Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

PEDRO — Friday’s game reminded Chesapeake Panthers’ coach Andy Clark of his team’s season.

After starting the year 1-4, the Panthers went 4-1 the last half of the season — all in the league — to finish at 5-5.

And after falling behind 7-0 to start the game, the Panthers scored 25 unanswered points to beat the Rock Hill Redmen 25-7 in an Ohio Valley Conference game.

“I thought we got better as the season went along and tonight I thought we played better after a slow start,” said Clark.

“They came out and had a nice drive and executed well. After that first drive, we settled down and did a better job.”

The Panthers’ offense did well with 332 total yards including 207 on the ground. Jacob Collins ran 13 times for 88 yards and a score. Nate Jones carried 13 times for 56 yards and quarterback Caleb Lindsey ran nine times for 41 yards and a touchdown while completing 7 of 11 passes for 125 yards and two scores.

Javon Thompson caught both touchdowns tosses as he had six receptions for 115 yards.

Rock Hill (1-9, 1-4) gained 118 of its 131 yards on the ground. Shane Harper ran 18 times for 93 yards and a touchdown.

The Redmen took the opening kickoff and drove for a score as Harper went the final 6 yards. Bryce Krum kicked the extra points for a 7-0 lead.

The Panthers responded with a scoring drive capped by Lindsey’s 13-yard run. Wesley Stephens kicked the extra point to tie the game with 5:11 left in the quarter.

Chesapeake scored three touchdowns over the final five minutes in the second quarter to take a 25-7 halftime lead.

Lindsey threw 34 yards to Thompson for a score to give the Panthers a 13-7 lead with 5:11 on the clock.

After forcing a punt, Collins scored on a 12-yard run with 1:40 left to make it 19-7.

The Panthers held and blocked a punt to set up a 25-yard scoring pass to Thompson with just 26 seconds on the clock.

“We blocked the punt, then we worked the clock well, threw a couple of nice passes and Javon made a nice catch,” said Clark.

The Panthers hurt themselves with penalties in the second half and neither team was able to mount a scoring drive.

Chesapeake 7 18 0 0 = 25

Rock Hill 7 0 0 0 = 7

First Quarter

RH— Shane Harper 6 run (Bryce Krum kick) 6:50

Ch — Caleb Lindsey 13 run (Wesley Stephens kick) 2:04

Second Quarter

Ch — Javon Thompson 34 pass from Caleb Lindsey (kick failed) 5:11

Ch — Jacob Collins 12 run (kick failed) 1:40

Ch — Javon Thompson 25 pass from Caleb Lindsey (kick failed) 0:26

Team Statistics

Ch RH

First downs 19 9

Rushes-yards 39-207 40-118

Passing yards 125 13

Total yards 332 131

Cmp-Att-Int 7-11-0 2-4-1

Fumbles-lost 0-0 1-1

Penalties-yards 7-60 3-35

Punts-average 1-32.0 2-20.0

Individual Leaders

RUSHING—Chesapeake: Nate Jones 13-56, Jacob Collins 13-88 TD, Caleb Lindsey 9-41 TD, Brandon Clagg 4-22; Rock Hill: Shane Harper 18-93, Chance Blankenship 16-30, Jordan Blagg 2-7, Brandon Blankenship 1-3, Gabe Marzicola 3-minus 15.

PASSING—Chesapeake: Caleb Lindsey 7-11-0 125 2-TD; Rock Hill: Gabe Marzicola 2-4-1 13.

RECEIVING—Chesapeake: Andrew Saunders 1-10, Javon Thompson 6-115 21-TD; Rock Hill: Chance Blankenship 1-3, Austin Collins 1-10.