Football season ends at CCS

    For Chase County, the 2021 football season wrapped up in Imperial Friday when the Longhorns lost to playoff-bound Gordon-Rushville.
    CCS Head Coach Nathan Gaswick said the Longhorns knew it would be a physical contest against an aggressive Mustang team.
    The Longhorns got off on the right foot. The CCS defense forced a punt by the Mustangs, but were then forced to punt themselves.
    CCS forced fourth and five on Gordon-Rushville’s second possession. Chase County fumbled the ensuing punt, setting the Mustangs up on the Longhorn seven-yard line. In two plays Gordon-Rushville found the end zone. The missed extra point left CCS trailing 0-6.
    The Longhorn offense struggled to build momentum on its second possession. After Chase County’s punt, Gordon-Rushville took over near midfield.
    Three plays later the Mustangs scored again. The 45-yard run and extra point gave the Mustangs a 13-point margin.
    As time ran down in the first quarter, CCS started to move the ball. The Longhorns converted on fourth and four when Ryan Bernhardt found Luis Co open and the freshman weaved through the Mustang defense for an 11-yard gain.
    CCS got on the board when a blown coverage by Gordon-Rushville left Chase County’s Jensen Olsen wide open. Bernhardt completed the 50-yard pass to Olsen to put CCS on the board. The extra point pulled the Longhorns to within six points, 7-13.
    Gordon-Rushville was quick to extend its lead. The Mustangs scored two plays later on a 41-yard run and made their extra point.
    CCS went backwards on its next possession and was forced to throw on fourth and 16. Bernhardt’s pass was tipped into the air and picked off by Gordon-Rushville. The interception was returned for a touchdown and the kick was good.
    Kickoff returns gave the Longhorns fits several times in the game, including on the ensuing kickoff.
    Buried on their own five-yard line, the Longhorns advanced 20 yards down field. There, a second Bernhardt pass was tipped and intercepted by Gordon-Rushville.
    Though the Mustangs didn’t score, CCS found itself on its own three-yard line after the Mustang punt.
    Four plays later Chase County was punting back to Gordon-Rushville again. The Mustangs’ eight play, 61-yard drive was capped by a nine-yard touchdown run, leaving CCS trailing 7-34 at halftime.
    The Longhorns advanced into Mustang territory to start the second half. A fumble by CCS left the door open for Gordon-Rushville to extend its lead.
    Three plays of 25 yards or more quickly moved the Mustangs down the field for another touchdown and extra point.
    Gaswick said CCS made adjustments at halftime which helped the Longhorns find some second half offensive success.
    “Gordon-Rushville has shown a four man defensive front all year but gave us a five man front on Friday night. This created some matchup issues for our offensive line and taking some time during halftime helped them be more successful in the second half,” Gaswick said.
    CCS maintained possession for the remainder of the third quarter. The Longhorns used three nice runs to set themselves up on the Mustangs’ nine-yard line. From there Bernhardt found the end zone, but the extra point was no good.
    Looking for any advantage they could find, the Longhorns went for the on-side kick and recovered the ball on Gordon-Rushville’s 39-yard line. With fourth and 10, pass interference by the Mustangs kept Chase County’s drive alive.
    CCS went to the air again and Bernhardt connected with Luis Co for a 17-yard touchdown pass. After the two-point attempt failed, CCS trailed 19-40 as the third quarter came to a close.
    Gordon-Rushville went to work on the ground in the fourth quarter. Two more Mustang drives were finished off with touchdowns.
    Chase County had one more scoring drive left in them late in the game. A diving catch by Co was good for 18 yards and James McArthur reeled off a 29-yard run to set up a 16-yard touchdown throw and catch between Bernhardt and Co. The two-point conversion was no good, bringing the final score to 25-53.
    Bernhardt completed 15 of 35 passes for 211 yards and three touchdowns. Bernhardt also led CCS with 65 yards on the ground.
    Co caught six passes for 81 yards and two touchdowns.
    “We saw many younger players step in and fulfill big roles to help their team when others were banged up or unable to finish the game. Easton Fries and James McArthur saw some quality reps and did good things in difficult situations. It definitely helped that our offense was able to find success and keep their offense off the field as our defense continued to struggle throughout the game,” Gaswick said.