Missed Opportunities Factor Into 21-18 Chillicothe Loss To Saint Charles
Article Presented By Scioto Valley Dumpsters…
Three missed scoring opportunities deep into Saint Charles territory along with a potential go-ahead score nullified by offensive holding, played a major role in Chillicothe’s season opening 21-18 loss to the Cardinals at the Obadiah Harris Family Athletic Complex on Friday night.
The Cavaliers misfired on their three first half possessions, failing to score after driving inside the Cardinals 35 each time. Their first drive of 7 plays ended with an interception on the Saint Charles 31 yard line. Drive #2 ended with a fumble on the Cardinals two yard line and the third drive ended with a mishandled place-hold on a field goal attempt after driving to the 12 yard line.
Saint Charles took a 7-0 lead into halftime, scoring on a 9 yard quarterback keep by Ryan Mooney with 3:49 remaining in the second quarter. The score capped-off a 98 yard/15 play drive, setup by Chillicothe’s fumble on the two yard line.
The Cavs got on the scoreboard with 2:21 of the third period when Decon Crawford connected on a 27 yard field goal to cap an 87 yard scoring drive in 9 plays.
After Chillicothe failed to get a first down on a fake punt deep in their own territory, Saint Charles drove 21 yards on 5 plays for a touchdown scored by Ryan Monney’s 5 yard TD run at 9:32 left in the third quarter for a 14-3 lead.
Chillicothe cut that deficit to 14-11 at 7:17 left in regulation, when they drove 52 yards in 7 plays on a Shawn Smith 6 yard scoring run, followed by a two-point conversion pass from Caden Eblin to Coen Butler.
A back-breaker for the Cavs came with 2:23 remaining, when a Chillicothe possession at midfield ended with a 50 yard pick-six score by the Cardinals Will Bratt, for a 21-11 lead.
The Cavaliers kept battling, driving 67 yards in 7 plays, for a 19 yard TD pass from Eblin to Juan Miller. The PAT kick by Crawford cut the margin to 21-18 with :08 remaining in the game.
Chillicothe then recovered the on-side kick on the Saint Charles 38 yard line with :05 left. The final play saw Caden Eblin’s toss to a Cavs receiver at the goal line batted away by a Cardinal defender to end the game.
Chillicothe amassed 371 total yards, with running back Shawn Smith running for 167 yards and Caden Eblin throwing for 178 on 13/23 passing. Saint Charles had only 218 total yards, with 102 of their 136 rushing yards coming from Aiden Fox. Saint Charles linebacker Colin Greenhalge was a defensive star for the Cardinals as he repeatedly appeared on numerous tackles to slow down the Cavs second half running attack.
