Longhorn football claims command of the C2 District 7 playoff spot with win

    The Chase County Longhorns had their work cut out for them when the Mitchell Tigers rolled into town Friday night. The Tigers front line is the size of most college teams averaging far above 200 pounds per man.
    After winning the coin toss, the Tigers chose to receive the ball. The Longhorn defense was up for the challenge and forced a three and out.
    The defense for Mitchell flexed and held the Longhorns to their own three and out. After a low snap Cooper Dillan punted the ball out of bounds at the Mitchell 11.
    The Tigers took to the ground behind the running of 220 pound quarterback Cael Peters. Mitchell put together a 10 play drive but the Longhorns  defense stiffened and forced a field goal attempt from the 27 yard line.
    The kick fell a few yards short of the goal post giving the Longhorns possession at their own 20. After a two and four yard gain running on first and second, Longhorn Head Coach Nathan Gaswick dialed up a pass that snuck Thomas Reeves off the line and behind all the Mitchell defenders.
    Malachi Christensen hit Reeves in stride and their was no one catching Reeves before he could reach pay dirt for a 74 yard touchdown. The kick by James McArthur gave the Longhorns a 7-0 lead.
    The Tigers responded with a twelve play drive of their own. After a short kick and a Tiger penalty the Tigers started on  their own 30
    The Tigers stuck to the ground for the most part of the drive churning up good yardage to the Chase County 32. On first and ten from the 32, Peters hit Santiago Castillo with a pass to the 11. On third and two Peters ran up the middle for the score.
    On the Longhorns next possession they got the ball down to the 14 of Mitchell nearing the end of the half but back to back runs for negative yards left them with fourth down and 18 at the 23.
    Coach Gaswick sent out the field goal unit to attempt a 39 yard kick. McArthur had plenty of leg but the kick sailed outside the upright.
    The Longhorns got the opening kick of the second half and started at their own 35. Putting together a nice mix of runs and passes, the drive culminated with a one yard plunge from Christensen to put the Longhorns back on top.McArthur missed the kick to make it 13-7.
    The Tigers responded quickly after taking over on their own 41. On the third play Peters hit Castillo who broke a tackle and was off to the races for a 58 yard score.
    The Horns blocked the kick to keep it tied at 13-13.
    On the ensuing kick-off, Luis Co returned it to the Mitchell 37 plus Mitchell had a 15 yard penalty giving the Longhorns great field position at the 22.
    Three plays later Reeves bulled his way through the middle of the line for a four yard score. The extra point was no good leaving the score 19-13.
    The Tigers put together a 15 play drive that started on their own 40. Keeping it on the ground the Tigers finished the drive with a 4 yard run by Peters. The kick was good giving Mitchell it’s first lead of the night.
    The Horns started  on their own 31 and took just one play to go back on top.
    Reeves slipped out of the backfield and was open at the 50, caught the pass between two defensive backs and scored from 69 yards. The Horns went for two running Mollendor around the right side but he ran out of real estate just before the goal line.
    Leading 25-20 it was all on the defense to bring home the win.The Tigers would start from their own 20 with around six minutes on the clock and all three time-outs.
    Mixing the run and pass they moved the ball to Chase County’s 27 with a first down and time running out. After three straight incompletions it came down to fourth and 10 from just inside the 27.
    Peters hit Castillo on the numbers but Kole Clevenger wrapped up Castillo’s feet and Tristan Jablonski dropped him about a football length short of the first down sealing the 25-20 win.
Next action:
    The Longhorns will host Wood River (1-6) Friday night Oct. 13 at 6 p.m. MT. This will be the final regular season home game.