Second half surge propels Chapin past Dreher
Chapin rode the arm of quarterback Cooper Bemis to a 48-20 victory over Dreher on Friday night.
The win gives the Eagles the early advantage in region play.
Trailing 20-6 late in the first half, the Blue Devils looked to wrestle away momentum when Matthew Campbell completed a four-yard pass to Jay Washington to bring Dreher to within a touchdown at half.
Chapin was led by Bemis, who completed 21 passes for 315 yards and a touchdown.
“(Cooper) is Mr. Calm, Cool and Collected back there,” Chapin coach Justin Gentry said. “He was able to find his receivers and made some big plays for us.”
Gentry said his rushing attack needed to show up in the second half. Four Eagles scored on the ground, as Chapin used a balanced attack to soften up the Blue Devil defense.
“We knew we were going to have put the ball on the ground offensively,” Gentry said.
Dreher head coach Treigh Sullivan said his team had a good week of practice, but things broke down.
“We got physically wore out on both sides of the ball,” Sullivan said. “I have to do a better job of getting our guys prepared.”
The win was special for Gentry. It was his 100th career victory, and, more importantly, a region victory.
“It’s always better to be 1-0 than 0-1 in region,” Gentry said. “We’re going to celebrate it tonight, but we have to go out next week and try to be 1-0 again.”
TURNING POINT
Leading 27-20, late in the third quarter, Chapin elects to go for a touchdown on fourth and goal from the 1 yard line. Cooper Bemis snuck in for the touchdown giving the Eagles a two-touchdown lead.
KEY PERFORMERS
Cooper Bemis: Chapin quarterback completed 21 passes for 315 yards. He also rushed for a touchdown.
Case Barber: Caught 8 passes for 137 yards and rushed for a touchdown. Added a 55 yard punt return to set up the Eagles inside the Dreher 5-yard line.
KEY NUMBERS
16: Number of seconds Dreher led the game
4: Number of Chapin players to rush for a touchdown including two from its ‘Hammer’ formation.
THEY SAID IT
“We stuck to the gameplan, we kept waiting for them to make adjustments and they didn’t.” – Chapin’s Cooper Bemis
“It’s a great accomplishment. It’s just a testament to what these kids and coaches have been able to do over the past 15 years.” – Chapin’s Justin Gentry on win number 100
HOW THEY SCORED
1st Quarter
D: Anthony Salters 9 yard run – kick no good (2:25)
C: Xzavion Gordon 91 yard kickoff return – Scott Samson kick (2:09)
2nd Quarter
C: Cooper Bemis 80 yard pass to Kale Rhame – kick blocked (11:24)
C: Gordon 5 yard run – Samson kick (3:47)
D: Matthew Campbell 4 yard pass Jay Washington – Campbell kick (0:09)
3rd Quarter
C: Case Barber 3 yard run – Samson kick (8:45)
D: Jay Washington 34 yard run – Campbell kick (6:45)
C: Cooper Bemis 1 yard run – Samson kick (2:26)
C: Gordon 4 yard run – Samson kick (1:40)
4th Quarter
C: Mark Shealy 9 yard run – Samson kick (11:06)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: D: Jay Washington 23-108, Anthony Salters 8-75- 1 C: Cooper Bemis 8-32-1, Xzavion Gordon 5-10- 2, Mark Shealy 10-69-1, Case Barber 5-13-1
Passing: D: Matthew Campbell 16-24-154, C: Cooper Bemis 21-28- 315
Receiving: D: Salters 6-83, Washington 2-4- 1, Tyran Rush 5-47, Sabien Cummings 1-10, Cody Bach 2-9 C: Kale Rhame 8-139-1, Case Barber 8-137, Xzavion Gordon 2-18, Will Register 2-21, Shealy 1-17
This story was originally published September 30, 2016 at 11:27 PM with the headline "Second half surge propels Chapin past Dreher."