Variety is the spice of life. It also gives life to the Chesapeake Panthers running game.

Eight different players carried the ball as the Panthers ran 53 times for 297 yards en route to a 28-14 Ohio Valley Conference win over the River Valley Raiders Friday.

Chesapeake (4-4, 2-1) was led by quarterback Aaron Donahoe with 18 carries for 110 yards. Fullback Alex Wells had 76 yards on 18 carries while Drew Blakeran for 46 yards and Tyler Edwards 34 yards.

River Valley (2-6, 0-3) was led by quarterback Clayton Curnutte who was 13-of-25 passing for 210 yards, but he suffered three interceptions.

Kyle Webb had one of the interceptions and he returned the ball 45 yards to set up a 12-yard scoring run by Drew Blake that put the Panthers up 6-0.

Another turnover moments last triggered the Panthers’ second score. Ryan Reynolds recovered a fumble and Aaron Donahoe scored on a 7-yard run and the lead was 14-0 after the two-point conversion.

River Valley answered with a 27-yard scoring pass from Curnutte to Zak Deel with just 30 seconds left in the quarter. Tyler Smith’s conversion kick cut the deficit to 14-7.

Chesapeake went up 21-7 on a 12-yard run by Trey West and Zach Harri’s conversion kick.

But the Raiders came right back on a 1-yard run by Curnutte and it was 21-14 at the break.

The defenses took over in the second half with Chesapeake getting the only touchdown on a 6-yard pass from Donahoe to Webb with 8:02 left in the third quarter.

River Valley 7 7 0 0 = 14

Chesapeake 14 7 7 0 = 28

First Quarter

Ch — Drew Blake 12 run (kick failed) 2:54

Ch — Aaron Donahoe 7 run (Peter Hintz pass from Aaron Donahoe) 1:30

RV — Zak Deel 27 pass from Clayton Curnutte (Tyler Smith kick) 0:30

Second Quarter

Ch — Trey West 12 run (Zach Harris kick) 6:14

RV — Clayton Curnutte 1 run (Tyler Smith kick) 1:33

Third Quarter

Ch — Kyle Webb 6 pass from Aaron Donahoe (Zach Harris kick) 8:02

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RV Ch

First Downs 17 18

Rushing yards 108 297

Passing yards 210 46

Total yards 318 343

Comp-Att-Int 13-25-3 3-7-0

Fumbles-lost 1-1 2-1

Penalties-yards 3-25 6-48

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Individual Leaders

Rushing—River Valley: Clayton Curnutte 15-63, Zachary Baird 11-33, Cody McAvena 2-18, Tyler Smith 2-1. Chesapeake: Aaron Donahoe 18-110, Alex Wells 18-76, Drew Blake 6-46, Tyler Edwards 5-34, Peter Hintz 3-12, Trey West 1-12, Aaron Allen 1-3, Ryan Reynolds 1-1.

Passing—RV: Clayton Curnutte 13-25-3 210. Chesapeake: Aaron Donahoe 3-7-0 46.

Receiving—River Valley: Kody Johnson 5-64, Jordan Deel 3-57, Cody McAvena 2-33, Zak Deel 1-27, Chad Smith 1-22, Travis Roush 1-7. Chesapeake: Kyle Webb 3-46.