Although the scores have grown progressively closer, the Chillicothe High School football Hornets continue to hold the upper hand on the Marshall Owls in recent season openers.
Friday night at Cecil Naylor Stadium, the Hornets registered their third-straight week one victory over the Owls, this time a come-from-behind 15-7 decision to begin the teams' 2010 campaigns.
After Austin Hatfield recovered a mid-third-quarter fumble at the Owls' 16-yard-line with MHS nursing a 7-6 lead, Chillicothe gambled and inserted injured first-string fullback Nick Plummer for the first time in the contest and got the payoff.
Skirting disaster when they recovered their own fumble on first-and-goal from the Owls' 5, the Hornets scored what became the winning touchdown two plays later as Plummer bashed through a nice crease off left tackle for a 4-yard score with 4:43 left in the third period.
After missing a 2-point conversion attempt, Chillicothe added three important points to its 12-7 lead on its next possession.
Cornerback Kale Allen's breakup of a long third-down pass put the home team in a punting situation at its own 16. A high snap required a leaping snag by punter Demetric Poindexter at the goal line. By the time he got turned around and put foot to ball, CHS defensive end Blake Stephens was able to get a piece of the kick and limited its travel to only 19 yards.
Setting shop at the MHS 36, Chillicothe overcame a holding penalty which negated a would-be 31-yard scoring run by Guy Vinson to notch a pair of first downs. Running nearly 41/2 minutes off the clock, the Hornets capitalized on the advantageous field position by getting a 22-yard field goal from freshman fill-in placekicker Alan Kline with just over 10 minutes left to play.
After forcing another Marshall punt following one first down, Chillicothe regained the ball at its 22 with 7:09 to go and, keyed by Vinson's critical 9-yard-run on third-and-9, sustained a nine-play drive which took the ball to near the Owls' 15 while using nearly six minutes of game time.
Marshall forced a fumble which it covered at its 16, but two plays later a Carter Austin pass deflected off two receivers' hands before Allen caught the second carom to ice the win.
Chillicothe drew first blood on its opening possession, but trailed at halftime following a giveaway in the shadow of its own goalposts.
The young Hornets' defensive forced a 3-and-out on Marshall's game-starting possession and the offense took it from there.
Beginning near midfield, Chillicothe moved in for the season's first points in eight snaps. Austin Hatfield had a 12-yard run for one first-down and the Hornets overcame a third-down holding penalty that created a third-and-12 with a 12-yard hookup between junior quarterback Justin Lewis and senior wide receiver Alex Thompson.
Two plays later, Vinson popped off the right side following a handoff fake to Hatfield going left and dashed to the goal line for a 15-yard touchdown run with 6:42 on the first-quarter clock.
Kline, pressed into service because of an injury to top kicker Trevor Reger, missed the extra-point kick wide left, but redeemed himself in a big way with his fourth-quarter field goal which came in hurried fashion when the play clock was nearly expired.
The Hornets maintained the 6-0 lead into the second stanza when Lewis was sacked while trying to pass and lost the football inside his own 20. MHS nose tackle Jonathan Phillips covered it at the 13 and, on the next play, Austin threw to fullback John Lozano on a hook route at the 6. The back turned it upfield and dove just across the goal line to tie it. An extra-point kick by Zack Bishop put the Owls in front 10:16 before halftime.
That margin held up the rest of the second quarter, but Chillicothe did the only scoring of the final two to claim the win.
Chillicothe will be on the road against a North Central Missouri Conference team again next week, visiting the Kirksville Tigers Sept. 3. Kirksville was drilled by Macon, 48-0, in its opener Friday night.
