CHESAPEAKE --

After a 22-12 loss to the Wayne Pioneers Friday night, Chesapeake coach Phil Davis may be thinking, as Yogi Berra once said, "It's like deja-vu all over again."

Just like last season, the Panthers have dropped their first two games of the season to Portsmouth and Wayne. But, as Chesapeake fans know, it is not time to throw in the towel.

Last year, after the season-opening two-game skid, the Panthers won seven of their last eight regular season games, qualified for the Division V playoffs, winning two games before eventually losing to perennial powerhouse Amanda Clearcreek in the regional finals.

"We've played two pretty good teams," Davis said. "Defensively, we played well. We've been playing people who have bigger defensive and offensive lines than we have."

Wayne (1-0) used a strong running game to beat the Panthers, amassing 232 yards. The Pioneers were led on the ground by Josh Powers, who had 111 yards on 15 carries.

The Pioneers opened up a 6-0 lead early, capitalizing on a Chesapeake miscue on the Panthers' opening drive.

Quarterback Justin Finley fumbled the ball on the Panthers 30, and Wayne's Trevor Marcum recovered and returned it the Chesapeake 15. From there, the Pioneers pushed the ball into the end zone with 5:59 showing on the first quarter clock when Jason Sanders scoring on a 4-yard run.

The Panthers came back to tie the game in the second quarter, also taking advantage of a miscue. After recovering a muffed punt deep in Wayne territory, Finley scored on a 2-yard run with 9:29 left to knot the game at 6-6.

After the ensuing kickoff, Wayne embarked on a seven-play, 89-yard drive -- including a 67-yard pass from Nick Newell to Kyle Wellman -- and scored on a 3-yard run by Powers with 6:07 left to make it 14-6.

After playing at a stalemate for most of the third quarter, the Panthers came up with a big break at the 2:31 mark. After the defense held the Pioneers, Wayne had to punt deep in their own territory. Kermit Adkins blocked the punt and recovered it in the end zone. After a failed PAT run, the Panthers were within two points, 14-12.

After the blocked punt, the Panthers defense held Wayne two times. The offense marched the ball down to the Pioneer 35, but on a fourth-and-1 play, the Wayne defense stopped the Panther drive with about eight minutes to go in the game.

On the ensuing possession, the Pioneers drove the ball into Panther territory, scoring the decisive touchdown with 2:56 left in the game on a 7-yard pass from Newell to Marcum. Newell hooked up with Wellman on the two-point conversion to make it 22-12.

The Panthers were moving the ball on their last drive of the game, but a Finley pass was intercepted by Jake Gilliam.

"We had our opportunities to win, but they were pretty doggone good," Davis said.

The Panthers will travel to Symmes Valley for a non-league game next Friday.

Wayne6808--22

Chesapeake0660--12

First Quarter

Wa -- Jason Sanders

5-yard run (kick failed) 5:59

Second Quarter

Ch -- Justin Finley 2-yard run (kick failed) 9:29

Wa -- Josh Powers 3-yard run (Powers run) 6:07

Third Quarter

Ch -- Kermit Adkins recovered blocked punt in end zone (run failed) 2:13

Fourth Quarter

Wa -- Trevor Marcum 7-yard pass from Nick Newell (Kyle Wellman pass from Newell) 2:56

First downs:Wa 12, Ches8

Rushes-yards:Wa 48-232, Ches33-117

Passing yards:Wa 121, Ches30

Total yards: Wa353, Ches147

Comp.-Att.-Int.:Wa 7-14-0, Ches3-13-1

Punts-average:Wa 1-22, Ches4-42.5

Fumbles-lost: Wa0-0, Ches1-1

Penalties-yards: Wa5-50, Ches2-25

Individual Leaders

RUSHING -- Wayne: Josh Powers 15-111, Daniel Runyon 5-59, Gary Rowland 13-37, Jason Sanders 7-23, Jake Gilliam 3-6,

Josh Warman 1-5, Nick Newell 4-(-9).

Chesapeake: Justin Finley 9-42, Cody Hunt 15-38, Andy Stapleton 5-25, Tyler Marcum 4-12.

PASSING -- Wayne: Nick Newell 7-14-0 121.

Chesapeake: Justin Finley 3-13-1 30.

RECEIVING -- Wayne: Jake Gilliam 2-33, Josh Powers 2-11, Kyle Wellman 1-67, Trevor Marcum 1-7, Daniel Runyon 1-3. Chesapeake: Tyler Marcum 1-17, Jeffrey Thornburg 1-9, Cody Hunt 1-4.