Late touchdown seals Chase County’s fate in loss to Mustangs

    The Chase County football team led for the majority of its game Friday at Gordon-Rushville, but when the smoke cleared the Longhorns trailed on the scoreboard.
    CCS Head Coach Nathan Gaswick said Gordon-Rushville is a game that always sticks out on the schedule because it is going to be a physical football game.
    CCS received the opening kick and drove down the field. Dawson Mollendor carried Gordon-Rushville defenders into the end zone on a six-yard run for the game’s only first half score. James McArthur’s kick made it 7-0.
    GR moved to the CCS 17-yard line in the second quarter, until Isaac Stretesky batted a pass into the air for Tristan Jablonski to pick off.
    CCS, in turn, drove to the GR seven-yard line but couldn’t score.
    The Longhorns blocked a Mustang field goal early in the third quarter. Chase County drove to the Gordon-Rushville 15-yard line where a fumble derailed the drive.
    The Mustangs scored their first touchdown in the latter part of the third quarter after mixing two passes in with their running game.
    The game didn’t stay tied for long. Easton Fries ran the kick off back for a touchdown and, with McArthur’s kick, CCS regained the lead, 14-7.
    Gordon-Rusville narrowed the Chase County lead to one point, 14-13, with a short touchdown run and CCS blocked the extra point.
    The Longhorns failed to make fourth-and-one, handing the ball back to GR near midfield with four minutes remaining in the game. Gaswick said it was the biggest game-changing play in the game.
    Gordon-Rushville ate up the clock with eight runs and two passes, scoring the go ahead touchdown with 30 seconds left in the game.
    CCS was unable to move the ball and lost the contest 14-19.
    Gaswick said marching down the field after the opening kickoff set the tone for Longhorns early.
    “However, after that score we continued to hurt ourselves with penalties and mistakes in the red zone. We had one touchdown get called back and multiple big play drives that stalled inside of the 10 yard line,” Gaswick said. The coach credited both defenses for making stops inside the 10-yard line.
    While proud of his team’s  efforts, Gaswick said he reminded his players there are areas that can be improved upon.
    “It is always tough to swallow when just a few plays could have drastically changed the outcome of the game. This will be another big week of practice as we work to continue getting better and preparing for upcoming opponents,” he said.
Up next
    The Longhorns will host district opponent Hershey (1-4) Friday.
    Gaswick expects the Panthers to  bring a spread attack with a very talented quarterback.
    “They are smaller up front and will try to use their speed and skill positions to their advantage. They have struggled this year but have faced some quality opponents,” he said.