DOYLESTOWN: Thursday Night Football in Chippewa turned into a grand success for the Chipps in their 2016 season opener.
Senior Luke Brown rushed behind his large offensive linemen and the Chipps scored a 42-26 victory over visiting Wellington before a crowd of approximately 1,000.
“This was crazy to play on a Thursday,” Brown said. “The whole town came to support us. It was a good atmosphere. This is something that kids dream about playing in.”
Chippewa Memorial Stadium was rockin’ as the Chipps played on their field with new blue Nike uniforms and with a new scoreboard sponsored by Nagy’s Collision Center.
Brown rushed for 172 yards on 20 carries and one touchdown behind an offensive line that consisted of seniors Trent Harrell, Travis Moore and Ben Epling, junior Dacoda Hensel and sophomore Christian Harrell.
“We are returning three seniors and four starters overall on the offensive line,” Brown said. “They are all pretty big guys, so once they get moving it is pretty hard to stop them. They were making the holes and I just hit them. [Sophomore quarterback] Cole Thompson opened up the passing game and it was a good night all over.”
Chippewa took a 7-0 lead with 3:53 to go in the first quarter on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Thompson to Brown and a kick by junior Cameron Gerstenslager, who was 6-for-6 on his PATs.
Wellington pieced together a nice drive in the second quarter, but was prevented from scoring when Chippewa sophomore Cade Durbin deflected a pass to the ground in the end zone on a fourth-down play with 6:52 on the clock.
The Chipps took a 14-0 lead at 6:26 in the second quarter on a 94-yard rushing play that started with Brown toting the ball and ended with sophomore Elijah Westfall crossing the goal line. Brown ran 74 yards and fumbled, and Westfall scooped up the ball and ran 20 yards for a touchdown.
Wellington countered with a 68-yard touchdown pass from senior Max Carevic to junior Trevor Porter at 6:04 in the second quarter. The kick was no good and the score was 14-6. Chippewa concluded the scoring in the first half when sophomore Tre Petty (15 carries, 68 yards) rushed for an 11-yard touchdown with 1:30 left.
Chippewa maintained the lead in the second half with Brown rushing for a 4-yard touchdown and Thompson (8-of-8 for 112 yards) tossing two touchdown passes — a 31 yards to junior James Hugland and a 20 yards to sophomore Josh Cowan.
Wellington trailed 42-14 in the fourth quarter, but closed the gap behind Carevic, who tossed two touchdown passes and rushed for another. Carevic (23-of-36 passing for 270 yards) found junior Parker Rieske for a 41-yard touchdown, connected with Porter on a 30-yard touchdown and rushed for a 1-yard score.
“We started a lot of sophomores,” Chippewa coach Mike Bohley said. “We have a mix of kids where we are senior heavy and sophomore heavy. It is a unique blend. ... We gave up two late touchdowns, but you learn from that.”
Bohley said he was pleased with the defensive performances of Moore, Epling, Hugland, Durbin and seniors Jake Hall and Trent Harrell.
Chippewa has a new look this season because of the graduation of several key players from last year, including quarterback Bailey Breitenstine, who will play basketball at Mount Union, and wide receiver Jerry Bennett, who is a student at the University of Akron.
Michael Beaven can be reached at 330-996-3829 or mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the #ABJVarsity high school blog at www.ohio.com/preps.