TOWANDA — Briley Peavy took the opening kickoff back for a touchdown. That set the tone for Chanute in its 24-0 victory over Towanda-Circle in the season opener for both teams Friday night.
Peavy grabbed that kickoff at the 20-yard line and sprinted 80 yards for the score. That was part of a 17-point first quarter for the Blue Comets.
On Circle’s first possession, Chanute forced a fumble, which it eventually converted into points on a 24-yard field goal. Just a little more than two minutes in, the Comets had a 10-0 advantage.
Chanute’s offense finally got into the scoring column. Peavy was on the receiving end of a 77-yard touchdown bomb from Ty Bowman. The extra point gave the Blue Comets a 17-0 edge after one quarter of play.
The visitors tacked on one more score before the halftime break. This time, Bowman ran into the end zone from 11 yards out with just 51 seconds to go in the second quarter to bump the margin up to 24 points.
Amazingly, that would be the final score of the game. The teams went scoreless over the last two periods as Chanute went on to post the defensive shutout.
The Blue Comets surrendered just 86 total yards to the Thunderbirds as they recorded their first shutout of an opponent since a 42-0 victory over Iola on Oct. 12, 2012.