The standout Panthers receiver and teammates rolled Rock Hill 40-18 Friday night, opening and possibly closing the Ohio Valley Conference race in one night.

Saturday, October 02, 1999

The standout Panthers receiver and teammates rolled Rock Hill 40-18 Friday night, opening and possibly closing the Ohio Valley Conference race in one night.

Rock Hill came into the game 4-1 and looked to be Chesapeake’s (5-0) chief rival in the conference. Though Isaacs was covered most of the night, his presence opened up opportunities for others.

"You have to take what the defense gives you," Chesapeake coach Phil Davis said. "We moved the ball around to a lot of different players. We have some weapons and we need to be able to use them."

Balance was evident as the Panthers ran for 191 yards yet did not have a rusher over 63 yards. Chris Dillon led the way with 63 yards, Andy Clark picked up 51 yards and Jeremy Estep had 37 yards.

Clark also spread it out amongst his receivers hitting 6 of 10 passes to three receivers for 122 yards.

"We knew if we were going to win this game it would be on defense," Davis said. "Our defense was good because our line has really stepped it up. It doesn’t do any good to have a lot of speed if the line isn’t in step."

The Redmen were led on the ground by Josh Noel with 99 yards on 10 carries late in the game. Richie Webb also rushed for 45 yards. Gabe Medinger was 2-7 for 42 yards through the air with an interception and was forced from the game with a leg injury in the second half.

Chesapeake started the scoring on its first possession with a 26 yard run from Clark down the sideline. Isaacs added the point after.

Rock Hill was involved in a shootout last week beating Wellston 36-35 and appeared headed for another when they answered the Panther with a drive of their own.

Seven straight running plays set up the 21-yard scoring strike from Medinger to Nate Lambert who brushed off a tackler at the goal line before scoring and making it 7-6.

The Panthers were more methodical on their next drive going 71 yards in 12 plays for the touchdown. The score came on a 3-yard plunge by Dillon. Isaacs missed the point after making it 13-6 with 2:22 left in the first quarter.

This time the Redmen failed to hold serve. Two plays into the drive Isaacs picked off a pass and weaved his way through the Redmen for a touchdown. The play was called back for clipping giving the Panthers the ball at the 38-yard line.

With Isaacs drawing extra coverage, Clark was able to find a wide open Matt White for a 26-yard touchdown pass making it 19-6 with 11:54 left in the half.

On its next possession, Chesapeake took over at the Redmen 17-yard line. Three plays later Estep got loose from 10 yards out for a score making it 26-6.

The Panthers got on the board one more time before the half when Estep carried in from two yards out making it 33-6.

On the first possession of the second half the Panthers scored one last time when Clark lobbed a pass that Isaacs ran under and into the end zone from 30 yards out.

Rock Hill picked up a pair of late touchdowns both coming from Noel. The first came from seven yards out and was setup by a 58-yard Noel run. The second score came when Noel made it in from four yards out.

Chesapeake will host Portsmouth West next week ina non-league game while the Redmen host Coal Grove.