Here’s how Chester, Great Falls and Lewisville did in Friday’s football jamboree

Scrimmage recaps

Lewisville 15, Great Falls 8

A defensive struggle ensued in the first half, as neither side advanced the ball past the opposing 31-yard line in a scoreless opening period.

The Lions marched 56 yards on their opening second-period possession, with a 12-yard Ja’Shawn Jason keeper breaking the seal. Martez Moore added a 37-yard pick six for Lewisville. A 76-yard touchdown hookup from Kaleb Funderburk to Kelton Talford with eight seconds to play capped the scoring.

The visiting schools (Great Falls was listed as a visitor, despite being a Chester County school) finished the night in a level 29-29 tally against the home clubs.

West Meck (N.C.) 14, Lancaster 7

The Bruins marched down the field early, before the visiting Hawks forced a fumble.

West Meck converted that turnover into a touchdown drive, then notched a second mark on a sparkling 73-yard touchdown strike down the right sideline. The Bruins hit the board with 7:23 to play, following a WyQuan Massey fumble recovery in the end zone.

The final Bruin possession ended in a fumble, before the game was called with three minutes to play, due to an injury to a West Meck player that occurred in an accompanying scrum.

Chester 7, Hough (N.C.) 7

The Huskies converted their opening drive, finding the end zone on a fourth-down keeper after being stopped three times inside the five-yard line.

Freshman quarterback Zan Dunham carved through the middle of the Husky defense on a fake inside handoff, scoring his first touchdown from eight yards away and drawing the game level.

5 things that stood out

• Household names?: Lewisville played Friday without expected starting quarterback Demetric Hardin and several additional starters, who were held out as a precautionary measure with Thursday’s home opener with Eau Claire looming. Lions coach Will Mitchell was pleased with the play of his skill players, particularly quarterback Ja’Shawn Jason and running back Martez Moore.
  
  

“We had a core group of guys that handled the ball that were here for two years, catching and running the ball,” said Lewisville coach Will Mitchell. “The next crowd up is just as good. It’s just that you don’t know their names. You’ll know those names after a while.”

• Red Devils rise to the defensive challenge: A prolonged drive to start the second half aside, Great Falls put forth an impressive defensive effort against Lewisville’s talented offense. The Red Devils forced four opening-period punts from the Lions, despite many players never leaving the field. Perhaps the standout moment of the night came late in the game, as the Red Devils stuffed the Lions inside the Great Falls five-yard line to force a turnover on downs. The Red Devils were unable to capitalize, though, as the Lions forced a safety on the ensuing play.
• Bruins take to the air: Lancaster coach Bobby Collins is well-known for his love of a physical running game. His Bruins still feature that smash-mouth style, with Ason’ta Clark and Nigel Moore, among others. A somewhat unfamiliar sight appeared Friday for those familiar with Collins’ being a ground-game devotee: Passing. Former Fort Mill coach Ed Susi took the reins of the Lancaster offense this season, and the quick-strike pass game he employed with the Yellow Jackets has made the trek southward. Lancaster also employed some ride-read looks while setting up the run-pass option.
• Youth served: Chester freshman quarterback Zan Dunham took the majority of the snaps for the Cyclones, and he certainly did little to dispel the early hype about his potential. The athletic first-year signal-caller showed good mobility and decision-making, weaving his way through the Hough defense on several impressive runs. “I think he did some things to give himself a little confidence. He had a big run on the score [an eight-yard keeper],” said Chester coach Victor Floyd of Dunham. “He did a lot of positive things. We’ll just build from there.”
• Two-way stars: The Cyclones are loaded with talent at running back, and all three (Pha’Leak Brown, Stan Mills, and Emmanual Wright) were key contributors on both sides of the ball. The Cycs’ defense stiffened after the first Hough drive, and coach Victor Floyd’s run game helped chew up large chunks of yardage and keep that defense off the field. “We’re three deep there [at running back], and all of them start on defense,” said Floyd. “All of them, when they get carries, they’re gonna try to take advantage of them.”

This story was originally published August 10, 2018 at 10:49 PM.