Chesnee used a big 2nd quarter and solid 2nd half defense to down the Blue Ridge Tigers 42-7 on road on Friday night. Chesnee scored 21 points in the 2nd quarter, and the Chesnee defense allowed 30 total yards in the 2nd half.
Chesnee got the scoring started on a play that was likely not run as designed. Josh Russell took the hand off and was hemmed up near the line of scrimmage, and alertly lateraled the ball backwards to Jacob Aparis who sprinted to the far side of the field to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead. Blue Ridge would respond with a Mackey 8 yard run to tie the game at 7. Just under two minutes later Chesnee would respond as Jacob Kimbrell hit Dez Tate for a 50 yard touchdown pass. The Eagle offense would continue rolling in the 2nd quarter as early in the 2nd quarter after a Matthew Wood interception gave Chesnee the ball back, Kimbrell would hit Kyler Reagan for a 71 yard strike. Josh Russell would add a bruising bruising 4 yard touchdown run to give the Eagles a 21 point lead. A Avery Green interception would later set the Eagles up in Blue Ridge territory, and on 4th down Kimbrell would find Matthew Lawter for a 22 yard touchdown pass. Lawter made a terrific catch between two defenders. Chesnee would add a 4 yard 4th quarter touchdown run by Jacob Kimbrell to round out the scoring. The Chesnee defense allowed 181 total yards, and only 30 yards in the 2nd half. Chesnee also forced two turnovers while not turning the ball over themselves. Matthew Wood and Avery Green both had interceptions for the Eagles. Chesnee allowed a 128 yards on the ground on with most of that coming in the first half, Coach Owens was pleased to see an improvement in his rush defense, "that is where we have been getting hurt, and we expected them to try and run on us. We knew Mackey was a really good running back, and he has hurt everybody they have played against. Our coaching staff worked really hard teaching the fundamentals, and that is what it came down to tonight. Our guys played well. It is always a game of adjustments, and our guys adjusted well and they just played hard tonight." Owens said. In his second start at the Varsity level Sophomore Center Brayden Sprinkle did an excellent job on snaps. Sprinkle's reliable snaps have been a major key in Chesnee's offensive explosion the past two games, "he has done such a good job. We talked about coming in and playing your role, doing whatever you can do for this team. At the start of the season we didn't know where he would wind up at, he winds up starting at center. He snaps the ball well for us, and he is a good solid blocker at Center. Nothing happens if we don't get a good snap." Coach Owens said. Jacob Kimbrell in his 3rd career start followed a 4 touchdown game last week at Christ Church with another 4 touchdown game this week. Kimbrell finished with 292 passing yards and three scores, and he also rushed for a touchdown. Kimbrell's steady play at quarterback has helped guide the Eagles to two straight wins, "thing I really like (about Kimbrell) is he works to improve. We are trying to get our whole team to understand this big picture of getting ready for our 4 game region season. We want to improve at every position, but with our quarterback continuing to improve, and the kids we have at the skill positions we are becoming a much better team." Coach Owens said. Chesnee will travel to Walhalla next Friday night to take on the razorbacks. Chesnee is 7-0 all time against Walhalla. Sometimes to get hot all you need is a spark. On the first drive for Christ Church, Chesnee's Matthew Wood provided that spark as he picked off a Will James' pass to give the Eagles great field positio,n and Chesnee was able to ride that momentum to a 41-27 win over the Cavaliers. The Chesnee offense responded in a big way with Jacob Kimbrell hitting Isaiah Bridges in stride for a 40yd touchdown pass to put the Eagles up 6-0 early in the contest. After another big stop by the Eagle defense Kimbrell tossed his second touchdown pass this time to Dez Tate from 24 yards out. On the ensuing drive, Chesnee's defense was able to hold Christ Church out of the endzone, and Christ Church had to settle for a field goal to cut into the Eagles'lead and make it 12-3.
Jacob Aparis would respond with a big 62 yard touchdown for the Eagles, and make it 20-3 after a successful two point conversion. After blocking a Chesnee punt Christ Church was able to get on the board to bring them within 10 and make the score 20-10. The Eagles would respond quickly as Jacob Kimbrell threw his 3rd touchdown of the night and 2nd to Dez Tate, this time from 73 yards out to make 27-10 in favor of the Eagles. Will James and the Cavaliers were able to respond shortly before halftime with a 24 yard run for James. Chesnee open up the scoring in the second half as Jacob Kimbrell tossed his 4th touchdown of the night. This time Kimbrell hit Brandon Kirkpatrick for a 19 yard touchdown as Kirkpatrick made an incredible diving catch in the corner of the end zone to put Chesnee up 34-17. Will James would once again lead the Cavalier response as this time he carried in from 4 yards out to make the score 34-24 with just over a minute left on the 3rd quarter. Anil Chandler was able to hit a 31 yard field goal with just under 10 minutes left in the game to bring Christ Church within 7. Several big plays defensively from both teams kept the score at 34-27 in favor of the Eagles for most of the 4th quarter. One key play of note was a beautiful Cole Hoskyns strip sack, and fumble recovery by Chase Carver that gave the ball back the Eagle offense so Chesnee could bleed more time off of the clock. Luckily for the Eagles time and score were on they're side. Christ Church, who had been having success on the ground, but were running out of time and had to put the ball the air where they had struggled all night. Chesnee was able to take advantage as Dez Tate made a beautiful interception and returned it 83 yards for a Chesnee touchdown. That would be the final score of the ball as Chesnee held on to win 41-27. Dez Tate had a huge night for the Eagles as he finished with 3 catches for 100 yards and two touchdowns, and he added a game sealing 83 yard pick 6. Chesnee Head Coach Bill Owens was pleased with how his senior responded in a big moment, "we made them snap one more time, and Dez stepped up. You are not going to catch Dez Tate." Jacob Kimbrell had a great start at quarterback in only his second varsity start. Kimbrell finished with 375 yards passing, and he completed 25 out of 38 attempts. He also tossed 4 touchdown passes. Kimbrell also rushed for 48 yards on 6, and did a great job avoiding the Cavalier blitz all night long. Coach Owens was proud to see his quarterback have success on the field after a great week of practice, "Jacob is improving on the field every week, because he is working really hard at practice. He is extremely coachable, and he extends plays for us and doesn't try other force the ball. Those are the intangables you have to have in a quarterback, and he is growing into a leadership role." Owens said One of the most improved units for the Eagles this week was the offensive line. The Eagles brought up several kids from the JV team. One notable call up was Brayden Sprinkle, who got the start at Center for the Eagles and did a great job all night on snaps after the Eagles struggled last week. Curtis Stacey, and Kyler Reagan each had nice nights for the Eagles. Reagan caught 4 passes for 57 yards, and a one carry for 14 yards in his first game back from injury. Stacey had a huge 2nd half for the Eagles as he finished with 3 catches for 22 yards, but each catch came at a critical point in the game for the Eagles. Isaiah Bridges and Brandon Kirkpatrick each had big nights for the Eagles as both caught a touchdown pass. Kirkpatrick finished with 5 catches for 59 yards, and Bridges had 4 catches for 51 yards. Jacob Aparis had 148 total yards for the Eagles. He rushed for 81 yards on 10 carries and a touchdown, and caught 7 passes for 67 yards. Several Eagles played well defensively including Avery Fogle, Tishaun Nesbitt, Chase Carver, and Cole Hoskyns on the defensive line. Hoskyns had several batted balls at the line of scrimmage, and he also recorded a strip sack recovered by the Eagles. Brandon Mills and Malik Busby played well at linebacker for the Eagles. The Eagles got a great game from they're secondary most notably Quez Dennis, Rodney Alexander, Matthew Wood, and Dez Tate. Tate had the big interception to seal the game, and Wood had abig interception to start the game. Alexander had another key play for the Eagles as shortly before the Tate pick six he tracked down a Cavalier running back from the opposite side of the field to prevent a game tying touchdown. Chesnee will be on the road once again next week as the Eagles trave to Blue Ridge to take on the Tigers. Kickoff is set for 7:30pm The Chesnee Lady Eagles picked up a big win on Wednesday night over the R-S Central. After dropping the first set the Lady Eagles rallied to win the next 3 to down the Lady Hilltoppers. Chesnee got a full team effort tonight as all 9 players dressed were able to contribute, Chesnee Head Coach Katie Jolley was pleased with the full team effort "That is what we have been talking about so far this season is working on our team aspect and everybody doing their job." Coach Jolley said. The Lady Hilltoppers rallied to score 7 of the final 8 points in the first set to win the set 25-23.
Chesnee battled back to win the 2nd set after R-S Central lead for most of the set. Kaitlyn Barrett helped the Lady Eagles hold serve for the final 3 points as the Lady Eagles won 25-23. The young freshman had a big night for the Lady Eagles as she finished with 6 kills, a block, and two aces. Coach Jolley was proud of her young freshman, "She did a great serving for us." Coach Jolley said. The Lady Eagles used the big rally in game two to come out firing in game three as the Lady Eagles roared to a 7-2 lead early in the set. The Lady Hilltoppers were able to battle back to tie it at 15, but a block by Kaitlyn Barrett, and a combo block by Barrett, and Anna Sullivan gave the momentum back to the Lady Eagles. A beautiful soft touch from Abbey Ray scored the final point in game 3 to give the Lady Eagles a 25-22 win. Ray finished with a huge 18 kills for the Lady Eagles. The Lady Eagles scored 7 of the final 8 points in game four to win the game 25-18 and the match 3 games to 1. Coach Jolley was pleased to see her team bounce back and win the final three games after dropping game one, "we have been talking about confidence and team play, and they realized there is nothing to be afraid and let's just go out there and play their best like the did in the final three sets." Coach Jolley Said. Chesnee's Libero Sam Carver had a huge game 4, including several key digs. Carver finished with a game high 20 digs for the Lady Eagles. Coach Jolley was pleased with Carver's play on the defensive end, "they were constantly hammering the ball her way, and she would pick it up. That really boasted the energy of the team any time she would get a dig." Coach Jolley said. Senior Abby Fisher had a huge game with 30 of the teams 31 assists, and 13 digs. Shelby Harris also had a nice night with 13 digs, and 2 aces. In the season opener for both the Woodruff Wolverines and the Chesnee Eagles, the Wolverines jumped to an early lead behind a strong ground game on their way to a 44-0 victory. Woodruff RB Demi Dale got the Wolverines on the board early in the 1st quarter with 17 yard run. Dale finished with 144 yards on 10 carries and two touchdowns. Dale had a 55 yard run late in the 2nd quarter that moved the Wolverines out of the shadow of their own end zone after the Wolverines defense stopped the Eagles on 4th and goal. The Wolverines would later kick a field goal on the drive to extend their lead to 17-0, and it was a big momentum swing as the Eagles went from a possibly trailing by a touchdown to trailing by three scores.
Woodruff QB Keegan Halloran looked good in his first game back from serious knee injury last season. Halloran finished with 6 carries for 61 yards on the ground, and 8 for 12 for 81 yards through the air and two touchdowns. Halloran and the Wolverine running backs were able to use the read option to great success as they totaled 333 yards on the ground. One bright spot offensively for the Eagles was the running back duo of Josh Russell and Jacob Aparis. The duo found some success on in the first half, but we're limited in the 2nd half. The Eagles need to throw the ball, and a first half injury to Aparis led the duo to totaling 47 yards. The Eagles are happy to have Russell's leadership and heart back on the field this season, "Josh is one of the heart and soul leaders of our team. We have a great senior class, and they have a great work ethic. Josh is a great example of that along with Matthew Wood, Malik Busby, Chase Carver, Jacob Henson, and the rest of the seniors. They just go to work. I know they will punch the clock Monday and be ready to get back to work." Coach Owens said. Tishaun Nesbitt had a good night for the Eagles at defensive end after being a defensive back last season. He used his speed effectively off the edge to be a thorn in the side of the Wolverine passing attack that the Eagle defense did a good job limiting in the 1st half. Chesnee Head Coach Bill Owens was proud of the fight Nesbitt and the rest of his team displayed "our guys never quit playing hard all night long. We just never did anything in the first half give us any momentum to keep us in the game. Our kids played hard, and our kids got better at a lot of positions." Owens said. The Eagles will travel next week to Greenville County to take on former region for the Christ Church cavaliers. Kickoff is set for 7:30pm. |
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