Logan Bailey takes off as Chapin beats up Dreher
The unbeaten Chapin Eagles maintained the high ground in Region 4-3A with a wild 47-28 win over Dreher at Cecil Woolbright Field.
Justin Gentry’s fifth-ranked club stands at 8-0 overall, 3-0 in region matters. The Eagles can clinch at least a share of the region title with a win next week against Camden.
Dreher (5-3, 2-1) has a key game next week with archrival A.C. Flora.
TURNING POINT
Chapin broke a 14-14 deadlock with a score late in the first half, and another on its first play after the break. Both scores came on scoring passes from Logan Bailey. One was an 18-yarder to Evan Estridge with 59 second left in the first half, the other was an 85-yard hookup with Joe Flowers at 10:09 of the third quarter to stake the Eagles to a 28-14 lead.
KEY PERFORMERS
Logan Bailey: The South Carolina Mr. Football nominee was brilliant again. The senior quarterback ran for 205 yards and three touchdowns and was 8-for-16 passing for 256 yards and four TDs.
Evan Estridge: The senior Chapin receiver had two scoring catches and averaged 41.8 yards on four punts, placing two of his kicks inside the Dreher 5-yard line.
Avery Armstrong: The senior Dreher quarterback was 22-for-30 passing for 278 yards and two touchdowns. He also boomed a 72-yard punt and averaged 53.6 yards on three kicks.
Chris Cooke: The senior receiver caught eight passes for 139 yards and one touchdown.
OBSERVATIONS
Closing in: Chapin’s on track to secure its second outright Region 4-3A championship in the past three seasons and complete its first sweep of 10 regular season opponents since 1987.
That’s production: Bailey came into the game with 5,057 yards of total offense and accounted for 71 touchdowns (44 rushing, 27 passing) in two seasons as the Chapin starting quarterback. He’s now at more than 5,500 yards and 77 touchdowns.
Hot start: Armstrong came out firing – connecting on his first eight passes, good for 91 yards and a touchdown throw on fourth down.
THEY SAID IT
“Logan Bailey is the best quarterback in South Carolina. Anybody who doesn’t think so has never seen him play.” – Chapin coach Justin Gentry
“At Chapin, it’s all about the team first. I couldn’t do anything without the help of my guys. If Mr. Football happens (for me), it happens. It’s not something I’m focusing on.” – Bailey
KEY NUMBERS
39: The number of first downs amassed by both teams. Dreher 20, Chapin 19.
1,051: The total number of offensive yards produced by the two teams. Chapin had 317 yards rushing, and a total of 573. Dreher finished with 478 yards.
104: The combined rushing total by Chapin running backs Carver Koon and Ben Fischer.
92: Receiving yards by Dreher’s Desmondre Goodwin in the second half. He had no catches in the first half.
HOW THEY SCORED
1st Quarter:
C – Logan Bailey 4 run (Colin Kitchens kick), 9:17
D – Earl Preddy 34 run (Matthew Campbell kick), 7:32
2nd Quarter:
D – Chris Cooke 19 pass from Avery Armstrong (Campbell kick), 11:56
C – Evan Estridge 22 pass from Bailey (Kitchens kick), 8:08
C – Estridge 18 pass from Bailey (Kitchens kick), 0:59
3rd Quarter:
C – Joe Flowers 83 pass from Bailey (Kitchens kick), 10:09
D – Armstrong 3 run (Campbell kick), 3:39
C – Bailey 61 run (kick blocked), 0:58
4th Quarter:
C – Will Register 85 pass from Bailey (pass failed), 10:25
D – Cooke 73 pass from Armstrong (Campbell kick), 8:27
C – Bailey 19 run (Colin Kitchens kick), 1:48
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: D: Washington 12-119, Preddy 7-83. C: Bailey 20-205, Fischer 9-53, Koon 8-51.
Passing: D: Armstrong 22-30-0-278. C: Bailey 8-16-0-256.
Receiving: Cooke 8-139, Rush 3-37, Goodwin 9-92. C: Estridge 3-49, Flowers 2-105.
This story was originally published October 23, 2015 at 11:13 PM.