CHESAPEAKE – Neutral fans of the Ohio Valley Conference couldn’t have asked for a better game with which to kick off conference play.

Chris Brammer rushed for a 120 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries as the Coal Grove Hornets used 248 rushing yards and a couple of big breaks to defeat the Chesapeake Panthers, 27-13 Friday.

Although the score may suggest otherwise, the game went back and forth until late in the fourth quarter.

“I thought our kids played well,” said Coal Grove head coach Dave Lucas. “Both teams fought hard… I’m going to give our kids credit for playing a hard-nosed football game tonight. All OVC games are tough.”

Coal Grove (3-3, 1-0) held Chesapeake to a three-and-out on their first drive of the game and after a Panther punt, Coal Grove took over at the Chesapeake 49-yard line.

The Hornets marched down the field and on a third down and 7 from the Panther 23, quarterback Wayne Sparks rolled right away from the pressure and raced down the sideline and into the end zone.

The conversion kick missed and it was 6-0.

Chesapeake (2-4, 0-1) got the ball back with 4:21 left in the first quarter at their own 28 and began an 11-play, 72-yard drive that ended with quarterback Colton Lindsay faking a handoff that fooled the Hornets’ defense and he scampered 16 yards for the score.

Zach Harris added the extra point the Panthers led 7-6 with 11:54 remaining in the half.

The Hornets then embarked on a 12-play drive that ate up 5:31, but it ended at the Chesapeake 27 with the Hornets turning the ball over on downs.

Chesapeake drove to the 50-yard line, but on a second and 8 play, Aaron Dickess timed the snap perfectly and managed to take the ball away from the center before he had a chance to snap it.

The play was controversially ruled a fumble recovery and Coal Grove took over at the Panther 49.

The Hornets drove to the 16-yard line before eventually turning the ball over at the 25 with 1:38 left in the half.

“Our kids played with great intensity,” said Chesapeake head coach Phil Davis. “Our second-string quarterback stepped up and played a whole game. It seems like we had a couple of bad breaks.”

On the first possession after halftime, the Hornets capped a four-play, 65-yard drive with a 42-yard touchdown gallop by Frank Delawder. He also added the two-point conversion to make it 14-7.

After an exchange of punts, Chesapeake took over at the 5:10 mark in the third quarter at their own 44-yard line. With the help of 25 yards worth of Hornet penalties, the Panthers marched 56 yards in 12 plays with Alex Wells taking it in from 4 yards out.

The Hornets managed to block the extra point attempt and it was 14-13 with 22 seconds remaining.

The Hornets were again unable to move the ball and the Panthers got it back with 9:42 remaining in the game.

Chesapeake took over at their 30-yard line and quickly moved into Hornet territory. But on first down from the Coal Grove 40-yard line with the Panthers in the shotgun formation, the snap went well over Lindsay’s head and Oakie Haynes recovered the ball at the Panther 37.

The Hornets quickly capitalized after five rushes from Brammer, the fifth being a 6-yard touchdown run that made the score 20-13 after the failed two-point conversion with 2:38 left.

The Panthers got the ball back, but quickly turned the ball over on downs after a fourth down pass from Lindsay was knocked away by Haynes.

The Hornets then tacked on the final score two plays later on an eight-yard touchdown run by Frank Delawder.

For Coal Grove, the win was the second straight against the Panthers. The Hornets retained the coveted “Little Brown Jug” which the two teams play for each year. Chesapeake had held the “Jug” from the 1998 season till last year.

Coal Grove 6 0 8 13 = 27

Chesapeake 0 7 6 0 = 13

First Quarter

CG – Wayne Sparks 22 run (kick failed) 4:21

Second Quarter

CH – Colton Lindsey 16 run (Zach Harris kick) 11:54

Third Quarter

CG – Frank Delawder 42 run (Delawder run) 10:18

CH – Alex Wells 4 run (kick blocked) 0:22

Fourth Quarter

CG – Chris Brammer 8 run (Scott Erwin kick) 0:51

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CG Ch

First downs 10 12

Rushes-yards 39-248 35-107

Passing yards 10 86

Total yards 258 233

Cmp-Att-Int 2-5-0 5-12-1

Fumbles-lost 0-0 2-2

Penalties-yards 10-85 3-15

Punts-average 2-33.5 2-32.5

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Individual Leaders

RUSHING–Coal Grove: Chris Brammer 16-120, Frank Delawder 15-87, Wayne Sparks 4-28, Oakie Haynes 3-11, Bubba Wood 1-2. Chesapeake: Alex Wells 14-65, Colton Lindsey 14-25, Peter Hintz 5-14, Drew Blake 2-3.

PASSING–Coal Grove: Wayne Sparks 2-5-0 10. Chesapeake: Colton Lindsey 5-12-1 86.

RECEIVING–Coal Grove: Aaron Dickess 1-8, Oakie Haynes 1-2. Chesapeake: Alex Wells 2-35, Trent Saunders 1-33, Kyle Webb 2-20.