BLACKSBURG, SC - The man with the golden boot used his hands to come up with a game winning touchdown to send Chesnee home with their first win of the season as the Eagles downed Blacksburg 28-25 in a battle between two region rivals.
The Eagles knew coming into the game they needed to build momentum early offensively. "I'm so proud of these kids," said Chesnee head coach Clay Lewis. "They are finally able to enjoy all their hard work this season, what a way to end a game." "It feels amazing to come here and get a win," said Chesnee kicker Ezequiel Lazarin. "We worked hard as a team, and everyone contributed to this win." Chesnee got momentum going early offensively on their second drive of the game as Jayden Williams had a big run before KJ Proctor found Kaleb Swaney twice for twenty-three yards on the drive to set up a one yard run from Proctor to give the Eagles the 7-0 lead with just under five minutes to go in the first quarter. The Eagles kept the momentum going on the next drive defensively as Austin Bigford busted through the line on fourth down to block the punt, and after some scrambling for the ball Bigford was able to recover it in the end zone for a touchdown. The touchdown made it 14-0 with around three and a half to go in the first quarter. Blacksburg responded with a fourteen-play drive that saw Omyireia Daniels complete three passes for forty-two yards, and end in a Kolby Capps twenty-five yard field go all the way out on the near hash mark. That cut the Chesnee lead to 14-3 with just over seven and a half minutes to go in the half. Chesnee once again added on to the lead when Hayden Webb punched it in from nine yards out to make the score 21-3 in favor of the Eagles with just under a minute to play in the first half. Noah Lawter had a key sixteen-yard reception from Proctor and a key thirteen yard run on the drive. After a great return and a Chesnee penalty set Blacksburg up in great field position, they were able to take advantage as Omyireia Daniels connected with Saad Lavander from thirty-one yards out to make it 21-10 with thirty seconds to go in the half. After both teams had nice drives to open the second half that failed to produce points, Blacksburg reached the end zone on its second drive as Chaun'za Bonner ran it in from three yards out and Dre Buckson ran in the two-point conversion to make it 21-18 with just under three minutes to go in the third quarter. Dre Buckson had a thirty-yard run and Zaydron Burns had a twenty-two-yard run on the same drive. After each team traded several possessions, Blacksburg took the lead as Omyireia Daniels connected with Dre Buckson for a fifty-six yard pass play that was mostly came on the legs of Buckson after the catch, as the Wildcats took a 25-21 lead with just under seven and a half minutes to go. Chesnee then turned to its young sophomore quarterback KJ Proctor to lead his first career fourth quarter game winning drive. Proctor hit a pair of big pass plays on the drive as the first one saw him connect with Kaleb Swaney for a forty-nine yard gain and the second saw him hit the biggest pass of his young career as he found Ezequiel Lazarin in the middle of the field before Lazarin ran over and through several Wildcat defenders to find paydirt on a twenty-one yard reception to make the score 28-25 with just under five minutes to play in the game. "I saw the safety shift over and ran my route to open space," said Lazarin. "I was able to find the end zone." The reception was Lazarin's first career touchdown catch, and his third career game winner for the Eagles. The other two have been thanks to his foot as they were both game winning field goals in the 2021 season. Blacksburg tried to mount a comeback before ultimately coming up short thanks to a great stop on fourth down by Jayden Williams and the Eagle defense. "We had a couple of players step and make big plays for us defensively on that final drive," said Lewis. "I'm very proud of our kids." The win sets the Eagles up with a great chance to make the playoffs as five of the six teams in Region I-2A will make the playoffs. KJ Proctor completed eight passes for 130 yards and a score while most of the yards were thanks to Kaleb Swaney's four receptions for 78 yards. Nick Hofer led the way on the ground for the Eagles with sixty-six yards rushing. Austin Bigford had a huge night defensively as he finished with eight tackles, two sacks, a pass batted down, a blocked punt, and he recovered it for a touchdown. Another player who had a big night was Jackson Ramsey as he finished with five tackles and a sack as he harassed the Blacksburg quarterback back most of the night. "It great to be able to deliver the hits that helped our team pick up the win," said Austin Bigford about his performance. Gunther Gerstenacker and Jayden Williams also had great nights as Gerstenacker finished with six tackles and Williams with five. Hayden Webb, Noah Lawter, and Kaleb Mason each had four tackles each. "Everyone did their part and we all did well," said Bigford. "It took a team effort to pull out this win." Omyireia Daniels finished 215 yards through the air with a pair of scores. Zaydron Burris led all rushers with 114 yards rushing for the Wildcats, and Dre Buckson had two catches for 83 yards. The Eagles will return to action next Friday night as they host Ninety-Six on senior night as kickoff is set for 7:30 PM. Comments are closed.
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