Chillicothe uses strong rushing attack to defeat Tigers

CHILLICOTHE — It was a game that the final score really didn’t indicate how closely played it was Friday night after McClain lost to a good Chillicothe team, 36-14.

The Cavaliers boast one of the best running backs in this part of the state in sophomore sensation Cartae Ligon, who scored all five Chillicothe touchdowns in the ballgame.

“Their running back (Cartae Ligon) is the real deal,” McClain head coach Keith Penwell said after the game. “His balance is something you just can’t teach.”

Ligon showed his talent on the first offensive play of the game when he broke through the middle of the line and ran away from the McClain defenders for a 60-yard touchdown gallop.  

But before the hometown Cavalier crowd could sit down, McClain freshman Holden Lyons got a block and returned the ensuing kickoff 92 yards for a Tiger score and after a successful 2-point conversion, McClain led 8-7 with just 20 seconds played in the opening quarter.

“We started the game off horrible,” Penwell said. “We talked before the game about that and then it happened right away, but this time we responded a little better.

“In that first half we didn’t score an offensive touchdown, but our freshman Holden Lyons got some blocks and showed some speed on that return.

“We think he’s going to be a special player. He’s got football smarts and has good speed ,and we know he’s going to get bigger and faster.”

It didn’t take long for Chillicothe to regain the lead moments later on Ligon’s second touchdown of the night, this one from two yards out, and after a converted 2-point try the Cavaliers led 15-8.

The Cavaliers looked like they were headed for another first quarter score, but a interception by McClain senior Dalton Rowland ended the scoring threat.

“I thought Dalton (Rowland) played a heck of a game tonight,” Penwell said. “He did a great job of disguising things when he dropped off and picked that pass off.”

McClain’s defense led by Andrew Roeder and Noah Sponcil did a great job of making big plays the rest of the opening quarter and early in the second.

“Andrew (Roeder) plays so hard, I always call him a madman out there because he’s all over the place,” Penwell said. “This might have been the best game he’s ever played.”

Senior Eli Douglas also made a big hit on a fourth down play deep inside McClain territory when he was able to knock the ball loose on a would-be first down pass.

Chillicothe was able to get some breathing room later in the second period when Ligon scored back-to-back touchdowns on runs of 1 of 16 yards for a 29-8 lead.

Things looked even worse for McClain with seconds remaining before halftime and the Cavaliers having a first and goal on the 1-yard line, but another interception, this one by Leland Bond in the endzone, ended that threat.

The McClain offense seemed to get back on track to begin the third quarter when sophomore quarterback Hudson Lovett found sophomore Hunter Peabody open on two big pass plays.  

Lovett scored on a 1-yard run at the 7:39 mark of the third and after the 2-point try failed, McClain trailed 29-14.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Tigers got another big turnover when Roeder recovered the onside kick.  

It looked like the Tigers were going to cut into the deficit four plays later when Lovett found sophomore Gavin Anderson open for a spectacular 40-yard touchdown throw and catch but a controversial offensive pass interference call nullified the would-be score.

“I thought in the second half we did a good job of moving the football better and our defense played really tough,” Penwell said. “If we didn’t get that pass interference call that would have scored a touchdown the score would have been 29-22.”

The McClain defense continued to play well for most of the second half going against a constant no-huddle offense consisting of mostly Ligon runs.

The Cavaliers scored their final touchdown of the game on another 3-yard run by Ligon to put the finishing touches on a 36-14 victory.

Despite the hard-fought defeat the Tigers head coach still found a lot of good things to say about his squad who really left everything they had on the field.

“We did some really good things tonight and I thought we played with a lot of grit. This was probably the hardest I’ve seen our kids play all year,” Penwell said. “We focused on playing hard in practice this week and we showed that tonight.

“We’re still not where we want to be, but I thought we took that big step forward. Our schedule has been really tough and it doesn’t get any easier next week against Hillsboro who is another good football team.”