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Jackets hold off surge in 29-24 win in Vienna ctory over Vienna

The Chester High School YellowJackets had a tale of two halves Sept. 15 when they traveled to Vienna-Goreville to take on the Eagles in Black Diamond Conference football.

The first half was all Chester with the Jackets taking a 21-0 lead at halftime. The second half was mostly all Vienna-Goreville, as the YellowJackets barely managed to escape the Eagles' claws with a slim 4-point victory, 29-24.

The Jackets drew first blood at the 9:01 mark in the first quarter when senior Drake Bollman scored on a 4-yard run to put Chester up 6-0. Ethan Rayburn added two points on the successful extra-point run.

Chester's defense held the Eagles throughout the first period and managed another score with 1:55 to go in the quarter when quarterback Nick Meyer connected with Keith Kiner III on a 6-yard touchdown pass, giving the Jackets another six points. The two-point conversion failed, but Chester led 14-0.

The YellowJackets scored again with 7:32 left in the second period when Drake Bollman ran it in from six yards out to extend Chester's lead to 20-0. Tristan Hobeck kicked the extra point for CHS 21-0 lead.

Vienna-Goreville had a good run in the final 7:32, making it down the YellowJacket's 10 yard line, but could not get the ball into the end zone before time ran out.

The 90-degree heat played a factor in the game, as players on both teams experienced heat-related issues. CHS Coach Billy Belton took the Jackets to the air-conditioned charter bus at halftime to allow a cool-down period. Vienna-Goreville's primary rusher Logyn Frasato had to leave the game in the second half due to the heat.

The Eagles regrouped to start the second half and scored a 38-yard touchdown on a run by Brendan Dahncke with 2:43 to play in the third quarter. The Eagles Danny Smith ran it in for the two-point conversion to give Vienna-Goreville their first points of the game. Chester led 21-8 with just 2:43 to play in the quarter.

On the ensuing kickoff, Chester's Ethan Rayburn caught the ball and ran it all the way back down the sideline, 73-yards, for yet another Chester touchdown. Drake Bollman took the ball across the goal line for the two-point conversion and Chester extended its lead to 21 points again, 29-8, to end the third quarter.

With just one period remaining, the Eagles put forth a major push to upset the YellowJackets. At the 10:16 mark, the Eagles' Smith struck again scoring a 21-yard touchdown. Aiden Kuhn scored the two-point conversion and the Eagles trailed by 13, 29-16.

Chester failed to score again, giving Vienna-Goreville another opportunity to steal the game. With 4:18 remaining in the game, Kuhn scored on a 3-yard run to bring the Eagles within seven points, 29-22. Brendan Dahncke scored the two-point conversion and Chester's lead slipped away to 29-24.

With 4:18 remaining in the game, Chester had the ball and an opportunity to seal the win, but turned the ball over on downs.

Vienna got the ball back for a last stand with 1:14 left. The Eagles had the ball on their 44 yard line, and on a third down effort, drove the ball to Chester's 40 on a huge run by Dahncke.

Davis then connected on a pass to Kyle Vancleve for a 23-yard gain, putting the ball on the 17 yard line.

With no timeouts left to stop the clock, Davis managed to kill the clock with a long, incomplete pass. On his second pass attempt, he rolled to the right looking for Vancleve again, but Chester's Erik Cowell got a hand on the ball to thwart the play and stop the clock one final time.

With less than a second remaining, Davis launched one final pass into the end zone for a last-ditch effort to foil the Chester victory, but the YellowJacket defense did a great job of defending and time ran out with Chester on top, 29-24.

For the game, Chester's Meyer completed 8-of-15 passes for 74 yards. Vienna's Davis completed 4-of-7 passes for 51 yards. The Jackets ran a total of 60 plays while the Eagles ran 52. Chester racked up 306 yards. Vienna had 294 yards.

CHS threw for 74 yards while VHS passed for 51 yards. The YellowJackets had 232 rushing yards while the Eagles ran for 243 yards. CHS dad 16 first downs. VHS had 15 first downs. Chester committed 11 penalties for 115 yards. Vienna-Goreville had five penalties for a total of 44 yards.

Chester's Bollman ran the ball nine times for 60 yards. Rayburn ran the ball 12 times for 57 yards. Meyer ran nine times for 54 yards. Vienna's Smith led the Eagles in rushing running 11 times for 114 yards.

Kiner led the Jackets in pass receptions, catching three passes for 31 yards and one touchdown. Bert caught two passes for 26 yards. Ethen Eggemeyer led Chester in tackles with seven. He also had four assists. Chase Colvis recorded five tackles and three assists. Vienna's E. Rice led the Eagles in tackles with five. He also recorded one assist. A. Smith had four solo tackles and one assist.

With the win, Chester improved to 2-2 for the season. Vienna-Goreville fell to 1-3.

Next up for the YellowJackets is another road trip to Johnston City Sept. 21.</group><group id="D035A599-C12B-4166-BD27-7A880D12843E" type="seoLabels"><seoLabels>