CHERRYVALE — Jumping out to a 28-point lead at halftime, the Cherryvale Chargers cruised to a 48-13 Tri-Valley League victory over Fredonia Friday night at Logan Park Stadium.
“The kids played hard,” said Charger coach Harry Hester. “Our defense was lights out. Our kids were disciplined and read their keys very well. Offensively, we were able to spread the ball around, and we executed well. I’m really pleased with our preparation this week and execution. We still have room for improvement and will continue to get better.”
With the win, Cherryvale improved to 3-1 overall and in league play. The Chargers will hit the road next week to take on rival Neodesha — a 34-14 winner over Erie
Meanwhile, Fredonia evened its record at 2-2 overall and 1-1 in the TVL. The Yellowjackets will remain on the road next week at Leon-Bluestem, which captured a 42-36 victory over Eureka.
“I thought we had our team ready to play,” said FHS coach Marc Svaty. “We wanted the game to be drug out into the fourth quarter and let our depth overwhelm them. Cherryvale got up quick, out executed us and dominated the game. We will restart our football season on Monday.”
The Chargers dominated action on both sides of the football, outgaining the Yellowjackets 357-155 in total yardage. CHS did most of its damage on the ground, carrying the ball 39 times for 210 yards but was also effective through the air with 147 passing yards.
Cherryvale jumped ahead with a pair of first-quarter touchdowns — the first on a six-yard run by Trevor Raida and the second on a 10-yard scamper from Garrett Novotny.
Up 14-0 after one period, the Chargers extended their lead to 20-0 on another scoring run of two yards by Raida at the 10:17 mark of the second quarter.
Fredonia was able to get on the scoreboard just 39 seconds later on a 53-yard strike from Devlin Hendrix to Joe Reyes. Yet, the Chargers quickly regained the momentum on the ensuing kickoff as Raida took the ball at the 18-yard line and returned it 82 yards for a score and a 26-6 CHS lead.
Cherryvale added one more score before halftime on a 16-yard pass from Cade Addis to Ryan Robertson to head into the break up 34-6.
The Chargers put another score on the board early in the third quarter on a 21-yard run by Addis. That bumped the lead up 41-6 and forced a running clock the remainder of the content.
The Yellowjackets picked up a touchdown on a 24-yard pass from Hendrix to Jaden Schmidt late in the third quarter, but Cherryvale scored one last time on a 16-yard pass play from Gavin Hooper to Jacobi Barnett for the final score.
Raida finished the game with 110 yards rushing on 12 carries. Addis completed 8-of-15 passes for 106 yards.
(Photo credit to Becky Derringer-Altus)