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No. 1 Hornets shake off early Eagle score
UNIONTOWN -- Chetopa showed why it's the No. 1 team in Eight-Man Division II in the Wichita Eagle rankings, staying unbeaten in a 56-8 mercy rule victory over host Uniontown Friday.
The Eagles faced a Hornet team with a 2,000-yard career passer (senior Philip Moses), a running back who is closing in on 4,000 career yards (senior Derrick Cassell) and a top-notch transfer from Pittsburg (junior Sherrick Rogers).
The result was three players who combined for seven of the Hornets' touchdowns.
It was big-strike plays by Chetopa, coupled with four Uniontown turnovers, all of which led to scores, that proved the hosts' undoing.
Chetopa (4-0 TRL and overall) got a 35-yard scoring run by Cassell, a 39-yard scoring pass from Moses to Rogers, a 46-yard scoring pass from Moses to Rogers and a 79-yard kickoff return by Alex Carter.
Uniontown, in falling to 2-1 TRL, 2-2 overall, scored first, and without the errors and big plays, played evenly with the Hornets. Eighteen of the visitors' running plays produced 5 yards or fewer. Chetopa completed just 5 passes, although three were touchdowns and a fourth was a successful two-point try.
It was Uniontown, however, that started the game with a statement drive.
A pass from Jacob Duffey to Ethan Hale racked up 25 yards as the senior duo put the home team 20 yards away from the end zone to get the Eagles going.
Duffey suffered a slight injury on the next play and had to momentarily leave the game but junior Gavin Miller filled in and hit Hale with a 24-yard scoring strike. Senior Cole Schafer added the two-point run and the Eagles led 8-0 with 10:12 showing.
Yet just 11 seconds later, Chetopa was on the board following Carter's 79-yard return down the left sideline. Cassell appeared to add the two-point run but a procedure play called the conversion back and Moses' pass fell incomplete, leaving Uniontown with an 8-6 lead.
An interception on the next drive by Trey Riddle put Chetopa in business at the 17 and a pair of runs by Rogers, including the final yard, pushed the visitors on top. The conversion run failed but the Hornets led 12-8 at 8:24 showing of the first quarter.
Uniontown failed to convert on a fourth down try at midfield and the Hornets followed with a 39-yard strike from Moses to Rogers for the score as Rogers broke three tackles en route. Cassell added the two-point run for a 20-8 difference at 4:36.
Another interception, this time by Cassell, established the visitors at the 27. Five plays later, Cassell was in and Moses found Rogers on the two-point pass for a 28-8 margin at 1:09.
Uniontown drove to the 23 behind the running of Schafer, Tommy Joles, and Josh Wisely but stalled and had to punt after an illegal block and a completion behind the line saw the Eagles go backward.
The teams swapped possessions but a third interception once again gave Chetopa field position, this time at half field. A 41-yard pass from Moses to Rogers, coupled with Trenton Scott's two-point run, gave the visitors a 36-8 lead with 6:26 left in the half.
Neither team was able to mount anything until the final series, when a personal foul moved Uniontown to the 26-yard line. But two incomplete passes and a delay of game left the hosts no closer.
Chetopa opened the second half with Cassell finding a seam for a 35-yard scoring run on a fourth-and-one play. Moses ran it in himself for the conversion and a 44-8 gap at 10:37.
A fumble that was picked up by Cole Swanwick and returned to the Uniontown 5, set up Moses for the next score. The two-point pass missed but the difference was now 50-8 at 10:19.
The Hornets got the ball back when they held the Eagles on downs and finished out the scoring and the game with an 11-yard pass from Moses to Rogers, their third TD hookup of the game.
The Eagles will host their Homecoming game next Friday. St. Paul will be the opponent in a Three Rivers League match-up.