CHS FROSH: Great start, rough finish

Posted October 06, 2016 11:00 pm

By Pete Spitler Editor@heraldtrib.com

CHRISTOPHER -- For a half at least, things were going well for the Chester freshman football team.

The Yellow Jackets had their first lead of the season, their first offensive touchdown and their first defensive touchdown in a span of 52 seconds in the first quarter.

But, unfortunately, football has four quarters.

Christopher-Zeigler-Royalton scored 30 straight second-half points to erase a 26-20 halftime deficit, as the Bearcats (1-4) handed Chester (0-5) a 50-32 loss on Thursday at Spann Field.

Chester's Ethen Eggemeyer had three first-half touchdowns, including a 37-yard fumble return at the end of a run by teammate Ethan Bert, and finished with 12 tackles in the loss.

With 41 tackles on the season, Eggemeyer needs 13 more to tie Hunter Howie and Luke Ramos for 10th on the modern freshman record list with two games to play.

The 6-foot, 170-pound tailback/linebacker/kicker has recorded at least 10 tackles in each of his last three games.

Eggemeyer's cousin, Cody Eggemeyer, has the record of 107 set during the 2011 season.

Ethen Eggemeyer's 14-yard run with 8:15 left in the first quarter was Chester's first touchdown of the season from scrimmage, and Ian Reith added the Yellow Jackets' first defensive TD when he picked off a screen pass by CZR's Bryce Pratt and returned it untouched for a 25-yard pick-6.

Eggemeyer's later fumble return, which came with 8:57 left in the second quarter, gave Chester a 20-6 lead after quarterback Chett Andrews's pass on the two-point conversion went incomplete.

The Bearcats fought back to tie the game at 20 on a 48-yard run by Pratt, the first of three touchdowns by the elusive quarterback.

But Chester marched back down the field and Eggemeyer scored from 19 yards out with 32 seconds left to give the Yellow Jackets a 26-20 lead at halftime.

The second half began ominously, as CZR's Gabriel Motsinger returned Eggemeyer's kick 72 yards for the touchdown to retie the game after the conversion failed.

Chester never seemed to fully recover from that moment, as Pratt connected with Dalton Humphrey for a 75-yard touchdown reception and Pratt himself found the end zone from 14 yards out with 46 seconds left in the third quarter.

That gave C-Z-R a 42-26 advantage to start the final quarter.

Humphrey grabbed his second TD pass of the night - this time for 55 yards - to extend the Bearcats' lead to 50-26 with 6:34 left after the conversion.

Bert then scored on a 15-yard run with 3:44 to go to account for the final score.

Offensively, Chester had its best showing of the season with 16 first downs and 254 total yards. Eggemeyer finished with 92 yards rushing on 10 carries, while Bert had 91 yards on 13 carries.

Ethan Rayburn, who had 99 yards on kickoff return, added 42 yards rushing on six carries.

Defensively, Bert and Gage Bollmann each had six tackles for Chester, while Andy Bryant finished with five.

Up next for Chester is its final home game of the season on Thursday against Anna-Jonesboro. Kickoff is set for 6:15 p.m. at W.O. Smith Field.

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