Which team would make the big statement down in Chester? Rock Hill or the Cyclones?
One team was making a statement down in Chester Friday night.
Rock Hill planned to follow up its upset of top-ranked South Pointe with a win over Chester, one that would prove that the previous week wasn’t a one-off. Well, that will have to be proved at a later date.
Chester made its own pronouncement in all capital letters to the rest of the 3A classification with a second straight win over a 5A opponent. The No. 3-ranked Cyclones (3-0) stuffed Rock Hill (1-2) multiple times in the red zone and pulled away for a 36-14 win.
“Defense stepped up,” said Chester coach Victor Floyd. “They were able to make the plays when we got in the red zone. That’s what we needed.”
“We didn’t come ready to play and I take full responsibility for that,” said Rock Hill coach Bubba Pittman. “We were not mentally into the game and we did not perform well tonight.”
Within the first two minutes, each side had a touchdown run that covered at least half of the field. Emmanual Wright took a handoff and blasted up the middle for a 72-yard touchdown on Chester’s first possession. Rock Hill’s second offensive play was a handoff to Narii Gaither, who ran untouched threw a yawning hole made by the Bearcat offensive line for a 52-yard score to make it 8-7, Chester.
Rock Hill turned the ball over on downs at the Chester 1-yard line, then missed a 32-yard field goal on its next possession. The Bearcats then hit Chester QB Zan Dunham as he threw, and Rock Hill’s Zy’Quon Edwards cushioned the fluttering football for an interception.
But Chester erased the danger with a Zion Mills pick, that later turned into a 6-yard Pha’Leak Brown TD. And the Cyclones stretched their lead to 22-7 when Ly’Terrence Mills decked the Bearcats QB to force a fumble. Wright later pinballed into the end zone for a 4-yard Chester score.
Turning point
Rock Hill marched down the field on the opening drive of the second half to cut the deficit to 22-14. Gaither carried seven times on the possession, including a 1-yard TD conclusion. Chester went three-and-out on its next possession and the game seemed to tip in the visitors’ favor.
The Bearcats plowed their way back down the field again, but facing a fourth and 3 at the Chester 13, ran into an unbreakable line of Cyclones. They dropped QB Hayden Jackson on an option play for no gain. Floyd’s team scored the next, and final, 14 points of the contest from there.
Critical
Chester’s defense bent at times, but rarely broke. The Cyclones walled off their end zone at key moments, denying the Bearcats on fourth down inside the 20-yard line three separate times.
“We knew they had beaten South Pointe. We prepared for 26 (Narii Gaither) and 11 (Antonio Barber),” said senior Zion Mills, who had an interception and caught two passes.
Star contributors
Wright is a speedster that always spun his body or side-stepped a tackle at the critical time. He finished with 112 yards and two scores on just nine carries. Teddy Murphy made two key sacks late in the game, and freshman QB Zan Dunham ran the ball 20 times for 96 yards, a season-high in carries. He delivered on a couple of key third and fourth down runs.
“He’s a tremendous young man, starting to grow into his own,” said Floyd. “And he’ll get better every week.”
Rock Hill’s Gaither, who received a scholarship offer from Barton College earlier in the week, ran for 171 yards and two TDs, with 103 of his yards coming in the first two quarters.
On deck
Chester heads down to Georgia to play Columbia High School, located east of Atlanta, on Sept. 7. Rock Hill hosts Indian Land.
Box score
Rock Hill;7;0;7;0 - 14
Chester;8;14;0;14 - 36
SCORING SUMMARY
First quarter
CHS - Emmanual Wright 72 run (Dorrien Bagley run), 10:33
RHHS - Narii Gaither 53 run (Colin Muschik kick), 10:05
Second quarter
CHS - Pha’Leak Brown 6 run (Corey Wade kick), 6:04
CHS - Wright 4 run (Wade kick), 1:44
Third quarter
RHHS - Gaither 1 run (Muschik kick), 8:47
Fourth quarter
CHS - Zan Dunham 9 run (Wade kick), 10:09
CHS - Ja’Rel Hill 25 pass from Dunham (Wade kick), 1:19
TEAM STATISTICS
C;RH
First downs;24;15
Rushes-yards;52-308;40-248
Passing;11-19-2;5-13-1
Passing yards;103;44
Fumbles-lost;1-0;3-1
Penalties-yards;7-66;2-5
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING Rock Hill: Narii Gaither 19-171, Hayden Jackson 8-11, Noah Thompson 12-59, Antonio Barber 1-7 Chester: Pha’Leak Brown 13-58, Zan Dunham 20-96, Emmanual Wright 9-112, Stan Mills 10-42.
PASSING Rock Hill: Jackson 5-13-1, 44 yards. Chester: Dunham 11-19-2, 103 yards.
RECEIVING Rock Hill: Antonio Barber 4-42, C.J. Ellerbe 1-2. Chester: Zion Mills 2-35, Brown 1-4, Ja’Rel Hill 8-64.
RECORDS Chester 3-0; Rock Hill 1-2.
This story was originally published August 31, 2018 at 9:49 PM.