CHS FROSH: Yellow Jackets pick up first win
<p dir="ltr"><span>It was a fight to the bitter end on Thursday at W.O. Smith Field, but it was a fight Chester was determined to win.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Chester's Ethan Bert stripped Anna-Jonesboro quarterback Jansen Foster of the the ball and recovered the ensuing fumble with 6.9 seconds left, sealing the Yellow Jackets' first victory, 33-30, of the season and avoiding both a heartbreaking collapse and the dark side of history.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Chester led 33-6 entering the fourth quarter thanks to some impressive defense and an 81-yard touchdown run by Bert, but Anna-Jonesboro mounted an incredible fourth quarter comeback with three touchdowns in seven minutes and 48 seconds.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>The Wildcats pulled within three points, 33-30, on a 39-yard touchdown run by Foster, who also added the conversion, with 2:19 remaining.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>And Anna-Jonesboro had a chance to win it after the Wildcats (0-7) recovered a Chester fumble on their own 46 with 2:19 remaining.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>But Lady Luck, or divine intervention, showed up when Foster's pass to Michael Brimm - who had nothing but open grass in front of him along the right sideline - went through the receiver's hands for an incomplete pass with 1:21 left.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>It would be the last best chance for Anna-Jonesboro to pull off the comeback.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>"(A-J) was coming back to the line of scrimmage no huddle," said Chester defensive coordinator Charles Colvis. "And for those guys to get set, they didn't quite get the calls from the coach, they took it upon themselves and luckily, it worked out for us.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>"From the beginning of the season until now, we couldn't have done that."</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>The victory prevents Chester (1-5) from becoming the first freshman team since 1986 to go winless in a season. But the Yellow Jackets also played the toughest schedule of their Black Diamond Conference brethren with four non-conference opponents.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>"Any time you play a Sparta team that puts 62 points against you, a Sesser-Valier team that puts close to 60 points and a Freeburg team that puts 50 against you, and Valle (Catholic) comes here and does the exact same thing, those weren't slouch teams," Colvis said.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>A Chester loss would have overshadowed a monster defensive effort by the Yellow Jackets, including a record-breaking 21 tackles from Ethen Eggemeyer. Eggemeyer surpassed his cousin, Cody Eggemeyer, who previously held the single-game record of 19 set against Vienna-Goreville in 2011.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Eggemeyer only had seven tackles at halftime, and his effort included six solos and 15 assists. He also returned an interception for 24 yards and added a 33-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>"It feels great," Eggemeyer said of his accomplishment. "I went into the second half and I was struggling for tackles. So I just knew I had to step it up and find the ball.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>"It makes it even better because it's my cousin and I can rub it in his face every Christmas."</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Ethan Rayburn, who also had a 15-yard touchdown run called back due to a holding penalty, recorded 11 tackles and returned a fumble 40 yards for a score with 55 seconds left in first quarter that helped give the Yellow Jackets a 12-0 lead.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>"Although not feeling well, he had a defensive fumble recovery for a touchdown and virtually shut down A-J's offense on the left side," Colvis said. "The defensive line also stepped it up tonight."</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Ian Reith continued his hot streak on defense, picking off a Foster pass and taking it 36 yards to the house with 6:11 left in the second quarter. Combined with his performance during the frosh/soph game on Monday, he has five interceptions - four for touchdowns - in his last three games.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Chester took a 25-6 advantage into the halftime break and added to its lead with a 1-yard touchdown plunge by quarterback Chett Andrews with 2:15 left in the third quarter.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>With the victory, the Frosh Yellow Jackets won their first non-conference game since defeating St. Vincent of Perryville, 54-21, to end the 2009 season. The following year, Chester joined the Black Diamond Conference.</span>