Longhorns get close win over Hershey, 26-18

    With a victory at Hershey Friday, the Chase County football team moved its record to 2-5 on the season.
    Hershey received the kickoff and drove to the Longhorns’ 24-yard line. The drive stalled on an incomplete pass on fourth and seven.
    CCS proceeded to drive down the field, using five rushes to set up second and goal. On its sixth running play, Ryan Bernhardt found the end zone on a seven-yard run. The extra point gave CCS the 7-0 lead.
    Hershey returned the favor, using a mix of passes, including back-to-back receptions of 12 and 30 yards, and rushes to drive for a touchdown. The Panthers, however, missed their extra point to leave CCS with a one-point lead.
    Hershey forced the Longhorns to punt on its ensuing possession, but Easton Fries picked off a Hershey pass on its first play and ran it back for a touchdown. The missed extra point kept Chase County’s lead at 13-6.
    With time running down in the first quarter, Hershey found the end zone once more thanks to passes of 27, 20 and 28 yards. The Longhorns kept  Hershey out of the end zone on the two point conversion and held onto their lead, 13-12.
    Neither team scored in the second quarter and the trend continued through the third quarter, as well.
    CCS broke the stalemate early in the fourth. The Longhorns’ defense forced a punt and set the offense up on the Hershey 44-yard line.
    Coach Nate Gaswick said CCS found success later in the game with screens and interior runs.
    Behind its running game, CCS moved down the field then went to the air for a 20-yard touchdown pass from Bernhardt to Luis Co. The Longhorns’ two-point conversion attempt failed.
    A Kade Anderson interception gave the ball to the Longhorns, but the offense stalled at the 50-yard line.
    Chase County’s punt buried Hershey at its own two-yard line. The Panthers made the most of the situation, scoring on a 98-yard pass play. Once more the two-point conversion failed and CCS maintained a one-point lead, 19-18.
    As time ran down in the game the teams traded possessions.
    CCS advanced to the Panthers’ 10-yard line, but failed to get a first down.
    Four plays later the Longhorns held on fourth and 16 to give the ball back to the offense.
    Bernhardt scored with a second left in the game and the kick was good to put the Longhorns up 26-18.
    With time left on the clock, CCS kicked off. Hershey’s returner went down with a lower leg injury on the game’s final play.
    “We were saddened that the game ended with an injury to one of their players and wish the young man a safe and healthy recovery,” Gaswick said.
    Hershey had 360 yards through the air in the game.
    Gaswick said a new offensive scheme helped the Panthers find a way to get the ball to their playmakers and he was impressed with the Panthers’ quarterback’s ability to distribute the football.
    “Defensively we gave up some deep throws that allowed them to keep the score very close throughout the entire game,” Gaswick said.
    Hershey did a good job, he added, of finding and isolating unfavorable match ups with the Longhorns’ secondary defenders.
    CCS got the stops when it needed them, however.
    “Our defense got stops when they absolutely needed to and I was proud of how our athletes bounced back in the second half,” Gaswick said.
Up next
    The Longhorns will return home Friday and host Bridgeport for its homecoming game.
    Gaswick the Bulldogs, who got their first win of the season last Friday against Valentine, 21-20, will bring momentum and confidence to town.
    “They are a well balanced team (run/pass) and have played many common opponents in similar fashion to what we have done. They are also very young and I expect it to be a good match up,” Gaswick said.
    Chase County’s final regular season game will be Oct. 22 against 4-3 Gordon-Rushville.

Stats at a glance
Team Totals    CCS    HHS
Total Plays     68     65
Total Yards     321     407
Passing Yards     81     360
Rushing Yards     240     47
First Downs     15     15
Third Down Conv.     5-15    3-12
Fourth Down Conv.     1-5    1-5
Turnovers     1     2
Fumbles Lost     -     -
Interceptions Thrown     1     2
Penalties-Yards     4-10    6-30
Tackles (solos-assists-TFL)—Luis Co, 4-2-0; Zach Herbert, 4-3-1; Easton Fries, 3-1-0; Cooper Dillan, 3-3-2; Jensen Olsen, 3-2-1; Ryan Bernhardt, 1-1-0; Dawson Mollendor, 1-7-0; Isaac Stretesky, 1-5-0; Jaret Peterson, 1-1-1; Jose Ayala, 1-0-0; Kade Anderson, 0-2-0; Morel Jurado, 0-3-0; Bradley Speaker, 0-2-0; Kole Clevenger, 0-1-0; Cody Duffy, 0-1-0; Thomas Reeves, 0-1-0; James McArthur, 0-1-0; Colby Nickless, 0-1-0; Zach Tarin, 0-1-0.
Rushing (attempts-yards-TD)—Bernhardt, 23-156-2; Mollendor, 25-84-0.
Passing (completions-attempts-yards-TD-INT)—Bernhardt, 8-18-81-1-1.
Receiving (receptions-yards-TD)—Co, 3-47-1; Anderson, 3-20-0; Mollendor, 1-10-0; Fries, 1-4-0.
Scoring
First Quarter
CCS: Ryan Bernhardt 7-yd run (Kick)
HHS: 19-yd run (Conversion failed)
CCS: Easton Fries Interception Return (Kick No Good)
HHS: 28-yd pass (Failed Two-Point Conversion)
Fourth Quarter
CCS: Luis Co 20-yd pass From Ryan Bernhardt (Conversion failed)
HHS: 98-yd pass (Conversion failed)
CCS: Ryan Bernhardt 3-yd run (Kick)
Score by quarters:
CCS    13    0    0    13—26
Hershey     12     0     0     6—18