CHESAPEAKE - To listen to Phil Davis, you wouldn't know his Chesapeake Panthers were unbeaten in the Ohio Valley Conference race.

But after the Panthers escaped with an 18-10 win over the South Point Point Friday night, you'd begin to understand what Davis is saying.

Chesapeake continued to battle through injuries and keep its title hopes alive after fighting off the Pointers upset bid. The Panthers are 6-2 overall and tied with Rock Hill for first place in the OVC at 3-0.

"It was a big win," said Davis. "I'm sticking by my theory that everybody in the league is about the same. Again, we had some people step up. We moved Shane Williams to defensive end and Keith Marcum to fullback. They both did a good job."

Davis not only praised his players, but heaped credit on South Point.

"Our kids played hard and their kids played hard. It was a physical ball game," said Davis.

South Point slipped to 2-6 and 0-3 in the league, but Pointers coach Dan McDavid was proud of his team's effort.

"Our defense played really well tonight," McDavid said. "Brandon Cochran, Chris Weaver, Tyler Staton and Aaron Runyon had especially good ball games. Our kids gave 110 percent and played hard."

Defense was the order of business. Chesapeake was limited to 184 total yards and the Pointers 193. The Panthers had eight tackles for lost yardage.

After forcing a punt to start the game, Chesapeake scored on its first possession with a 12-play, 63-yard drive. Cody Hunt ran the final yard and it was 6-0.

South Point came back with its own drive highlighted by a 31-yard pass from Tommy Hayner to Caleb Copley. The pass was intended for Chapman but tipped into Copley's hands.

The drive stalled, but Zane Joy boomed a 44-yard field goal and it was 6-3 with 1:47 left in the first quarter.

Hunt had a 60-yard punt return in the third quarter to the Pointers 21-yard line. Four plays later Justin Finley hit Dustin O'Brien with a 20-yard touchdown pass and it was 12-3.

"It turned the momentum for a little bit," said Davis.

South Point used its own punt return to set up the next touchdown. Copley ran the punt back 36 yards to the Panthers 42. Copley ran five times for 23 yards in the drive as the Panthers used nine plays to score. Chapman ran 1-yard with 8:07 to play for the touchdown and Joy's conversion kick cut the deficit to 12-10.

Chesapeake had a short drive end in a punt, but the Pointers fumbled the ball away and the Panthers Cory Thomas recovered at the 45.

A 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty moved the ball closer to the goal line and Hunt bolted 23 yards for the insurance touchdown with 1:56 to play.

"That was a big fumble recovery by Cory Thomas. I felt like the defense was the difference," said Davis.

Hunt finished with 69 yards on 21 carries and Jackson Caynor added 43 yards on six tries. Copley led the Pointers with 53 yards on 19 attempts with Chapman getting 33

yards on nine rushes.

South Point3007-10

Chesapeake6066-18

First Quarter

Ch - Cody Hunt 1 run (kick blocked) 5:56

SP -

Zane Joy 44 field goal 1:47

Third Quarter

Ch - Dustin O'Brien 20 pass from Justin Finely (kick blocked) 7:10

Fourth Quarter

SP - Chris Chapman 1 run (Zane Joy kick) 8:07

Ch - Cody Hunt 23 run (run failed)

1:56

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SPCh

First downsSP 9Ch 11

Rushes-yardsSP 36-114Ch 36-164

Passing yardsSP 79Ch 20

Total yardsSP 193Ch 184

Cmp-Att-IntSP 3-12-0Ch 1-4-0

Fumbles-lostSP 3-1Ch 3-1

Punts-averageSP 3-33.0Ch

5-37.0

Penalties-yardsSP 2-20Ch 8-60

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Individual Leaders

RUSHING - South Point: Caleb Copley 19-53, Chris Chapman 9-33, Justin Workman 2-6, Tommy Hayner 6-22. Chesapeake: Cody Hunt 21-69, Jackson Caynor 6-43, Keith Marcus 7-30, Justin Finley 8-22.

PASSING - South Point: Tommy Hayner 3-12-0

43, Caleb Copley 1-1-0 36. Chesapeake: Justin Finley 1-4-0

20.

RECEIVING - South Point: Caleb Copley 2-38, Justin Workman 2-41. Chesapeake: O'Brien 1-20.