Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

WEST PORTSMOUTH — It’s all about making plays, and Chesapeake Panthers’ coach Andy Clark knows it all too well.

Clark saw his team make some plays early but failed to convert on two scoring drives inside the 25-yard line in the fourth quarter as the Panthers lost 21-12 to the Portsmouth West Senators on Friday.

“We had our chances, we just didn’t make the plays,” said Clark. “They did a better job of making plays. We played well in spurts and the defense played better, but we’re still giving up too much.”

Chesapeake (1-4) took a 6-0 lead on a 49-yard pass from Caleb Lindsey to Javon Thompson with 2:39 on the clock.

West (2-3) came back to take a 7-6 lead on a 1-yard run by Justin Crace, but the Panthers managed to regain the lead with just 20 seconds left in the half on a 16-yard pass from Lindsey to Chris Lively.

Lindsey was 11 of 21 for 222 yards and two touchdowns.

“Caleb threw the ball well. We dropped two or three or he would have had even better numbers. But we didn’t run the ball very well except early in the game,” said Clark.

The Panthers finished the game with 30 rushes for 101 yards.

West grabbed the lead for good on a 1-yard run by Crace with 1:11 left in the third quarter.

Chesapeake drove inside the 20 but failed to convert and later had the ball at the 23 and came up just short on a fourth down conversion play.

The Senators took over and scored with just 18 seconds left on a 26-yard run by Crace.

West had 297 total yards — all on the ground — with Crace running 19 times for 132 yards. Austin Bricker ran 22 times for 105 yards.

The Panthers visit River Valley next Friday to begin Ohio Valley Conference play.

Chesapeake 6 6 0 0 = 12

Ports. West 0 7 7 7 = 21

First Quarter

Ch — Javon Thompson 49 pass from Caleb Lindsey (kick failed) 2:39

Second Quarter

PW — Justin Crace 1 run (Zach Dials kick) 7:36

Ch — Chris Lively 16 pass from Caleb Lindsey (kick failed) 0:20

Third Quarter

PW — Justin Crace 1 run (Zach Dials kick) 1:11

Fourth Quarter

PW — Justin Crace 26 run (Zach Dials kick) 0:18

Team Statistics

Ch PW

Rushes-yards 30-101 49-297

Passing yards 222 0

Total yards 323 297

Cmp-Att-Int 11-21-0 0-4-2

Punts-average 4-33.5 NA

Individual Leaders

RUSHING—Chesapeake: Caleb Lindsey 12-41, Jacob Collins 9-23, Nate Jones 7-31, Caleb Lindsey 12-41, Javon Thompson 1-2; West: Austin Bricker 22-105, Justin Crace 19-132, Alec Meeker 4-21, Dylan Koons 4-18, Zach Frye 2-9.

PASSING—Chesapeake: Caleb Lindsey 11-21-0 222; West: Steven Irwin 0-4-2.

RECEIVING—Chesapeake: Javon Thompson 4-103, Jacob Collins 1-5, Nate Jones 3-77, Chris Lively 1-16, Mikey Walters 1-8, Andrew Saunders 1-13; West: None.