Tigers fall to undefeated Chillicothe in FAC opener

The Chillicothe Cavaliers showed why they are undefeated and atop the Frontier Athletic Conference standings with a perfect 5-0 overall record after handily winning against McClain, 49-6 Friday night in Greenfield.

McClain was coming off their first loss of the season last week when they lost a heartbreaker in overtime on homecoming night to Circleville.

The Cavaliers’ high-powered offense was explosive all night long and never punted the entire game. They also have probably one of the best players not only in the FAC, but in the state, in junior tailback Cartae Ligon, who rushed for 230 yards and four touchdowns.

“Chillicothe is a very good team, and we knew that coming in,” said McClain head coach Keith Penwell. “They have several college prospects over there and one of the best players in the state.

“Cartae (Ligon) really runs hard. We hit him and hit him, but his balance is amazing. He’s a special player.

“He’s so patient running the ball and can break outside or break it back and go the other direction. He’s just very hard to contain,” Penwell continued. “Obviously, we keyed on him tonight and had a special call just for him and sending everyone wherever he went and it worked at first, but pick your poison. We try to take him away and knew we would give up a little bit doing that, and they found and exploited that with the pass.”

Chillicothe senior quarterback Tae Harris also turned in a fine ballgame, completing 11-of-14 passes for 152 yards and two touchdowns.

The Cavaliers took the opening kickoff and wasted little time in scoring by going 66 yards on eight plays when Harris found Karter Williams open in the endzone with a 13-yard throw and catch touchdown.  The extra-point try was successful, and Chillicothe led 7-0 with just over eight minutes showing on the first-period clock.

After a three-and-out by the Tigers on their first offensive series, the Cavaliers got great field position on the McClain 24-yard line from a great punt return by Ligon.  He scored his first of four touchdowns in the game three plays later on a 6-yard run, putting Chillicothe on top 14-0 after another made PAT, and the first quarter  ended with the Tigers trailing 14-0.

The Cavaliers extended their lead to 21-0 on the first play of the second period when Ligon ran 8 yards to the endzone.

Harris continued the Chillicothe scoring moments later at the 9:00 mark of the second period when he ran 3 yards on a quarterback keeper, and suddenly it was 28-0 Cavaliers.

The Tigers finally got on the scoreboard after recovering a muffed punt on the Chillicothe 24-yard line when Hudson Lovett threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Taitum Lyons, who made a spectacular catch in the right corner of the endzone around two defenders.

The PAT was unsuccessful, making it 28-6 with eight minutes still left to play in the opening half.

The Cavaliers ended the second-period scoring after two more impressive runs by Ligon, one a 57-yarder where he broke several tackles on his way to paydirt, and the other an 11-yard run.

The third quarter was scoreless when the McClain defense played extremely well by keeping the potent Cavalier offense out of the endzone while all of their starters were still playing.

With the running clock rule in effect, Chillicothe added the final touchdown of the game on a 3-yard run by senior Trace McAllister, with both teams bringing in their younger players.

“We have so many kids right now that are playing hurt,” Penwell said. “We’re pretty beat up.

“I thought we played physical tonight, and they’re physical too, plus they have a couple of horses that are really good. Their left tackle and right tackle are both D-I prospects, along with Cartae (Ligon), and they’ve got some other players that are very gifted athletically.”

McClain, now 4-2, travels to Washington (2-4) next week for another tough FAC battle. Washington defeated Hillsboro, 61-55 in Week 6.

Stat leaders for McClain:  Lovett 9 carries, 35 yards and 9-of-18 passing for 65 yards and 1 touchdown.

Receiving: Taitum Lyons 1 catch, 14-yard touchdown, Hunter Peabody 3 catches, 28 yards, Brady Binegar 2 catches, 14 yards, and Gavin Anderson 1 catch, 12 yards.