Injuries soften Yellow Jacket sting in 7-0 rivalry win over Sparta
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[The Chester Yellow Jackets brought home a satisfying 7-0 victory Friday night in their final SIRR Mississippi Conference rivalry game against the Sparta Bulldogs, although injuries to both the offensive and defensive lines for the Jackets left the results short of expectations. Sophomore offensive lineman Brad Bindel suffered an ankle injury keeping him at only fifty percent, an injury which would not have been worth stressing. According to Assistant Coach Jeremy Blechle, Bindel should return to play this Friday against Anna-Jonesboro, but there is no guarantee. Senior Randy Beam also suffered an injury early in the game last Friday, although the causes are yet to be determined. Senior defensive end, Carlo Marconi, was taken off the field with 2:01 left in the second quarter and diagnosed with an extremely mild concussion. Marconi was released before the end of Friday's game and, according to Coach Blechle, will be back in action against A-J.
"At times it was ugly," remarked Head Coach Bryan Lee, "but I can't say we didn't play a great game. Jeremy Blechle, our Defensive Coordinator earned his first shut out, but Sparta also came out with a well executed game plan-better than last year." The Yellow Jacket defense continues to stake it's mark in the Mississippi Division, holding the Bulldog offense to only 33 yards, 30 by way of the pass. Coach Blechle commented that the shut out, "could not have come at a better time." The Orange Crush maintained a strong defense while continuing to diversify their offense between a variety of rushers and offering up experience to junior quarterback Zach Lochhead, who connected with junior Justin Woodward and senior Isaac McMullin for 41 pass yards in 6 of 12 attempts.
Although being held to a single touchdown, the Jacket offense still managed a total of 13 first downs in the game, while using the advantage of a bulldozer defense to take a number of 4th down opportunities in Bulldog territory. "Sometimes we were only one guy away from doing what we needed to do," Coach Lee commented Friday, opting to punt on only two occasions.
The Yellow Jackets took over with 9:00 left in the first quarter, starting at the 50 yard line, and moved the ball 15 yards before reaching their first 4th down with 10 yards to go. Zach Lochhead looked to sophomore Clint Cole, slanting inside at 10 yards out but the incomplete pass would put the ball back into the hands of the Bulldog offense. After a quick series, Isaac McMullin would return the punt to the 42 yard line, but the Jackets would earn only a single 1st down before fumbling on the Sparta 35 yard line. The Orange Crush would fire up Jacket fans on Sparta's next series with two back-to-back sacks, leaving the Bulldogs to punt on 4th and 27. With Chester in control at 2nd and 9, Lochhead would throw out a deep pass to senior Dan Adams, ruled incomplete after falling through the hands of a Sparta defender. A second overthrown pass would lead the Jackets to their first punt of the game.
It was near the end of the first quarter that the Yellow Jackets built momentum toward the Bulldog end zone. After Justin Woodward blocked a 4th and 21 pass attempt by the Sparta offense, Lochhead and company took the field in enemy territory at the 35 yard line. The Jacket offense set up for the ground attack, moving the ball 11 yards for a first down before taking off to the Bulldogs 7 yard line for first and goal. John Baughman took a handoff from Lochhead and swung around the left side, flying past the Sparta crowd for the Jackets' only touchdown of the evening. After a successful kick by Dan Adams, Chester led Sparta 7-0 with 10:57 left in the half.
Baughman returned on Chester's next possession, after a Sparta punt to the 26 yard line, with an 18-yard rush. With the Jackets buzzing at their own 44 yard line, senior Tim Sullins jumped a tackle and charged downfield for what seemed to be a 56-yard touchdown run before flags on the field were determined to be a penalty on Chester for a block to the back. With 7:35 still left in the half, the Yellow Jacket offense would come back from 2nd and 12 with a short, 7-yard pass on the right to Clint Cole followed by a 4-yard, first down rush in the spinning arms of Tim Sullins. As the first half winded down, however, neither Chester or Sparta could pin down any progress.
Coach Lee acknowledged, "The Sparta defense adjusted well to our motion and did a number of different things," however, his Jacket offense must have made some adjustments of their own. Starting off the second half, Isaac McMullin returned the opening kick off to the Chester 32 yard line, before the Yellow Jacket offense set off on a five minute drive totaling three first downs in the hands of lead rusher Tim Sullins, John Baughman, and junior Danny Roth among others. The Sparta Bulldogs obtained possession only twice in the third quarter as the continued efforts of the Chester offense pulled minutes off the clock. As the forth quarter began, Zach Lochhead had hit two passes to Isaac McMullin for 12 yards and 7 yards respectively.
With just under ten minutes left in the game, a gasp and sigh could be heard from Chester fans as a pass to John Baughman was bobbled, but then knocked from the hands of a Sparta defender in mid-air. Followed by a flag on 3rd and 9, Chester punted for their second time of the game, but Baughman was quick to shut down the Bulldog return with a tackle on Sparta's 22 yard line. Sparta's final possession of the game ended with a momentous sack by senior Wes Cowen which Coach Lee considers "the biggest sack of the year." This key play came soon after Darius Jackson connected on a 19-yard, first down pass.
Chester, now bouncing back with a conference win, stands at 5-1 for the season with a 2-1 record in the conference and look ahead to another conference battle against Anna-Jonesboro on Friday. The Wildcats of A-J fell to Nashville in the closing seconds of the game last Friday, and may be looking to take another win from Chester for their own redemption. Kickoff will begin at Anna-Jonesboro, this Friday at 7 p.m.