as the Yellow Jackets strolled to an impressive 41-6 victory over Carlyle Friday night in the season opener for both football squads.
While most of Chester’s starters played just the first half in the lopsided contest, the balanced running attack of the Jackets was evident early. Chester finished the game with  359 yards of total offense with 230 of that coming from the rushing attack. Tim Sullins led the team with 77 yards on 11 carries, while John Baughman had 57 yards on four carries and Clint Cole added 26 yards on just three carries. New Chester fullback, Danny Roth, had three rushing touchdowns in the game as Chester was never really threatened in the opener.
“There were a lot of things to be happy about in this game,” said Chester coach Bryan Lee. “We showed in this game that we have plenty of weapons offensively and I was really pleased with our defensive play. Our offensive line was just fantastic in the victory.”
The Chester defense was dominant right from the start allowing only one first down in the first half. Carlyle was held to just 170 yards of total offense.
“We won the battle up-front and got big plays from our defense,” said Lee. “The guys were ready to play and that is the focus we need every game this year.”
Roth got the scoring started with a five yard touchdown run. The extra point failed and Chester led 6-0 with 3:15 to play in the first quarter.
The Jackets struck again about two minutes later as Zach Lochhead tossed his first career varsity touchdown pass as he connected with Baughman on a 64-yard touchdown pass. Isaac McMullin ran in the two-point conversion and with 1:23 to play in the first quarter Chester led 14-0.
With 5:33 to play in the second quarter, Baughman added his second touchdown of the game as he scampered into the endzone from 18 yards out. The two-point conversion failed as Chester’s lead increased to 20-0.
Just over four minutes later, Roth was in the endzone for his second touchdown of the game, the result of a two-yard run. The extra point failed and with 1:30 to play in the opening half, the Yellow Jackets led 26-0.
McMullin put an end to any Carlyle comeback thoughts as he picked off a pass on the one yard line and returned it 99 yards for a touchdown. Baughman ran in the two-point conversion and at half-time Chester was up big 34-0.
Chester scored their final touchdown of the game early in the third period as Roth secured his third rushing touchdown, this time from nine yards out. Chester added the extra point and with 10:17 to play their lead ballooned to 41-0.
Carlyle avoided the shutout by scoring on a 32-yard run with only 38 seconds left in the ball game.
Lochhead wrapped up his varsity debut with impressive numbers as he completed 4-of-4 passes for 129 yards with a touchdown.
“I told Zach that he should retire now,” joked Lee. “You can’t get much better than he was in his first start. It was remarkable.”
On defense, Chester was paced by Justin Woodward (four solo tackles and two assists), Jake Rock (three solo tackles and three assists), Roth (two solo tackles and four assists) and Kenny White (one solo tackle and four assists).
Up next for the Jackets will be their home opener Friday night as they host the Fredericktown Blackcats (0-1).