Rangers jumped capitalize on early Cavs micues
Chillicothe’s offense outscored Hamilton Township 33-21 in their season debut. Unfortunately, the Rangers had already put 31 points on the board before the Cavs could find the end zone.
In an opener that featured numerous penalties and mental errors, the Cavs finally got into a flow in the second half Friday night, but Hamilton Township’s spread offense with a loaded arsenal of experienced players to make it work flexed their muscles early.
Chillicothe held the Rangers to a 20 yard field goal on the game’s first possession to trail 3-0. After being forced to punt, the Cavs had trouble covering the multiple options Hamilton Township presented.
Sophomore Flanker Aaron Williams ran in 19 yards for a touchdown and then grabbed a 67 yard pass for another score to jump ahead 17-0 just inside the 2nd quarter. It was Williams who scored two punt returns for TDs in the Rangers’ comeback victory last year at Herrnstein Field.
Odaray Bryant lost the football on the ensuing kickoff return which set the Rangers in scoring position again and on the Cavs next possession, Ketdrick West wrestled the snap out of the grasp Chillicothe’s Ryan Mathis on a snap which turned into a 42 yard return for a touchdown to make it 31-0.
On the next drive for Chillicothe, Julius Lee reeled off a 67 yard run to give the Cavs their first opportunity. Mathis found Trevan Pennington in the right corner of the end zone for a 4 yard TD pass to help Chillicothe break the ice.
Chillicothe’s defense forced a Rangers punt which led to a 39 yard field goal by the Cavs’ Jacob Weber to cut the deficit to 31-9.
After halftime, Coach Hinton made some changes along the front lines and things got going for the offense. Mathis found the end zone twice on a 10 yard run and a 3 yard scamper and late in the game Caleb Price punched in another score for the 52-33 final.
Otherwise, the big plays by Hamilton Township kept the Cavs at bay most of the night. Zach Thompson completed 9-of-12 passes for 242 yards with scoring strikes of 67, 6, 61 and 14 yards each.
The total yards on their night were fairly even. Hamilton Township gained 388 total yard to the Cavs 392. Chillicothe rushed 37 times for 189 yards and Mathis was 14-of-19 for 203 yards through the air.
Chillicothe will host Big Walnut in the home opener August 31st.
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How the Cavs upcoming opponents faired:
Big Walnut lost 27-0 to Westerville Central
Portsmouth West lost at Fairland 34-14
Dayton Thurgood Marshall pounded Lima Senior 55-7
DeSales lost to Gahanna 13-10 in triple overtime
Gallia Academy beat Athens 52-34
Warren dropped by Philo 33-12
Logan fell to Lancaster 42-7
Jackson plays Wellston Saturday night
Portsmouth plays Lucasville Valley Saturday night
